From Andrew Frost…
Is where you come from an inseparable part of the way you view the world? The exhibition Shadow of A Nation brings together a range of international and Australian artists, established and emerging, and wonders whether their art represents a particular national perspective. Included in the show is the work of Brett Whiteley whose paintings, for better or worse, and despite their amalgamation of numerous international influences, from Vincent Van Gogh to Francis Bacon, have become identified as quintessentially Australian.
Alongside Whiteley are artists such as Rhonda Dee, an expat American resident in Sydney, whose paintings betray no particular allegiance except perhaps to a particular brand of modernism, while Colombian-Australian Maria Fernanda Cordoso’s sculptures and new media works are internationalist in feel and philosophy. James and Eleanor Avery, who the gallery’s website says are “…currently based between London, England and Brisbane, Australia” are also hard to pin down in any national sense. With works in the show by a diverse range of artists, from Sidney Nolan and Charles Blackman to Todd Hunter and Diego Singh, one can only conclude the language of art is effectively borderless.
Until December 29
Mclemoi Gallery, Chippendale.
Pic: Rhonda Dee, Fluis, 2011. Acrylic on mylar on board, 122x87cm.
