Last Monday I was up with the sparrows, booted and spurred and in the Benalla Art Gallery by 10 am to hear Kirsty Grant give her talk on Robert Jacks’ artworks.
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The talk was free and part of the gallery's First Mondays series.
About 40 of us were there among his abstract works that portray music and the guitar in particular using a range of mediums, from cardboard cutout sculptures to precise flat painted surfaces highlighting colour, straight, angular and curved lines.
Kirsty was previously at NGV where she co-curated their retrospective exhibition titled Order and Variations. She is very familiar with Robert Jacks’ works.
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We learnt about his art journey and philosophy. As an art teacher he suggested that students think of their works as a pendulum and look backwards and forwards to develop their art.
He followed his own advice.
Many of the works have been loaned by his family but the Benalla Art Gallery has owned a major piece since acquiring Compelling vesture no 4 in the 1970s, based on Patrick McCaughey's recommendation.
He was then director of the NGV and his advice influenced the Benalla Art Gallery to collect abstract and contemporary art ahead of the times.
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This is a must-see exhibition that finishes on August 1. It will be replaced by another blockbuster Fem-aFFINITY, a touring exhibition by female artists of mixed abilities.
Fortunately I had seen the abstract works in the Simpson Gallery by three ‘local’ artists that complimented the Jacks exhibition.
It finished last Sunday and will be replaced by Kim Westcott's works conceived in the Warby-Ovens National Park and influenced by nature.
Benalla Art Gallery director Eric Nash likes to have each gallery complimenting the other to develop a theme.
Kirsty's talk was engrossing but it was coffee time when it finished and a little fresh air was needed.
Outside I witnessed budding young Benalla artists having a great time using spray paint and stencils to create their masterpieces.
The ‘street art for kids’ school holiday program was developed by local artist Clinton Levy and is run by art gallery staff. It looked like absolutely fabulous creative fun.
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I saw a gaggle of very young children hanging over the balcony rail wishing they were participating too.
After lunch we entered the Ledger Gallery to see the Re-Gathering exhibition that unites the Benalla Art Gallery collection of botanic and floral art with its botanical gardens surroundings.
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We were there nearly all afternoon - it is divine.
The range and quality of works acquired, donated and gifted to the Benalla Art Gallery is amazing and the legacy of Laurie Ledger very evident.
As you enter the gallery there is a pretty botanic watercolour of orchids found in north-east Victoria by Louise Saunders.
There should be a competition to see who can be first to find them. Bushwalkers often see orchids in the Warby Ranges, Reef Hills and elsewhere, but who can find them all?
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Then you see four paintings hung onto an overblown photograph of a botanic gardens flower bed in full bloom. The effect is stunning.
Once in the gallery there is another explosion of colour. Tim Maguire's huge five-paneled Poppies artwork covers a whole wall.
They are digital pigment prints and were gifted to the gallery in 2011. His eight complimentary prints, hung nearby, have also been offered to the gallery as a cultural gift by the Federal Government.
Two other gifts of works by Emma and Arthur Merric Boyd are also displayed for the first time. They make a collection of four works by the Boyd family in the exhibition.
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Eric was so mean. He would not let me take home the beautiful Ray Crooke painting.
Enhancing the exhibition are projected old photographs and plans of the botanic gardens provided by the Benalla Historical Society.
If anyone has other old photographs showing a special aspect of the gardens the gallery would love to incorporate them.
My day trip to the Benalla Art Gallery was wonderful and finished with a walk around the gardens to compare the old and new visions. There have been some additions but few changes.
PS: If you have artistic ambitions check out the Art on Saturday program for adults, starting July 24.
- Suzie Pearce
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