I'd heard about the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the Art Gallery of NSW, and was delighted if not a bit surprised to see Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith being shown as well in this exhibit.
“Preston and Cossington Smith, like O’Keeffe in America, have long been recognised for their central role in the development of modern art in Australia. The three artists are connected by their choice of subject, their experimentation with light, colour and form, and their commitment to presenting alternative ways of seeing the world,” says Dr Michael Brand, director, Art Gallery of NSW.
the fewer are those who see it. ~ Captain James Cook
"Larger than life and created from highly polished steel, Michael Parekowhai’s The English Channel is an arresting sculptural presence. The figure, with flowing topcoat and ponytail, is the British navigator Captain James Cook. But this is not Cook as he is seen in the many historical monuments that bear his name – or in the famous 1776 portrait painting by Nathaniel Dance which is one inspiration for this sculpture. Resting on a sculptor’s working table with his feet suspended above ground, this Cook seems to be reflecting on his legacy in the contemporary world."
Then on to view the O’Keeffe, Preston, Cossington Smith: Making Modernism exhibit... if you have a chance to see it, do visit.
"It is surprising to me to see how many people separate the objective from the abstract. Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense. A hill or a tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something. For me that is the very basis of painting. The abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can only clarify in paint." Georgia O'Keeffe.
After winding our way around the gallery it was time for a lunch break...
These cheeky little sausages were addicted to the sugar packets and kept trying to steal them from the lunch tables. Kevin pulled one back from it, and it nipped him! Can you see that look in it's eye? They were funny as a circus to watch.
A final wander through the gallery and a stop off to see Brett Whiteley's work... again, this could come and live at my house.
