Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

"TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. The Week in Art by Daniel Thomas BLACK AND WHITE ALL three Paddington galleries have good things at present. They all demonstrate the rich- ness of black and white, two of them with andscape painters, eh- Arart or otherwise. Ernmanuele Raft admit- edly lives in Sydney. but le is Greek by birth and Milanese by training. His subject matter is by no means regional. His one-man show at the Hungry Horse contains 16 black and white paint- hip 135-250 guineas), two plaster sculptures, and 10 pieces of silver Jewellery 120-40 guineas). It is welcome, too, mere- ly for being a one-man solid chunk of original prints (which sithrgli'sa Itfe, and work for seem to be in season, for the visitor to come to grips the Sydney printmakers, awlilththaend grab-bagsrermber fwir recently seen, will be an- competitions and mixed o i :1 swered in October by a shows have quickly faded from mind. group of Melbourne His rather unnerving printmakers). near -human things are They all offer a welcome made of references to :kw of wider art horizons skeletons and flesh, locked than the proliferous local in ghostly embrace. Per- haps they are sometimes oorpses. To describe them as sty- lish. Italianate images of spiritual desperation and of imprisonment by the flesh is not quite fair. Yet they sometimes ap- pear too much "designed." MOTHER FIGURE A T Barry Stern's there is a mixed selection from stock in the downstairs room, in- cluding five good drawings by Raft, one each by Passmore, Olsen and Hodskinson, and small paintings by French, Nolan and Sibley. Kaethe Nollwitz is the w..irld's art. expansive, main attraction, with 18 protective, giving out. The original prints, etchings, strong emotional content lithographs and a few links her with the Ger- woodcuts, at 12-65 guineas. man expressionists. This German artLt But her style is cla.ssi- (1867-11)45) is an acknow- ledged master. most of the cal; solid and ma.s.,ively work having been produc- sculptural in the firmly ed in Berlin before and planted way of sculpture in those years before it after World War I. got off the ground. She Later she came under was in fact a sculptor as Hitler's disfavor for her well as a printmaker. continued concern with oppression of the workers. Easily the ,most impor- .1)e is one of the great tank exhibition on this moth, --figures in the week. ABSTRACTS AND THE Rudy Komon Gallery has two exhibitions. lithographs (some in color) and a woodcut, a Viesulas, a Lithuanian artist now working in the Crisp, forceful but disci - blined, and technically rilliant. The silvery etchings are especially Interesting. fo; example the lithe "Serpent qui Dense," which disre- gards the traditional rect- angular format, and is printed (admittedly on to a rectangular sheet c, paper) from a plate of wildly irregular shape. This print has become 3 fine relict sculpture. Tom Sanders, a Mel- bourne potter, shares the gallery. Here is a caution- ary tale. The potter, a bit nervy, was there when I visited the exhibition, and compulsively began ex- plaining it all. Some time later. when the explana- tions secreted to be repeat- ing. I fled, sorrowfully without having really seen the show. However, when objections rise, one remembers that the artist is only 25, and that this, his second one- man show, is a remarkable achievement. Pew painters of his age can handle texture so well or manage so well on a large scale-the biggest. "Meeting Under Shadows," is 6 x 8 feet, Ftwer still have created a consistent world, have successfully extended their concern from how -to -paint to what -to-paint.. WHAT'S ON TODAY AND NeXT WEER Art Gallery ell HAW.: Sper.e.1 dsplery. tn. pernmnen. cotomiton Maryann Preston, Auetralum luatli and ntute Hltsts. Workshop Art Centre. 5J Laurie St., VIOloughby. I10 p.m. , o.ay . DOW..4.111301 and ahlbitIon of Print makoM). [main."' for new Plum ALL NEXT Welk Hamer, Hornet Conrwaitele Raft, souitongs and jewellery. ri^.7; r...f...:...0.1".1..0.47;'"If4.:9%.-;,r by Ramat *Newt. and t ml Hulett,. by Tom Sunders. Meld Anniversary MOW C. Connell Chambers: Print. by Si, Lionel lieRitY. Sairlege NIrnn ply,. nr, Vogl Beneath, Newtasile. Shasta McDonald Crane. Wont noting.May Barrie. garden criltiv,. 1110.4.1% Town Heel Mosnien Art Prim,.. -5. ,"cradle. Saturelety OPINING TUESDAY UHersity et Stagily, War Memorial Gallery: NUAU'S Trartil.no Ea. ".0,5,50 by student 101.111.. I.50 p.m. Terry Gluon! Robert 'tappet. sculpture. COMM.: Lows Jomrs. Lymburner, Knit. Non.,NwM LOW., Roam: Woad. Pawls by Walloon Marlin, C. Walk Geller,. Hornsby; Fore Painters. Tionedity Gleaner..Leeture-Clasrary Art Setlety After rrali et.ok St E p rn i Tom anImpression for ebroPean An. . F. INC WEDNESDAY Maceinaete Cedric F°16PasserN E di" &IWO Department Gallery Roost Art Socurty, annul 'ambition. C oramNo THURSDAY An .?.,:l.'"P'.1.Z.5,-.*c:.."d1`,11", "" TN LECTURES Art Gallery Smarty. Sit p m.: Scu,pture doscuts.on by Tom dam M.rneel Nichols,. Lyndon Dedsimill. Mary While Scheel, 6 p.m.: 'A Fresh Look a, Naha s ..... Respectable LAUGHS anniversary HUMILITY FARMER'S Blaxland Gallery has an an- THE Robin Hood nlversary show of 50 Prize at the Coln - paintings and a few monwealth Savings pots by 39 Australian Bank, Martin Place, ' artists. The standard has a fair amount of i is respectable, but no rubbish, and the light particular trends are is not the best for defined or discovered, paintings. Textural painting is nos/ But the marble floors well estaolished, and repre- pleasant display sented by Elwyn Ln make it pleasant to visit. (hieratic) and William The prisoners' section is Peascod (naturalistic) in for laughs; the mentally their very best manner. retarded children's section Lyrical abstraction is is for humility and the perhaps less evident than usual amazement at their usual, though Reddington's effortless achievemer.; of "Easter" dominates We true art. whole exhibition. The open sections were Salkauskas main..atna Ma remarkable for the large clean watercolor intensity number of South Austra- Clazzard's nudes operate liana exhibiting. If you in Reddington territory, want to check on Ostoja though less swingy. and by (almost monochrome), comparison more like Jig- Dutkiewics (improved), P. saws. 10azzard won th6 Roy Thompson (a decors - Jaycee prize for artists five peacock) here is your under 40, at Wales House opportunity. iast week. Judge: Guy The winner, Anton Holz- Warren.)net, was South Australian too; a large monochro- matic abstract with a resi- dual structure of German expressionist swoops, Sal-, kauskas won the watt' enter section. POTTERY One is abstract etchings, t 5-30 guineas by Ramos U.S.A. The catalogue tells me there are 62 pots at 5-10 guineas, six outside lamps at 15-25 guineas (these are a superior and permanent kind of Halloween (=a- kin, with a nice red glow when lit up), and 22 ceramic sculptures at 30-85 guineas. The medium is earthen- ware. The sculptures are hel- met heads, made from thrown pot forms, up- ended, cut into, and squeezed. Acknowledgment is made to Henry Moore, though I was assured Sanders be- gan it all before he knew of Moore's helmet heads.