Nicholas Folland- The revelations within assemblage

Writing about the work of this Artist is a joy. I first came across his work “Floe“, 2009, while casually browsing the net. The first thing that one notices when they look at it is that they drawn into it. It is calming, glacial and beautiful. What interests your eye first is the cacophony of assembled pieces that bubble and bulge before the viewer. Suspended by woven fishing line in great berg like clumps, this work is ominous. Folland utilised over 1000 glass and crystal objects after scouring Op shops around Adelaide.  They are things that are recognisable to all of us. They are the pretty heirlooms once tucked away in cupboards, the hard to discard wedding gifts that you bring out for special occasions.  “Floe“, as with many of Folland’s artworks, carries with it a certain tension. In researching it I read; that for one writer at least, it evoked the feelings of melting polar ice caps and linked its creation with the climate change phenomenon.  I do not see that in this work. It is, for me, a colossal rendition of the memories associated with objects from our lives. “Floe” is almost an archaeological experience. Why did Folland choose to name it as if it was a person, unless there was to be a personal touch to it? There is a history within the hanging trinkets. Once they graced people’s home crystal and glassware collections. One object may have been great Nanna’s cake platter; another, precious wine goblets used at Christmas. This piece evokes special feelings within the beholder as one’s memories are stirred.  The most interesting aspect surrounding “Floe” is the lighting. Lit brightly from above it reverberates throughout the exhibition space. Notice the beautiful, etherial reflections upon the gallery floor. This work is deep and mysterious it is something majestic and such things invite contemplation.

Other works by Nicholas Folland demand similar attention toward the historical aspects of the objects he has used. While they may have been reworked or positioned by the artist they were also once owned and loved. When looking at an assemblage work it is important to acknowledge the power that may be evoked in the history behind the objects used.  Another good example of his work titled “Tools“, 2010. In This work Folland has assembled various knives and suspended them vertically. The blades point down.  These knives also each have a story to tell. Sharpened over time; they are old and worn.  They may have been owned by a butcher, farmer or suburban home. They have been present at countless meals, cut bread and spread butter. Folland has used repletion of form to create an interesting rhythm in this work. The base of each handle has been positioned to create a horizontal line onto which the eye can rest and return to after visually experiencing the handles and the blades. I love how this piece “reads” with the careful implementation of the coloured handles to alter the pattern. I can look at it for hours.
Nicholas Folland is currently working on an installation for the Adelaide Biennial opening March 2 at AGSA, similar to the work Floe. I can not wait to see it.

http://www.nicholasfolland.com.au/

The bold colour of Leith O’Malley

Leith O’Malley is a South Australian Visual Artist with an array of big clients such as BHP Australia, Ericson Finland and Mitsubishi Motors. That is really just to name a few.

As I look through the portfolio of Leith’s work I am stuck mainly by his response to the isolation felt by people who reside a great distance from the city.  Living in Whyalla gives his work a unique fresh feeling that I am drawn to.  I love his Red dust girl series.  They are simple with their rich earthy outback palette. The surface of the canvas seems to almost sizzle with the heat. Deep cobalt blue skies stretch out across each of the seasons. The girl floats above the outback landscape. Her feet pointed angelically toward the earth. The seasons come and pass yet she is removed from them. She stares out at us in some works inviting us in and in others it is a radiant mesmerising contemplation that I can see. Bold outlines frame for the viewer forthright tonal variations within the girl’s facial features.  Within her features there is wisdom. Is she is an angelic apparition? Perhaps she is a phantom one might imagine with continual isolation. In so many ways she is beautiful.

Leith began his career as an illustrator in Adelaide but it wasn’t until he completed a workshop with the famous George Gittoes that he began painting in earnest. Some of his style and use of colour still carries this influence.  He does not only use oil as a medium but has diversified to using digital means to portray his messages. His work is often centrally arranged, reflecting an illustrative background. His composition though is spot on. There is little room for error.

Most recently I came across his work at The Geoffrey Stapleton Gallery on Prospect rd.  His work there is titled “Picasso, Bacon, Warhol. Art Ride No. 1″ an oil and collage on stretched canvas. It is well work a look as it resides in an exhibition titled “Seeing Cycles” until the 5^th of February.

This work is in many ways a response to the journey that creative people take as they travel through life. He has chosen for his subject three artists; Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol. This work reminds me of the TV show the “goodies” with their three person bike. The use of text is also interesting. Text is always rather loud when used in a work.  Leith manages to expertly make it work by dulling its contrast through analogous colour; drawing your eye to the action of the riders. Again the use of collage is a dominant aspect of this work. Yet it is subtle in its approach. It invites you in and looks as though the pages of O’Malley’s well-read Art history books have been donated to the cause. I can also see the influences of the artists themselves within the use of technique.  Francis Bacon’s; thumping, pulsating contrast and tone. I can see Picasso’s use of collage and cut out text. Warhol’s influence is perhaps shown in the very construction of this work. It reflects the Tour Down Under with its motif.

http://leithomalley.wordpress.com

http://www.leithomalley.com

Rundle St- Bike Yarn Bombing

After a tip-off last night I scooted on down to Rundle Street to have a look at some yarn bombed bikes. If you know nothing of Yarn Bombing let me inform you. Yarn bombing is a covert art form in which knitting folk cover items in wool. Under the cover of darkness, like wool wielding ninjas everyday items on the street scene are enveloped in colourful Yarn. The Rundle Street bikes had been there a while and were very neatly completed. I loved the use of colour and the way they had incorporated the form of the bike into their design. Some merely covered the bike in coloured wool so its shape beneath was apparent. While, in other bike designs ornately decorated and quirky features were reflected more. Along the street they were sparse; they left me thinking that they should have been in a more concentrated mass, so the viewer could take them in better. When creating art for display, a simplistic work can achieve the same ends as a more complex one if it is clever. And to say this many were very clever. One of my favourites had a little bird in its wheels upon a blue star lit background. I love the way that handlebars of other bikes became swan heads or cow horns. Yarn bombing reflects the effort that has gone into the very creation of the work. It was sad to see that some were damaged or removed by the public. Rundle Street is a smaller version of Prospect rd, in terms of its bike display more subtle in many ways. Maybe it has to be, it’s in the city and the yobos are roaming; seeking to devour anything of beauty and intelligence

