From Sharne Wolff…
At Flinders Street, separate shows of New Work from gallery artists Tom Langlands and Teo Treloar both possess a certain retro vibe. Langlands’ works – all with the same 45rpm title –refer of course to the popular vinyl single of the pre digital music era. Langlands past work has often focused on a fusion of hard edge abstraction and music although this display sees a shift in emphasis from straight line to circle. Taking a lead from twentieth century artists like Kenneth Nolan and Jasper Johns, Langlands’ uses the vinyl circle as a representation of the universal symbol that, along with other fundamental geometric shapes, underlies basic visual perception. Adapted here in simple concentric rings of bright coloured pencil on blank record sleeves, Langland’s evocation of art history/music syntheses summons a double dose of nostalgia that somehow feels just right. And what could be more of a natural fit than the evolution of music storage form into a medium for art?
A small selection of four Teo Treloar works is each named Repeater. As is often the case, Treloar’s spare watercolour, pencil and ink drawings of shirt-clad workingmen are engrossed in study or close examination. Although occupying only a small part of each small picture, Treloar’s men engage the viewer’s vicarious attention through their singular focus on a mysterious and silent pursuit.
Until June 27
Flinders Street Gallery, Surry Hills
Pic: Tom Langlands 45rpm 2015, coloured pencil on blank record sleeve, 31 x 31cm. Courtesy the artist and Flinders Street Gallery.
