Ignorant waffle: Lyon House Museum, Melbourne

Back in late January 2011 I was able, after a few months wait, to visit the Lyon House Museum in Kew, an inner eastern suburb of Melbourne. I had read about it in the local paper and was keen to visit as this was an entirely new concept for me.

Essentially it is a private home that doubles as an art gallery. The owners, Corbett and Yeuji Lyon live there with their children and, a few days a week, run personalised tours lasting about an hour, for groups of around twenty people, to view their collection of Australian contemporary art. Visitors pay $22 and there are fairly strict rules regarding photograpy and bags etc.

On the whole its a very enjoyable experience. Fascinating as much for the architecture as for the art collection. I mean, how does one combine the long vistas and uncluttered spaces required to properly appreciate artwork, with the untidy intimacy of a family home? This is resolved partially by keeping bedrooms and bathrooms off limits in a series of "boxes" within the larger structure which also has dedicated exhibition spaces, a music room with a built in pipe organ and a video installation room which is used by the children for film watching and sleepovers!

As for the art collection itself, I am sure its very important, with an emphasis on large, colourful slightly abstract works, sculptures by Patricia Piccinini, photography and a huge Howard Arkley. Whilst I have to confess that the collection is not really to my taste, having a fairly architectural, hard edged masculine feel to it, overall it was congruent- both internally and with the house- and humorous, and I enjoyed the challenge of examining and appreciating works that would not usually have interested me.

As there was no photography allowed on the day I have cut and pasted the following from Architecture Australia Jan-Feb 2010 which also has an interesting article about the museum..