Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

"TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. 18 OCT 1964 The week in y Daniel Thomas ar SOME artists are making anxious of invitation exhibitions and exhibitions. "We are witnessing a re- traction rather than an ex- tension of spare In open public exhibitions" says the foreword to the Con- temporary Art Society's annual exhibition cata- logue. It this is true it can only refer to the Wills and Trans/laid competitions as shown at David Jones' this year when roughly 20 per cent of the entries were hung. They thus became good quality cross-sections of what is being done In Australia at present. An- nual round -ups of this kind are extremely valu- able for the public. They help it come to grips with art, to focus on it when the big, unsifted Welcome = reminders Established artists like Louis James, Oleghorn, Peascod give welcome re- existence, about the increasefamillar but lesser reputa- noisesof drastic selection opendo the same. Tauber, Wendy Paramor exhibitions can only numb and confuse the public. Un- til this year only Farmers Surveys and the Rubin- stein Scholarship had per- formed an annual focus- sing operation. (Though this was not the Rubin - stein's chief aim). And there is atill no shortage whatsoever of ex- hibiting opportunities for artists. If they don't care for the Mirror-Waratah competitions in Hyde Park where there is room to spare for everybody, there are still the large and relatively unselective an- nual Archibald, Wynne and Sulman competitions. There are the Royal Art Society, Society of Artists, Contemporary Art Society WHAT'S ON TODAY AND MIRY WICK Art Gallery I New youth Wain: special exhibltIon: Gril.sh &Her, 1004110. from the V a A Museum, London. Von Nonsuch, Newc.s.: Gyottryy Hooper. paintings. Tenn. , Femme:in Various Ratas. praph.c art. Drummer. Town Halt, Drummer. Art Arm.. Sunday, n 90- 9.30. Wends" 9-4 end 7.1.10. NUT WICK Farmers: Contemporary An Inter Annual Exhibition and Tarts Ph". Domini.: PHs Contemporary Chinese Painters. Mannerlet Jams Stanton, painting.. Ilismeet Dodder. Orban retrospective paintInee and pastels, Clump Robin Baynes. Aden. PPM.. Walk Gallery. Hornsby: int. Amos and Laur. Paul. Queensland .'"list at NAN, Unita; Ann.. Grafts, wearing,. metalwork, "OrsTi Jean 6Us door Market Stimet Stern European pictures Not T:,...v.e.dulanng Kl Hr :111%.11.-!"17;21T-e,Iry. nit OPINING TUESDAY Art Gallery et N.S.W.1 Gothic An, from the V a A Museum, London. Hungry Henn Prank HodskinsOn, gaunt,. Irons Spain. Little Galleys Herbnl Sits, drawings. OPINING WIDNISDAY pan Sterns Arch Who.. painter; Wanda Gam. Nn, palm, Conconeerary Art Society, AdJar Hall, align Street. II p.mea .The Coolish Po,nters." by Tarn Gleghsen. T LICTURE But the main interest in much an exhibition !a Mute. And each year there what's new. Reinhard and and the Watercolor Ins- Kitching of course, with ;heir elaborate tales told are enough new competi- pensate for increased selec- 41°144 Shillw " assemblage or coil:m..1i lions established to cos- n tivit in old ones. Not to mention new dealers' gal- leries hungry for anything fit to exhibit. The issues are on the one hand quality, for the sake of public education, and on the other hand oppor- tunities for air- Quality can only be guaranteed by some limitation of oppor- tunities, while a free for all guarantees very un- even quality, The open ex- hibition is no help to pub- lic comprehension of art, but it is nevertheless vitally essential for the, specialist art world. Artists can measure themseiy.. against other artists. they can familiarise dealers and critics with their work, or remind them of It if their work has gone out of fashion with dealers. Sydney fortunate Sydney is especially for- tunate in having a great many large open exhibi- tions. Melbourne has very few for such an important city. and in consequence it seems to stimulate fewer artists to rise into the good second rank when Sydney produces many. Art criti- cism in Melbourne seems more erratic in its Judg- ments too, a possible con- sequence of mostly seeing one-man shows instead of mixed shows, for Judg- ment is trained by com- parison. Outside Melbourne and Sydney the exhibition open to all has very little pur- pose. Of course in Laun- found insight is to have ceston or Tumut or Rend'. illustrated them as dreams GO or Perth they must give instead of further dimin- their own artists every op- Aging_tborms_ms.._......ii- portunity to exhibit. But only Melbourne and Syd- ney are really the growing Points for art: if the artists are serious they will have to move to the big city. So in the provinces the pub- lic and its training in ap- preciation is more import-, ant than the artist and his training In the prac- tice of art. Both kinds of exhibition are essential. The Contemporary Art Society (Farmers) Is the most useful of all the open annuals for it does strive to be an unrestricted forum for the young and unfami- liar. It also attracts some of the untossiltsed old with the help of its (500 Tabs Prize (Judge: Wallace Thornton) which went to a very beautiful pale green Carl Plate. I am not being rude in describing It as abstract charm school, for it does not have that ex- pertise, that sense of being at the heart of a painting tradition, that Frenchness, that the charm school sought in their different figurative way. Commen- dations went to Margo Lewers and Stan de Teliga. Watkins with simpler, her- aldic, colourist's pop art images: these four are at Sydney's new art frontier - an urban, literary and figurative one in place of the romantic landscape ab- stractions, outback or otherwise, of their prede- cessors. Stephen Earle, who's kept quiet since his prom- ising debut a year ago, has moved on frosts elegant de- sign to picture -snaking. The only completely new name to note is Richard Dunn with a big pop art piece of a man and a beast wrestling in a Francis Bacon space frame. From interstate one notes Brian Kewley (Victoria) with a semi -abstract landscape of the kind Guy Warren sometimes does better: and Roy Churcher (Queens- land) no longer mono- chrome and simple cut enloristic and comolex-a.... rich painterly work, bar- gain -priced at 65 ens. James Gleeson (Mac- quarie) sends the usual tiny postcard from drealn- land - over 80 of them - plus two or three ordin- ary sized works. The dream landscapes a r e rocky wastes and seashores, sometimes burrowing caves, sometimes swirling clouds. The inhabitants are meti- culously detailed male nudes, goldenly spotlit In the rainbow mists as they quest for dragons, wrestle with enemies, or learn the secret of flight. For these are the mythi- cal Greek and heroes, Perseus, Odysseus, Hercules and so on. ow the Greek myths are universal dreams made concrete by litera- ture, and Gleeson's ro-