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

Compiled by JOCELYN STOREY ries have everything 1mder Ito state. o<·d for its 11• trust.r.es slnnd Art, funds to • :tl'L. • 11111:al wa.< r ll on the $:I mllllon. . 1claUem hi 11censl11nu 1111 LO 11 1~hUng I.he Japanesr ,. rccl'lvcr land can bf! tl llC'XL year lubltlon of' i llCenshu,tl have ncvrr hlllll. ·rale. Thcrr the SLnlf' ,·. but lnck ,•x1un11le - ,•rics which pied wit.Ii a ·:,Iingulshcd rl or, Verlie 1 r·rnutlonal Wnrana by, 11 r·ollccLion Ot'k plnyin~ ht: heart or the sun on display THE water mall in the Queensland Art Gallery, now nearing completion. u1> nrUlncL5 or Brlsb1111e since 11.s inception - to the point where surh treasures arn now hard to find. Down on the Gold Coast I.he standard or gullerlcs Is quite high. One which deserves more than a passing glance Is Bnrrys Art G1dlery. Owner Kurt Barry concedes his major buyers are tourists, but says "they do not shn11 lor souvenirs. They seek lo' acquire distinctive works of art. Abst met works arc no longer in demand. There has l~en u resurgence of h1terest in LradlUonal and contem1Xlrnry works.". And in the basement of 419 U11per Edward St Is l.lw Royal Queensland ArL, Society. (IL was 1:ranted the royal prefix In · 1mm. EXHIBITION Pre,shh>nt , Harold Richardson, has a {[lmlly history with Liu, society dnling harl. t.o 1901 when his unclt! was srcrelnr,v. Today I.he society alms not at gcll 111~ money for artisL,. bul. at ensuring maximum cx11osure for 1ialntlngs by n, w .1•n11111,1 nrtists. Their use of the hug,• nal.lonnl mutual building for tlu•ir fJXhlhlUon earlier , this 1110ll th demonstral.i•s that point. Amoni: rislni: sl.nrs from lhc Hoyal Queensland Art Soclct,y nre Wayne l'!.lckctl,~ who has been in Australia Imm Taiwan tor only thrcc years. Ills work shows refreshing originality and breadth in oil. wnt,ercolor, pencil aml batik. Also outstanding is Jim gdwards whose phot.11- re•allsm pulntcd 011 the rl'\'er:;r side of glnss sh11uld ('scnl:nc In value• In the nrxL l1•w years. Out. In sub11rb1111 Toowong (where. I.hey huvc 01M,r:1t1•d for 18 .vcnrs) Is 1.hr Lrl!ndy de Gruch.v Gallery and Crarismans Market. Both nre on the one site and overseen by Joy de Oruchy. Her aim. she says, Is "a consistent blend or arts with lurnlshlngs". Such as old Morroccan rugs 11urchased for them by Denis Cronccn who ha11pens Lo serve as valuer for ta.l pur)IOSes for t,hr Ausl.rnllan Government. Joy de Gruchy linds I.he Queensland public today "more rece11th•c" than a decade ago to such cull.leral extensions as wall-hangings. The de Oruchy Gallery will feature an exhibition of hangings by Englishman, Peter Collingwood In Oallcry where en-owners Lothur SLrlLthot or Jill Robertson seem lo be always on hand Lo act as your guide. Also In Spring Hill Is thr Queens l, nd Potters As.socntlun which now boasts almost 800 members. This highly Industrious a.ssoclatlon o)ll'mtes from an hlslorlcal old bulldlng al. 49 Lelchhardl, SL wiLh two gnllcrirs, One Is for members exhibitions and sales, I.he otlu:r for s1iecial cxhlbll.lons or pottery. RESIDENTS · October. Downstairs under their galleries the A new gallery out Claylleld way seems to Queensland Potters have a well equipped have captured I.he public Imagination by school area. There hundreds or countrv sJ)eclallsing In early Austmlian paintings. residents