Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

2 B J~ U 1980 / Exhibition deserves bigger attendances - SINCE I reviewed British contemporary ceramics at the Queensland Art Gallery I returned twice to explore and enjoy, as well as to • ee the fa1clnatlnr video • whh:h show British potters (In– cluded In the exhibition) at work and explain their method • , ,.. The exhibition, which clo"s Af. ter February 13, Is creating very rreat Interest, but deserves larger 11ttendances stlll. (May l draw at– tention to a more recent arrange– ment whereby the gallery Is being kept open on Fridays until 9 p,m, 1 Willie there, it is advi,eable tn spare lime for an exhibition or Jlritish cnntemporary Art, selected, in support or the British ceramics, from the gallery's own collecllon. lL Is painfully evident that Ihe small number of rele\•11nt sculp– tures and pe 1 ntings In the collec– tion can do no Justice to the great developments which have taken place In Bri\ain since the end of World War II. and marketing of British contem– porary prmts by famous artists , uch a., Henri Moore and others, whose work Is seen In this dlsplny. centres and •broad, thus sprea!l,inr good ort more widely. But Just a reminder for those v.·ho think or art in terms or IJIOn– etary ,•alue; n great modern fiaa• ter's print, especially as Ume u– ses and It gets rare, lhese day · Cet• ches thousands or dollars, not hun– dreds. Howe,·er, recently when In Lon– don, the director, Rauol Mellish. wao able· to RRlher a good number of excellent prints, v.•hich, added to the number of fine contemporary British graphics that already had entered the collect.ion <and mainly throu~h gifts), now ammmt to a fair representation of the major modern movements and t-heir best repre.sentatl,•c,, There is no re1tson - on artistic grounds - to turn up one's nose lo an art Corm such as the crcati l'e print. (I wish there were another word lo distin~uish It from the us– a~e of the snme word for ordinary printcrl reproduct.ions), The second Western Pacirto Print Biennale, arranged by the Print Council of Australia, and currently showing at the Civic Art Gallery, • includes 12 countries : Orlglnally, the art print wa., the connoisseur's rlcli~ht. Then, in modern times. prinlmaking, with ,·nstly increased lcchnlcal in– \'entions anrl posslhlllllcs, prolife– rnted in n sl•~~erln~ way, and the market spread wirtclr. Bangladesh. China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan Phllippir,es, Singapore, Thailand, and Austra– lia. The prints Mr Mellish acquirerl were pnrtly purchased, hut mnny were the gift of the Curwen St11dio In l..onrton, which has playerl an Important role In the publishing YnunR people. whose tnste Is in act\'ancc of their finan cial strrnglh, lm•e goorl prtnis on ihc,r walls. F.vcry p11hllc ~allcry has !ts larpe print collectlon; print exhibitions are easily dispatched Jo country As In the first event, l found it disappointing that such a \'ery large propnrt.ion of 1he exhibition is taken up by Australian print• 30 JAN \980 ART NEWS PAUL BIRD $20 IDillion art show NEW l'ORIC art dealer and collector, Andrew J, Crispo, will fly to Brisbane for the opening or the 120 mllllo1 Thyssen-Bornemlsza collection ex– hibition "'hlch will show at the Queens– land Art Gallery from February 12, Mr Crispo help,)d 1hc present. _Boron Thyssf\ll– .Horneiulszu selcc 0 L Uie llltl 'l.crpler1•:{ fol' tlie Queensland ~howln!!. Thu~· rrµrPS<'Ut oi1l)' a stnnl1 purtJon of the collor tim1 ~·hlr.h wa~ :-tll rlt>rl in 1P~0 and ·:d 1k l1 h ti:,; 11~ per– mn11e11t ltnm~ in S\\i l– .:rrhmct. Th e c:d 1ib1 Jon of )J, 1111 lnc& lrom one l'>f 1hr world's cre111r.$ prl– \"Uit• art nllt'<'tlonc will he ofrlclall\· OJlP.11• ~ h l' l h t' 0 n , t• r 11 o r , . 1r ,Jnm" ~ n:nm.'wl,\', on the et 1•t1m~ 01 Fehri111ry 11. "A111ericn Hlll1 Eu- rope: Cen!Ur\' of ~1ndrrn MR.•Hcirs'', · fr•1. r.nn •c;; fl1 nr1!iit~ 1111d 107 w11rks \r1Lll Ht '""·"t l"lt' p a I n I I n iC from t'nr h ~·enr ~lllCC 1A7(1. T h e ,•,hlultion in Q 11 e ,. n ~ I H. 11 rt wlll l>c • rorilliOl'l•(,l h\' Thr, C"nu– r 1,. r-\lull nn<I B'l'Q hnrnwl i 1·1w wrn!hillon. "-'h 1r h hn~ nt rHrr d n • ,,rd r rnwcl lo tht."' \\',•s1~rn .J,.ulli!trnlln11 nnri e:oiith A11, 1rnllnn pnllerles, 11111 be the most impor! RnL lnternntionnl collection sun ·cylng IOI-It a.ttd 201.lt cc11tur~· nn yet shown in Queensland. Most of the cr\e– bm1ert European and Amerl('11n mnstcrs Arc rraturrc1. Int'luclt?t1 arr- Rr nn1r, C t• 'l 2n ne . O('ira.,, Pi• ('ftSSO, LA Ill roe And \'nn G oirh on 1he Eu ropeA n s I cl P one! Am1 1 rlct4 rt~ J o hn ~Hr g t! n L , Do K o n n I n ,, . Rs\llsc:h r n– hrro. Rothko, Pollock nnrf \VyF!h 'I'he PAln rinJ;tS fr 111 tlir t 1 11 rllr r pr rl(ld~ tfll• lnw more l rndft101rn l .,n·h ,. LRl f'r \\'Orks r ht('lnlr lr pn rnllel ,111t1 ort en dl– \'r ri.:rn tlP\'ClopmN lt.'\, The exhibition u·fil be open di:111~ 1 from Pehru– nn I'..! to MRrch :to. Tlir Bril ish C0lllem– pnrnr,\' r rrnmlcs on rlls• pl/l,v 11 r prr!-le1,r t\ HI C'IO,{f'I Ofl Pebr11nrr 3 rlw ~•Iler,· wlll 1,– ,:l<,o_,crl 11n UI F'<'hrut1n 1:1 ror prrparat1011 \\ o1rk I r l hP 1'h~. l..f'lJ- OUrllf"· 11llb1A. rnllecuon makers. Surely, Australian prtnt,. makers ha,•e many other opportu, nitles or showin& In their own country, and the purpose of the whole exercise, one should think. I& creating an awareness of what is happening in the rest or that part ol the world. Therefore, this is an exhibition v.·hich does not allow for a ,bal– anced view, nor affords deep in– sights into the slate of llflnt– maklnr In at lellllt some ot the areas: not meaning Japan, of which we have ,een a 100d deal o! its flourishing printmaking. The catalogue could M,•e ,been more enllghlenin1 as to the lndl• ,·tdu•I •rttsts. This Is not to dlscoura1e viewing of thl• exhlbltinn, which contains quite ,. number of lntei.et1n1 works.