As explained in The Guardian article, “Picture of health: going to art galleries can improve wellbeing”, a study led by King’s College London reveals viewing original works of art can relieve stress, cut heart disease risk and boost immune system. Researchers found that levels of the stress hormone cortisol fell by an average of 22% among those viewing original art, compared with just 8% looking at reproductions. This unique and original study provides compelling evidence that viewing art in a gallery is good for you and helps to further our understanding of its fundamental benefits. In essence, art doesn’t just move us emotionally – it calms the body too.
A growing appreciation for the painters of Utopia has seen a rise in the number of exhibitions showcasing their artwork, including Classics from the Golden Age of Utopia at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney, with paintings by Emily Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre and and Ada Bird Petyarre along with other peers from Utopia (showing until 14 September) and the recent exhibition of Emily’s artworks at the National Gallery of Australia, and now showing at the Tate Gallery, London. The National Museum of Australia mounted a retrospective of Emily Kngwarreye back in 2008 which also travelled to Japan.
Please find links below to a series of reviews for your interest and we welcome your visit to Lauraine Diggins Fine Art throughout September to view a selection of paintings by leading artists from Utopia. Preview the exhibition here.
JOHN MCDONALD – Tate exhibition: Emily in London – not a new TV series, but an historic moment for Australian art. For the very first time, Tate Modern is hosting a solo exhibition by an artist from the former colony. Inevitably, the artist is Emily Kame Kngwarreye – “that old lady” from a tiny community in the very heart of Australia, who passed away in 1996 but left a reputation that has continued to expand across the planet. Artists such as Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Fred Williams may feature in the Tate’s collections, but no Australian has previously been the subject of a survey at its flagship gallery, Tate Modern, which is currently celebrating its 25th birthday. https://www.everythingthe.com/p/emily-kam-kngwarray?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-restack-comment&r=4cgyu3&triedRedirect=true
JOHN MCDONALD – NGA exhibition: There can be no doubt about the exceptional talent of “that old lady”, as she is described by her relatives. The best of her work is simply breathtaking. One marvels at Emily’s ability to switch effortlessly between styles, her self-confidence, the speed and vigour with which she applied the paint. All the detailed studies of her homeland in Central Australia, all the minute discussions of her motifs such as the yam and the emu, cannot explain her natural ability. If the rest of the world is clamouring to see more of Emily, it’s because there’s nobody like her. https://www.johnmcdonald.net.au/2023/emily-kam-kngwarray/
A masterwork by the iconic Kimberley artist Rover Thomas has been donated to the National Museum of Australia in honour of Lauraine Diggins OAM. The large-scale painting Jabanunga depicts the Rainbow Serpent penetrating the earth following a subterranean journey in the wake of Cyclone Tracey’s destruction of Darwin.
Lauraine was a strong supporter of Indigenous art on the international stage. “During her lifetime Lauraine was determined to do whatever she could and use her considerable influence to ensure that many of the important art works created in Australia and overseas became part of the national Estate”, says Michael Blanche, Lauraine’s husband and Director of Lauraine Diggins Fine Art and an advocate for philanthropy. Michael, along with co-Director, daughter Nerida Blanche, intend on donating a series of artworks in memory of Lauraine.
Read media coverage about this important painting below:
The S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney recently posted this video with Director Jane Watters highlighting their holdings of artworks by Jessie Scarvell, which were gifted by her daughter. Scarvell (1862 – 1950) was an exponent of Australian Impressionism who exhibited over 60 of her plein air landscapes at the Art Society of NSW throughout the 1890s. Following her marriage in 1901, she moved to a cattle station in Queensland and focussed on her gardening rather than pursuing an artistic career. Scarvell was included in the Exhibition of Australian Art in London in 1898. Her paintings are characterised by a harmonious use of colour and painterly marks.
The Fierce Girls podcast series on the ABC recently featured artist NORA HEYSEN – first female artist to win the coveted Archibald Prize in 1938 and first woman to be appointed an official war artist.
