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

t, C IS 1 C C 's NCEOF -My choices I have been asked to'name the paintings ·I like best in this exhibition. · So, speak:ng personally: _ The Van Gogh for that quality of deep feeling. I could dwell on the character of Van Gogh's touch, the rich texture and color, of his pigments, etc., but it is the s9.ut of ·the painting which counts. &zanne's Fruit Garden is not one of the greatest Cezanncs I know; but it is a sensitive work, where the carerully arrived-at structure coalesces with tender feeling for the delicate limbs of trees supporting the load of the crowns. 000 Jawlensky's "The Red Veil" is a 'beautiful example of his– favotite subject, the ikon-like portrait of woman. The painting radiates with glowing green and purple and the tender amplitude I of structured curves. . Nolde, one of Germany's greatest expressionists (persecut– ed under Hitler for his "dcgcncr• ate art") has a great painting here; it virtually heaves with heavy pigment and powcr[ul rhythms, expressing the forces of liCll and sky. . • Picasso's llanesters interests ,inc because this probably is the D,rst work of his where he makes no distinction between figure and ground, mass and space, but .clraws everything, into a univer, sal movement. This, or course, li:d to Cubism, of which Picasso's .,Head" here is an admirable early cxau,ple. 000 · Qf Braque, the co-inventor of Cubism, we sec here his Mandolin Playrr in the style of analytical cubism, which could not have been invented before Einstein proclaimed his theory of relativity in 1905. Mandolin Player, of ethereal sub1lct)', is ~ne of those pnintings which make visible !he new concepts of lime, space and mailer. Elegance, clarity and perfec– tion :ire seen in a still life bv Juan Grls, a must ac~omplished exponent of Synthetic Cubism. For similar reasons I admire l.el !cr's The Brldg,. What mar• vellous balance of contrasts, ., ti,; '\~. PABLO RUIZY PICASSO - "Harvesters" what solidity and firmly knit structure! There also is a particularly fine Mondrian. The painting by Rothko could be the one least understood by the general public. It means a lot to me. But I find the way it is hung detracts from its myster– ious effect; it needs a little chapel all for itself. 000 One cannot "like" Francis Bacon, but one cannot ignore his terrible power. Of course, one is drawn to Ma~ritte, maker of intriguing ima~cs; to Cha,:all's lovely painLing where a strong rooster carries off his adoring beloved; to (,o~ky's "Hui:,:in,:", whcrn delicate lines .ire ~ast around to embrace elusive scallcred shapes and fleeting vapours; to the Miro with "its sombre, 'but glowing ' ground, accentuated by 11oating, calligraphic mysteries. Do not let us forget the icy river scene by Monet with its melancholy mood, rather rare in the artist's oeuvre; the Renoir,. where every tiny brushstroke adds 10 the humming delight of a summcrday. Jn as much as painting ·goes, J prefer the de Kooning to the Pollock hung next to it. I like the accomplished collage bv I.re Krasnrr and bolh the early and the later painting by Stuart Duis, And people should not forget to sec the astounding Rauschenberg, for which room had to be found at Civic Museum, City Mall. The Thyssen-Bornemisza collection - "Cen– tury of Modern Masters" - is on exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery, on the fifth floor, MIM building, Ann Street, until March 30. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, extending to 9 p.m. Friday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The exhibition is being sponsored by The Courier-Mail and BTQ Channel 7. Admission ch r rges to cover costs are $2 for adults and $ for children, students and pensioners. I March 11, 1110 . ' Tiff Queensland Art <iallcr)' ' 15th Floor. MIM Building. Ann SI. llrishunel continues 10 cxhihit the 0111 standing "America ano Europe: A C'cnlllry of Modern Masters· from the Thyssen-llornemisza C'ol• lcction. The ga llery is opcn from Monday, 111 Saturdays. IO am 10 S rm I Fridays only I O am to 9 rm1 and on Sundays rrom 21111110511111. The exhihilion will end o Sunday. March JO. In conj1111c1ion with 1h Modern Musters exhihi1ion lhc Gallery i, organising • ,cries of special evenings o Wedne,day 11igh1s from 6 rm. l he rrogrnm will includ lcl'lure,. r,crfornrnncc. 11111,i aml rilm,. . Admi"inn will he hv ,ca, m ticket only tS7. which include admission tot Ix: cxhibilion1. . .