have come In recent times to The Flndhorn Gallery at Clayfield Is In lenrn the crnlt. I.he grounds or Uw Brlstmne Antique It is not 1111 11... two years since r.he Youug Ceinl.rr. ·,,' Masters Gallery in Brisbane Arcade A rrcrnt on,•-wonrnn rxhlbltlmi there by 0111:ned. It J)romised nothing new at that Brlslmnc nrtlsl. ,Jnn ,lorgeusen drew hravy res1wmse tn he•r past.e•)s or Ausl.rnllan wildlife. The Plndhorn Oallury Is a husband and wlfr venture by Sandra and John Craig, 111111 wnrth n look. II Sydney hl\S 11.s Paddlngtoll, Brisban!' now has S11rlng Hill. a fast-developing cultuml vllla1-:e. The Spring HIii Oallury Is a 11ualnL coloulnl building which has cleverly r1,l11ined Its central llrcrilacc and polished wood floors. Om• tends Lo ltllllC unashamedly al. such "spiritual" paintings ns "'l'hc Taj AsJ)ccL" an el.hcrral study of 1.111•columns 1:uanlln~ tlw Tnj Maluil. IL Is on show now nnd is hy relative newcomer Denis Gray. Not 11 1mlntlng or mass n1>11Cal. but dlflerenL enou h to merit a visit to the S irln Hill Lh11c. hut has now lorgcd :1 special pllfl' • for llsPII In Lhe Qur1•nslantJ art world. Its serrN is Its constnntly clurngin~ emxrd cxlublllons of 1mlnllngs. Thr Young Masters Oallerv secm!l hfghly selective In its use of Qu1,cnsland artlsLs. Works by James Hohnyurd. Les McDom,ugh, :u11l Frank de Sliva have - Ileen hung there recently. In the spectrum of j')opulur gallrries one could not overlook Brlslmn'ii·s ~ clcmo& Oallrrles on the corner of Edw;1rd and Mory Sts. They too. concrnl.rate on Queensland artist.,. Wendy Hartmann Is the fairly recent owner of Mclnrws aud s Jllanning u Chas Ludlow exhtbiUnn from October 3 to 15. He recently Loured thr Allee Springs area, and hopefully will have captured some• of Lllf' outback in wul.ercolors. rr this Is the age of I.he specialist In arts. then The Printmakers Gallery am1 Workshop at lndooroopllly deserves special success. SENSITIVE Directors Monika and Brian Hal.eh exhibit only limll.ed edition graphics. All works nre hand-printed. Additionally the Printmakers Gallery and Worksho11 offers ILs worksl1op laclllUes to people interested In seeing how prints are actually 11mduced. While local artists have been well-represenl,r.d in recent months Printmakers arc 11resentlng some very sensitive woodblock Jll'inLs from Japan. , At crass-roots level lies the CrafLs Council. Only live months ago they moved Into I.he Brisbane Community Arts Cenl.n' In Edward St and they are true to name - they continue 1.0 promote and exhibit the work or Qurensland cralts1ieoplc. Their variety seems llmiU~s - stained glass, cmbroldrry, and In October this vear a leather and wood exhibition by Col Portley and John Llnek. Queensland cultural devotees cnn be thnnklul for I.he Renerous cash a.55istanc1, ol many private enlcrrirlsc organisations. One, in fnc:L, was formally honored Inst year, when The Business In Arts trophy wrL~ awarded to Callex Oil In Queensland. It wa.s. well deserved. They hnve s)IOnsored Lhe nrL contest for Warana for the past 16 years. Further - Cnltex has ·sponsored art contests all over the Stnl.e. to the tune ol $18,000 la.,t year alone. In the Queensland art display from Cairns to Ingham, the young artist whose work appeals to you may wrll have received his first Pncouragemem from Call.ex or some other public spirlLPd commercial organisation. ·