Nora Heysen’s talent was recognised early by her father, the acclaimed artist Hans Heysen. As he noted in a letter to Lionel Lindsay June 1927 when Nora was aged 16 :
“Did I ever tell you – we have another artist in the family! Nora has decided on the profession, and is showing remarkable aptitude. She seems to possess the natural talent and endless industry and concentration to make a success of it … She draws quite naturally – has a splendid sense of proportion and feeling for design …”
Her skill as a draughtsman was built through dedicated study under a disciplined, academic drawing regime, firstly at the North Adelaide School of Fine Art and later at London Central School under Bernard Meninsky and the Byam Shaw School, where drawing from the live model was a fundamental component of the training.
Her mastery of drawing the human figure is unquestionable and her work exhibits strong modelling and graceful line. Her figures are drawn with authority and fidelity. Heysen moved to Sydney on her return to Australia and in 1943 she was appointed the first female official war artist, travelling to New Guinea where she later returned with her husband, Dr Robert Black, a specialist in tropical dieseases. Her ability to capture faces and people with an appealing accuracy and individual personality is especially revealed in these drawings.
Listen to Zhou Xiaoping talking about his unique artistic practice on The Art Show as aired this morning on Radio National, explaining how he draws on his experience of Chinese inks and rice paper, combined with with western art concepts, including the use of oils and canvas, as well as drawing on the influence of his travels in the north of Australia, particularly Arnhem Land and his connection with Aboriginal people and culture, including the use of ochres. As Xiaoping states, his career demonstrates “cross-cultural artistic practice and brought together the influence of Chinese, Western and Aboriginal culture and art concepts. In this practical process, I realised how important cultural reconciliation and civilisational exchange are. … Looking back at my artistic creation process in Australia, I feel that I followed the path of “learning from nature” from the traditional Chinese culture that I accepted when I was young, then followed that path from China to the world of the Australian Aborigines.” The discussion starts about 1/2 hour into the program (30:36).
The inclusion of women in the story of art history is being more widely recognised and celebrated around the globe, as explored in the following article from ABC news.
Finding shards of blue and white china as a child shaped Stephen Bowers’ successful career as an internationally acclaimed ceramic artist . Read of his influences in “Potters on Pots” in the Ceramic Review.
Stephen’s work is also currently the feature of an installation at the Roche Foundation in Adelaide – his opulent pieces distributed throughout the Roche collection of antiques and decorative arts, providing an opportunity for dialogue, juxtaposition and surprise.
“The old King Billy pine cupboard has been decorated by Tasmanian contemporary painter, Michael McWilliams, who began his career painting on old furniture from his family’s antique business. The painting above the cupboard is a watercolour of Nile Farm as it was in 1962, painted by a Launceston local.”
A recent article celebrates the heritage restoration project of John Glover’s Patterdale Farm in Tasmania, featuring a beautiful antique cupboard painted by Michael McWilliams. McWilliams has of course been a previous winner, and finalist on numerous occasions, of the John Glover art prize and has his own historic home and garden in Tasmania, so it is a real delight to see this connection with McWilliams’ artwork in Glover’s home.
Homestolove.com.au : Inside artist John Glover’s restored Patterdale home in Tasmania. The surrounding bushland continue to inspire more than 180 years after John Glover’s paintings made them famous. 5 December 2018
In conjunction with the current exhibition of John Peter Russell at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a documentary about this fascinating artist will be screened on ABC television Tuesday 30th October at 9.30pm. Australia’s Lost Impressionist examines the relationships and influence of John Peter Russell within the French avant-garde in the late 1880s.
Part of the French avant-garde of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, John Russell was a close friend of Vincent van Gogh and Auguste Rodin, taught impressionist colour theory to Henri Matisse and dined with Claude Monet. Yet history has largely forgotten Russell, who was a key member of this ground-breaking group of artists during one of the most exhilarating periods in art history.
For further details about the AGNSW exhibition which is showing until 11 November please click here.
For details about the documentary please click here and for a preview click here.
