Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, JUN! 24, 1962 The W ek in Art by Da iel Thomas Contemporary Russian graphic art was last week's only new exhibition from over- seas. This is a large exhibition of 150 prints - etchings, lithographs, linocuts and a few woodcuts, some in color, some black and white. There are no silk-screen prints at all. Since this technique more interesting than most first became popular in the 1930s its ab- sence underlines Rus- sia's self-imposed art- istic isolation. Earlier, at the time of their revolution they had a t r e mendously for- ward -looking attitude, and some of thq world's first and most important geometric abstraction was de- veloped in Russia. of the exhibitione in town: It consists of rubbings from ancient Chinese en- graved stones and reliefs. Painting from the Han Dynasty (2000 years ago) does not survive, and rub- bings provide the chief evidence for the pictorial art of that era. Its quality is very high, but quite different, in its formality, from the free- dom of familiar Chinese painting. Some later rubbings allow that the prestige of calligraphy and painting eventually dominated the Now they seem to have other arts, and the in - gone backward. A few tensely personal quality of prints show the influence N brush stroke is imitated of Matisse and Marquet in by the stone carver. The their fauve period, several philosophy of truth to =- relate to Brangwyn, and terials can be ignored suc- most are academic. cessfully by an artist whose Only a few, based on formal imagination is folk art, have much gaiety strong. of color. Some are straight- forward landscapes, and Molvig show many are frankly intended to encourage pork in agri- culture and industry. _TON MOLVIG'S one-man There is little war; and show at the Rudy no anti-capitalism; none Komon Gallery is the of the political and social week's most important pugnacity of Noel Count- event. Now 39, he lives in han. the Melbourne artist Brisbane, where his influ- whose work was shown in once has, perhaps for the Moscow and Leningrad two first time, created a die - years ago. One almost tinct Queensland school of wishes there was. painting. The exhibition is tour- Over the past tew years ing the State Galleries of he has -emerged as one of Australia as a return ges- the two or three best Lure for the Counlhan painters of the younger show. In an adjoining generation in Australia. room at the Art Gallery -of At one stage there were New South Wales this splendid portraits and month's selection from the nudes, then Australian out - Gallery's own print depart- back subjects, and last orient Is, as usual, rather year he exhibited Adam and Eve in industrial set- tings. The current exhibition is also concerned with Adam and Eve, and an occasional prin.itive mask and trop- ical -looking bird might in- 'clicate a Queensland v.et - Ling. His earlier wee IC. a dark romantic expression- ism (infinitely bet',er as painting than Mel',ourne's expreasionism), "as not tied to any ,(articular place, but, since the out- back series, a specific Aus- trallanism seems to be in- tended. This might explain the worryingly Ned Kelly -like helmeted heads, with their immediate recollection of Nolan; these by now are becoming common proper- ty, an all-purpose symbol for asserting an Austral- ian attitude. The technique in the new paintings is also simi- lar in effect to Nulan's "Leda" series, though they are on paper and with what seems to be coloured inks, create the images be- hind a uniform black over- lay. However their painterly quality is much superior to Nolan, and the color ex- ceptionally beautiful and subtle, not merely effect- ive. The helmet heads too have far more pictorial relevance than Kelly's, In- deed all the geometric shapes are inventive, and are at times given quite witty meanings-the sex differentiation, the wheel - flowers or the serpent In Eve's belly. L The increasingly geo- metric and decorative na- ture of these new paint- ings, perhaps also the tech- nique, makes them seem rather lighter than pre - vim* work, but Molvig re- mains a rare and genuine painter. First Bilu A SHER BILU, a young artist, has been known for three or four years in Melbourne. He now, with John Reed's blessing, makes his first Appearance in Sydney at David Jones' in an exhibition of large abstract paintings, hung with welcome spaciousness, and few etchings It is quite impressive. His prime interest is the manipulation of texture. Heavy loads of various kinds of paint are pushed around, sometimes over velvet, or other fabrics. The material never quite takes on a life of its own, as one imagines it should in this kind of painting still fairly new to Australia, It remains a representa- tion of outer space, for each picture contains a cir- cular shape, a galaxy, an astral body, which immedi- ately turns the promising paintwork, which could be the whole subject of the picture, into nothing more than a background, High standard THE Wales House base- ment is now showing Australian paintings from the private collection of John Brackenreg, though inquiries about the paint- ings are welcomed, Mr. Brackenreg runs Artlovers Gallery at Artar- mon, which maintains the best standard in Sydney for Australian impres- sionism, by both dead and living artists The exhibition includes a late Tom Roberts, a Streeton harbor scene of 1907 and Will Ashton Kos- ciusko subject, some Hans Heysen gum trees, and from the Schureck collec- tion a Rupert Bunny sketch. The other paintings are mostly recent, Jean Apple- ton, Peter Laverty, Tom Gleghorn amongst them; and there are some lovely early drawings by Lloyd Rees. Mr. Brackenreg was at Julian Ashtons In the late 'twenties. The only souvenir of this period seems to be an early Dobeil portrait of a woman, dated 19. Finey exhibit AT Ciantai House, paint- ings, constructions, and clay models of composers, musicians, musicologists and of musical works are on view, It is a selection from. a large exhibition called "The History of Music" by George Piney, which Qantas will send, with the artist, to their New York and London of- flees. Finey was. I belive, mak- ing avant-garde assemb- lages as far back as the 'thirties, and did action painting in the 'forties, The Qantas exhibition shows a clever, sometimes funny, use of a great many different styles. The cubist college portraits In wood are especially likeable. It scarcely rises above the level of artwork; It MUM look well in the pates of "Graphite, but not "Art International." As such it will surely make a suc- cessful window display overseas. The rock plans A LL the large models " and plans submitted in competition for the rede- velopment of the- East Rocks area are exhibited In theCommonwealth Savings Bank, Martin Place. The entire area between the Bridge approaches and Circular Quay is to be re- built, but the winner has not yet been announced. All five Lend Lease pro- posals preserve Cadman's Cottage and the Arg y l e Bond. Some of the others preserve the Mining Mu- seum. Serious preservation problems will arise if ever the West Rocks, ardund Argyle Place and Port Street, is to be developed, for there is a great deal worth keeping in that very beautiful area. Of the exhibited models the Hawker - Siddeley Group's shows the most concern with creating an intimate, enjoyable en- vironment at pedestrian level. They include town houses to give a human scale and contrast at the base of the great apart- ment blocks, but their major buildings are unfor- tunate examples of the new American wedding - cake style. New books "SYDNEY IN 1848," just kJ out, is a facsimile re- print by Ure Smith of Jos- eph Fowles' rare book of engravings. In it every building standing in every street of Sydney in 1848 is drawn in elevation, and a few public buildings appear in perspective -43t. James', with its proper spire, for instance. It must have been an enchanting town, entirely Georgian and Regency. There is a foreword by Morton Herman, the doyen of Australian architectural history, and he and Will Verge, a descendant of the famous architect, have pro- vided notes on the build- ings.