Contemporary Art Society of Victoria
Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2023
Review by Joy Elizabeth Lea
What a wonderful opportunity for CAS members to exhibit their art work in the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show at the Heritage listed Melbourne Exhibition Buildings and to be a part of this vibrant exhibition.
Twenty CAS members were able to exhibit sixty six works across a range of mediums and genres. Our exhibition was part of a much larger exhibition showcasing art societies from metropolitan and rural areas of Victoria.
Work for this show was to be loosely based on nature in keeping with the theme of the Flower and Garden show.
Appropriately some artists depicted flowers as was evident in the work by Jenny Scholes, a vibrant and expressive work titled `Flower Study`, attracting many positive comments from patrons to the show. Yvonne Torrico`s painting titled `Peony Rose`, depicted large vibrant blooms showing an intricate knowledge of the flower structure.
`Showtime` by Cressida Fox was undertaken using a mixed media approach of acrylic, ink and pencil and was reminiscent of the works of an early Flemish painter Pieter Bruegle the Elder (1525-1530) with the artist`s depiction of hundreds of small figures of people at the fair. Cressida`s figures were also at the fair, each undertaking all sorts of activities. This intricate and whimsical work invited the viewer to interpret and ponder the lives and activities of the crowd.
Amy Cohen exhibited a number of works and `Landscape #1`, using acrylic, collage and a gelli printing depicted an autumnal mountainous landscape seemingly composed of leaflike images. Amy`s method of working offered a both a leafy and mountainous impression.
The work of Nicholas Scholes was a sculptural but framed work titled `Death is Beautiful` and offered viewers a contrast to that of painting and printmaking. A once beautiful and very much alive bouquet of roses (possibly a bridal bouquet), had been allowed to die but in death and decay had still retained an earthy and monotone beauty that the artist contrasted with a vibrant turquoise of ribbon and frame embellishment.
Violetta Misiorek entered a work titled `Summer Meadow 1` and this was undertaken using a vibrant abstraction of circular shapes representing or offering a particular style of mark making as a substitution for flowers. This was a visually attractive and colourful work.
The method of work for Printmaker Hyunju Kim was that of etching and aquatint to create a number of prints. In the work titled `Rain`, Hyunju depicted clouds as abstract swirls and used a background of mark making to depict the fall of raindrops, all in a tropical landscape.
A skillful work with the use of subtle gradations of colour. Another work `Elvina Bay` was also depicting nature and a tropical forest. Lost creatures from pre historic times were depicted and these invited the viewer to look more closely at the work to study the intricate beauty of the creatures and perhaps ponder upon the creation of life.
Damon Kowarsky, also a printmaker used etching and aquatint to create moody and subtle work as evidenced in the work, `In the Garden`. A tropical garden in earthy garden colours with a contrast of red. Possibly depicting a mythical creation figure.
Watercolourist Sara Sau Wai Fung created `Lotus`, a work in soft grey/blue of the lily pads and the dark blue of the water. The lotus flowers were a soft pink and offered subtle contrast to the to the use of shades of blue. A skillful and well executed work.
Pratibha Madan created a series on the Tree of Life and ` The Tree of Life 34` used mixed media on canvas with representational lines and shapes used to create the form of a tree with circular branches. This work referenced trees that offer life to the birds in the form of shelter, protection and a home. This painting referenced mythological stories and trees as the givers of life in nature.
Textile and fabric art was also evident in the colourful and skillful collage, stitching and machine embroidery evident in a work `The Forest` by artist Robert Lee. This work referenced the vibrance and colours of nature.
The large acrylic and pencil works by Gita Mammen were both enigmatic and subtle and created much interest from viewers.
`Banksia Boy` created using acrylic and pencil revealed evidence of subtle layers of paint followed with the use of organic drawing lines suggesting native Australian plants. It is possible the figure of `Banksia Boy` depicted in the bottom righthand corner of the painting is making his way through the coastal banksias to go surfing.
Another work by Gita Mammen, `The Antigonen Dust Pink` was worked in subtle earth and autumn colours layered and overlaid with portions of text and partial outlines of tall city buildings. Perhaps a work about memories of the forests that once filled the landscape before the buildings encroached upon the natural and forested world.
The quality of work entered in this exhibition was of a very high standard and this was reflected in the positive response from the public and from the generation of sales for CAS members. This CAS exhibition was successful and pleasingly there were 12 sales (18%) of work on display. CAS looks forward to being part of the next Melbourne International Flower and garden Show in 2024.
*******
