Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

"TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. by Daniel Thomas ONLY two exhibitions this week, plus adVallee listings of some of the year's more interest- ing shows. Barry Stern has 14 plc - The best; drawings 11 Shows tures, old and new, by various Australian artists. Donald Friend, 1952 an 1953, and by Blackma.l. 1959. The most instruc- more successful In its easy tin: Andrew Sibley, 1962, or unambitious way than In his present work but far Just much better than his less Interesting; and a Daryl Hill watercolor, 1960, new ones which now seem hankering after the weight Kahan, George Lawrence, of oils. (It's time some- Sheehan, 01ley. one gave Hill a watercolor Clime Galleries reopen exhibition to himself.) The this week with sculptor least familiar; Keith Stuart Devlin, then John Looby, 1961, with a swarm of fat, candy -pink infants Olsen with tapestries and nesting in a dog cart (he kainted ceilings, then left Sydney for Italy a few charles Blackman. years ago while still very David Jones has a very young); and Owen Piggott good international list. with sticky ridges of blue Spyropoulos, Greek school hessian collage (he's from el Paris abstractions In Melbourne and might have March. then decorative looked at Peascod). The arts in May, recent paint - rest are much as usual: tags by Sidney Nolan, Lynn, Jones -Roberts, Pro June, Rodin, sculptures ; Hart, etc. and drawings. July, paint- ings by Matthew Smith and DAVID BLACKBURN Roderick O'Connor, Sep- tember, Thai sculpture. Also the usual Wills and David Blackburn twat- ters Gallery) is a sort of Transfield sooty pre-Raphaelite. That Dominion, At . present re- fs, he looks obsessively at building, reopens March. trees and grass and earth, Scheduled are Michael finds all sorts of moralities Shaw, Albert Tucker, in therm and draws them Michael Kmit, Francis beautifully-in his case, in Lymburner, C.A.S. annual black pastel, velvety and exhibition, lithographs by dense. Picasso and Chagall; Max The pre-Raphaelites had Meldrum and others. problems organising these Komon (rebuilding), pictures, solved best by Hungry Horse (still avoiding the issue and fill- closed). Gallery A, can't ing the entire picture with be contacted at time of elaborated detail. writing. I think Komon Blackburn is rather the plans Tate Adams, and same, The single tree probably French, Williams, stumps are Just well -drawn Pugh. The Hungry Horse commonplaces, the few I think plans John Stock - colored pastels of land- dale, beck from U.S.A. and shines abstracted into and Gallery bright patches are in. A is due to show Lanceley dined to fall apart, though before he goes oft on his one a pure impressionist, Rubinstein scholarship. is happier. and impression- Macquarie: This weeic, ism, like pre-'1aphaelittsin, excellent engravings from often found unity through all-over elaboration. the Hayter studio. Paris. Then Milgate, Connor, But when Blackburn fills Leckie. In May Fair - each sheet with a crowd of weather's drawings for his strange realities he shows book "The Drunken himself as interesting a Buddha," if the book gets new artist as one could printed on time. wish. He is English, born 1939, living in Melbourne Farmers: February, John since 1963, and this is his Yule. March, Hans Erni, first show in Sydney. Swiss draughtsman, a tra- Prices 18 to '15 guineas, the yelling exhibition already high prices for four or five seen at National Gallery sheets focused together. of South Australia, April, Young Contemporaries. COMING SOON June, Owen Shaw. Plus their own excellent annual The year's exhibitions survey of the Sydney don't seem so good as 1984, scene, the Fashion Fabric but then last year was Prize, the CA.S., the Syd- probably the best there's ney Printmakers. ever been for overseas art. Stern: More small group Art Gallery of NEM.: shows, of young artists like Three touring exhibitions: Looby, Kitching, Schlunke, "Recent Australian Scalp- or of neglected interstate 1;..e," the first -ever stir- older ones like Mary Mac- vey, April-May; "The Art queen, a sensitive Mel- of Drawing." European bourne watercolorist. masters, some of match- mooro, the less beauty, and a few Aus- shows, vassnieff.oneman James I:aliens, a delightful ex- Cant. Also German etch- hibition. in June: the long- togs of 1020. :iwiu,ed Ian Fairweather Waiters: Dick Watkins, Retrospective, July -August. various young artists and The first two arranged by Maximilian Feuerring. Melbourne, the Fair - The Little Gallery I weather's by Brisbane. be - For Sydney only, Chinese Ceramics from Australian collections and from the. V, and A. Museum, London, August - September. No Rubinstein Scholarship in 1965, it will be March, 1966 instead. The Australian exhibition for Japan, tentatively listed for Sydney before departure, now has to catch an earlier ship: a pity because we enjoy these surveys of our own art much more than foreigners ever do. Art lovers Darlingburst Galleries opens February 18 with a big bang; paint- ings from the studio of the late Godfrey Miller. Then at monthly intervals San Herman, Donald Friend, Ray Crooke, Elizabeth Cummings, H ahaw lieve is due for Elizabeth Durack, and the Under- wood for John Allcott.