Initiatives offer eclectic imagery
From ACO Virtual at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery. SOLO exhibitions and group initiatives offer intellectual challenges, ‘post card’ paintings of memories and simple pleasures, eclectic imagery in the pursuit of the symbolic self, and an inter-active installation that invites the viewer into the heart of an orchestra.
RAYGUN, 249 Margaret St, is the second venue for a site specific construction by Mace McGregor. A version of “One Painting, One Wall” was first seen in the Pink Ink Gallery at the University of Southern Queensland.
At RAYGUN the refined simplicity of Minimalism again comes into play with single line geometry that addresses the constraints of architecture. The wall painting negotiates the individual structure of the gallery, analysing both the concept of space and the experience of the space.
The implied imponderable question of whether space has boundaries may be answered in the accompanying painting whose simple geometry invokes a suggestion of infinity.
The Cam Robertson Gallery at the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is hosting a retrospective exhibition by regional artist, Dianne Turner.
The display comprises paintings made over the past thirty years by this self-confessed naive artist. Simplicity, charm, and a celebration of life seen in the work of exponents in this genre such as Henri Rousseau and Anna Mary Robertson Moses are also significant in the vivid freshness of Turner’s artwork.
Pattern and detail merge background and foreground in a riot of colour that tells stories, shares feline friends, and vignettes of memory. The simple but bold style is translated perfectly to a selection of icons that have the precious elegance of sacred relics. The exhibition has warmth, humour, and a sense of joy.
The atrium at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is an ideal choice for “Symbolic Self,” the fourth exhibition by members of Arts Council Toowoomba.
The artists have responded to a challenging and broad theme and have produced an eclectic but coherent exhibition that fulfils the brief while allowing each artist their own distinctive interpretation.
Materials from sardine cans and tea bags to vinyl records, found objects and newspaper printing plates explore environmental concerns, domestic issues, hobbies, and personal philosophies. Of particular note are works by Ann Alcock, Deborah Beaumont, Christine Brassington, John Danny Daniels, Mary-Kate Khoo, Nikki Laws, and Jennifer Wright (Summers).
Gallery One at the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery has been transformed into a concert stage through the amazing digital interactive installation, “ACO Virtual”.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra has joined with the digital media company Mod Productions to give audiences a unique insight into how music is performed while experiencing the sensation of being on stage in the middle of the orchestra.
An interactive touch pad allows viewers to choose individual musicians, a selection of instruments, or a group of players as beautiful music soars and surrounds giving additional dimension to the experience.