Back to Cairns Art Gallery

Jim and I have been informed that we will be collected from the hotel at 3pm, so we had a morning to fill.  Jim walked round town in the heat, and I sought refuge in the air conditioned art gallery, looking at the postcard competition again.  About 20 of the postcards had been bid up to $100, with the rest remaining below.

I went upstairs and looked at the new print exhibition.  There were some lovely linocut prints as well as silkscreen prints on paper.  I'm now at the knowledge level where I look at them and try to work out in what order the colours were printed.  I also looked at the work by students from the local TAFE (Technical & Further Education) college.  Some of my fellow students at University of Herts may be interested in this.

Jennifer Arthur "Botanical Dimensions"

Hand drawn transfers on folded porcelain slip (I think? - I'm not a ceramicist)

Jennifer Arthur again - "Duplicates".  Hand drawing and stonecast slipware pears.

Rose Rigley "Floyd Recalls I-XV"  Mixed media on canvas

Close up of "Floyd recalls"

One for my friend Lisa.  Floyd Recalls detail.

Also there was another exhibition in the process of being staged.  I noted the style of art was that of raw wood mosiac - very like my favourite postcard in the downstairs gallery.  The artist was putting final touches to the work, and I asked him if it was his work downstairs.  It was.  He was Ben Trupperbaumer.  I said I thought his work was best in show.  He was pleased and said he would be interested in how much it raised at auction, and that there would be a bidding frenzy at the end on Sunday.  We had quite a discussion about art, the differences between degrees in England and Australia and, portraiture.  He recommended I look at Euan McLeod, a friend of his, who changed the way portraiture was done in Australia when he won the Archibold prize in c1995.  BT said at the time, portraiture needed to be shaken up.  I will read up on Euan McLeod, and no doubt will comment in a later post.  It was wonderful to have a chat with a top exhibiting artist.  I said I had been attending the National Portrait Gallery Portrait competition for about 20 years and had noticed how styles had changed over the time I had been viewing them.  I think the NPG competition has been running for about 30 years. I also noted that the early winners of the Archibold Prize in the 1920s had been portraying military leaders and now it was much more varied.

I'd be interested to see what the postcards eventually sell for. I will look up the Cairns Art Gallery online next week to see if they publish results.