Rich resources inspire, reward
THE elements and principles of design are the structural components that artists combine and manipulate to give form to the content and meaning of their artworks.
This framework generates a sense of unity that gives an aesthetic dimension to visual communication.
Texture references the physical surface of objects and is one of the elements that has a daily effect on our lives. In the visual arts texture can be actual, that is tactile, something that we can feel as well as see. But it can also be invented where flat, smooth surfaces give the impression of texture.
The Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery has rich resources in its various collections that inspire, reward, and instruct both artists and viewers. Acquisitions from the Contemporary Wearables Award Exhibitions offer a beguiling ranges of textures, both actual and simulated. One work, “Red Emperor”, by William Dowd and Lesley Angus uses the textures of patterned fabrics to offset the embellishment of sequins. While Sean O’Connell’s “Snakey” allows the sheen of the stainless steel to merely suggest a surface texture.
Works by Brisbane-born painter Robert Barnes show his fascination with the rich consistency of paint. Using the technique of impasto, he layers the surface with thick accretions of pigment that seem to sculpt his domestic interiors. Other works such as Davida Allen’s “Landscape of a vacuum cleaner” and Stephen Baxter’s “Queeeeeensland” also celebrate texture with their lush, heavily trowelled paint that softens edges and blurs detail.
Collage is another use of actual texture. Famously used by artists such as Picasso, Braque, and Berlin Dadaists like Kurt Schwitters, it is a technique that creates compositions by gluing paper, fabric, photographs, and a sundry objects to a backing.
Irene Amos, who bequeathed her private collection to The Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, used old dress patterns to create a series of collaged works. She also made sculptural assemblages using memorabilia in her “Totem” series, as well as using decorative patterning to create visual texture in her paintings.
Invented or simulated texture can be produced on smooth flat surfaces through light and dark tonal variations This is seen to dramatic effect in the photographs of Marzena Wasikowska. Her “Forensic landscapes” are eerily compelling, the texture is implied by the rough, seemingly impenetrable brambles, the viewer only too aware of their sharp density that seems to harbour a lurking presence.
With ceramics the surface may be smooth to touch, yet texture is suggested through the particles in the chemical oxides suspended in the glazes. This simulated texture can be seen in the works by Jeff Mincham, Warren Palmer, and Ray Taylor.
The breathtaking impact of the extreme visual illusion in trompe-l’oeil works indeed “fools the eye” as in Jacqueline Hill’s fascinating facade for the Who Shot the Barista Cafe in Brisbane’s West End.