Anyone else out there a Louise Hearman fan?
At her recent exhibition -(an invited entry for) the Clemenger Contemporary art award at the Ian Potter centre here in Melbourne - the guide privately said she thought her work was a bit "weird." Weirdly enough thats what I find most appealing. The portraits on display were all superficially beautiful, so luminous you could mistake them for transparencies lit from behind.
But the subjects were a different matter- painted dreams. You can't get much more quietly confronting than hostile children, toddlers framed by vaguely threatening, phallic plant matter, terrified animals, disquietingly unidentifiable furry floating objects or twigs that looked like alien insects. Somehow this artist doesn't automatically block out what the rest of us do. All are titled as "untitled" and therefore open to interpretation, which just adds to the fun. The full entry plus other work can be seen on websites by Roslyn Oxley9 gallery, or Tolarno gallery.
Theres a great video about her work in the video section at right which was done around the time of her retrospective at the Glen Eira town hall in 2008- a wonderful exhibition which confirmed for me that her work is just the best..
Addendum; I understand that the pic of the boy with his head above the clouds has been acquired by the art gallery of NSW
Theres a great video about her work in the video section at right which was done around the time of her retrospective at the Glen Eira town hall in 2008- a wonderful exhibition which confirmed for me that her work is just the best..
Addendum; I understand that the pic of the boy with his head above the clouds has been acquired by the art gallery of NSW
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