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Marianne
Newman Gallery welcomes the New Year by exhibiting two accomplished
Australian artists, Lydia Kullik and John Pratt, who explore various
themes and issues with contemporary approaches to the figure. Kullik
presents Birds,
Bugs, Chic
a zesty exploration of iconic Australian suburban imagery depicted
skillfully through her etchings while Pratt's series Breakwater
explores the physicality of the figure and the potential broader
states of being through his masterful woodcuts.
Kullik's
etchings consist of two series... In the bird series, Kullik's hand
painted etchings generate her observations within nature and
celebrate the playful links between the suburban and urban Australian
environments and former city dwellers who now inhabit them. Through
the use of rich colour palettes and bold patterns Kullik creates
optical links between the natural world and the figure. The second
series, Insect
Couture,
magnifies insects' body parts and transforms them into surreal
pieces of fashion garb, presenting a quirky and fun take on fashion
trends.
Kullik's
vibrant series capture the significance of nature in her art
practice, as she states "Every
day I spend time in the company of an array of birds, wildlife and
insects that inhabit our property. The natural beauty of these small
and generally ignored life forms are the inspiration behind my new
exhibition."
Kullik
has enjoyed a successful career over the last ten years. She has been
the recipient of several major awards including the Bronze Lion award
for illustration in the New York Festival and an ARIA award for the
album cover "Freak Show" for the band Silverchair.
Kullik has received numerous commissions from both Australian and
International companies such as The Australian Magazine, Coca Cola
and Qantas and has exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions In
Sydney.
The
prints on exhibit in Pratt's, Breakwater
series evolved from a collection of drawings undertaken by Pratt at a
suburban swimming pool and feature the familiar activities of diving,
swimming and floating. Pratt's composition of positive and negative
space along with limited colour palette allows the figure to dissolve
surroundings and presents visual metaphors of immersion, suspensions,
dislocation and vulnerability. Pratt is concerned with tuning
his figurative expression into emotional potentials "I have
always been curious about the capacity of everyday situations to
contain the figure in various guises and resonate broader states of
being. The various movements of floating, submergence,
frolicking, swimming, flailing and diving ... evoke other conditions
of release, vulnerability and uncertainty."
Pratt
Is an established printmaker residing in Canberra, frequently
exhibiting in both solo and group exhibitions Australiawide and in
Europe. Pratt's artworks are also represented in the National
Gallery of Australia collection. Currently Pratt shares his passion
and knowledge of printmedia and drawing as a lecturer at the National
Institute of the Arts.
Birds,
Bugs, Chic and Breakwater
is
on show at Marianne
Newman Gallery, 1 Albany Street, Crows Nest from 11
February to 12 March 2011. Gallery
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 5pm
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