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Bespoke- A Tourrific Prospect tour down under project for 2012

This is a fantastic initiative by the Prospect Gallery Advisory Group to celebrate the tour down under start in Prospect on the 17th of January. This exhibition is held in two places both on the street and in the gallery. Local artists were invited to transform donated bikes into artistic creations. These are installed along the race start on Prospect Rd. They not only provided an excellent back drop to the tour down under festivities but involved the local community. This is what art is all about at heart. There is also a gallery exhibition to celebrate the cycling life of Prospect past and present. This exhibition I will review later.

I took a stroll and photographed many of the creations on display along Prospect rd. Many were joint creations involving parents and children or like minded friends. Many bikes had pride of place in shop front windows or in gardens. Some bikes were suspended from street signs or on roof tops.

Alexia Sinclair- The Royal Dozen and the Regal Twelve

I first came across the work of Alexia Sinclair on the cover of a Photoshop Magazine. Her technique with the program is extraordinary. I found myself gazing deeper and deeper into each of the works; wanting to soak up everything they had to offer.  They are rich in symbolism, pertaining to the particular historical figure being portrayed.

The exhibition is at the Art Space Gallery in the City and is a collection of images from 2005-2010. They depict 24 male and female monarchs and famous figures from throughout history. Each has been thoroughly researched and portrayed in exquisite detail. Sinclair has chosen to particularly highlight their flamboyancies; building a narrative within the work which will be role-played by her character.

Her portraits are composed of sometimes 300 different transparent layers. All of these overlap to give an astounding depth to the works.

Her use of lighting in both the digital and photographic aspects of her work is exemplary.

Pope Alexander VI – The Borgia Pope

“Now we are in the power of a wolf, the most rapacious perhaps that this world has ever seen. And if we do not flee, he will inevitably devour us all” Pope Leo X said of Alexander Borgia

Rodrigo Borgia was one of the most controversial Renaissance popes; so much so that his surname became a by word for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era. Pope Alexander was famous for falsely accusing wealthy merchants and landowners of crimes to acquire their land and wealth.

He was so hated that rumours abounded about his character. Sinclair has constructed her works visual narrative from the hearsay perpetuated at the time.

One famous account is of an orgy his illegitimate son hosted in the papal palace. It was nick named the Banquet of Chestnuts.  According to the account prostitutes and guests crawled naked among lit candelabra with chestnuts on the floor.

Another legend surrounding this character is of a hollow ring and goblet that he used to poison his enemies.

At once we notice the piercing eyes of the pope. In his wrinkled hands he grasps a smoking chalice and one can clearly see the rings on his fingers. On the table are a handful of chestnuts with some upon an ornate set of scales. Apparently the ore chestnuts that people were able to grasp the more gifts they were to receive. Pope Alexander’s beard is wiry and white which is complete contrast to his scarlet headdress and cloak. Two candles burn brightly; the smoke from them mixes with the smoke from the chalice and fills the room. Sinclair is suggesting that the facts surrounding this character may be lost in the mists of time but why should that get in the way of a good story.

http://alexiasinclair.com/

The outstanding Kim Buck- Yet another Prospect Portrait Prize entrant

I walked past this brilliant work in the Prospect Portrait Prize exhibition and am now kicking myself that I did not stop to take a closer look. It is a charcoal on paper, but I think I should be forgiven for thinking it was a photograph. This accomplished artist has had 5 sell-out shows in Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney and she only graduated from for Bachelor of Visual arts in 2009! Kim won the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Award in 2009 and was the winner of the Limestone Coast Art Prize in both 2010 and 2011. She has been a finalist in a number of prizes including the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing and the National Youth Self Portrait Prize. Conatus is a Latin word meaning, tendency, endeavour, undertaking or striving. She has shown herself in a sea of blackness being crushed from above by the weight of the frame of her work. And no wonder, they must take her hours to complete. Her works feature figures in poses reminiscent of a foetus in utero, hunched, crouching and vulnerable in its form. Yet this work has strength, solid muscle tone and vivid chiaroscuro. The title gives a frank suggestion what she is seeking to portray through her portrait. It is her brilliant technique which is on show, yet that does not exist on its own. She has coupled it with stark form and robust texture. The work is also something which is intellectually stimulating through its titles. “Conatus” is a word that I needed to look up is was so obscure yet it sums up her style. As I delved further into her work I came across another portrait “Burden of Lachesis” is also a charcoal drawing on paper. She is wearing the same dress yet is involved in a struggle, with multiple selves dragging a thick thread across the picture plane. Lachesis was normally seen clothed in white, and is the being responsible for measuring the thread woven by Clotho’s spindle. Some say she determines Destiny, or thread of life. Lachesis is one of three sisters who were said to appear to decide a baby’s fate within three days of its birth. For Buck she carries this burden, possibly it is woven into the creation of work itself. It is a portrait showing a struggle, a burden. Maybe Buck is saying that she may determine her own fate, yet this in itself carries a cost, a burden which she must bear. Often Kim buck’s work seems theatrical, with the bold background contrasting with the statuesque figure involved in struggling poses, almost as if they were captured mid-dance. I love her work and am going back to view it further before this exhibition ends.

You can view more of her work at http://www.kimbuck.com.au/