PETER WEGNER White on white 17 May – 5 June 2016
AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE
AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE
Invites you to the opening
PETER WEGNER White on white
Tuesday 17 May 2016 6pm to 8pm 35 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066 Artist talk: Saturday 28 May 2016 2pm to 3pm Current until Sunday 5 June 2016 Open 7 days 10am to 6pm T 03 9417 4303 melbourne@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au
White on white “While my recent work has focused on portraiture and figurative subjects, the study and examination of the human, I have long held the desire to rekindle my interest in still life. To look inwards, closer to home, to the domestic. My wife Jenny’s wealth of collected objects offered the first spark for this new exploration. These beautiful shapes that curve and twist in an elegance that reminded me of my early childhood when such objects were a familiar part of our own household. The matte white glaze that was popular in the 50s and 60s and the quality of whiteness piqued my interest. There was an allure to exploring this palette, this whiteness. The subtleties of the different shades of one part of the colour spectrum, how complex, how exciting that can be, even compared to a more tonally diverse work. Perhaps I wanted to challenge myself with this deeper investigation of this limited palette, which is as much about the ‘paint’ as it is about the subject matter. Arranging the objects on a white sheet, there is a tribute and a reference to Morandi, whose work I have always admired. Compositionally, however, I prefer to spread out the objects I’m painting so that each item can assume a separate identity. Playing around with the dynamics of the group, positioning the various vases and vessels so that they might appear to communicate with each other. l began to examine the idea of one object being discordant or misplaced. In some of the paintings the dark oil can is the obvious outsider and at times becomes the witness, the knife plays a similar role. The dynamics inside the frame and then as the series grew, the dynamics between the works themselves. Finally, perhaps as an outsider, the nude on a white sheet has become part of this group. So this exhibition is the result of these explorations, a narrowing down, a turning inwards, a study of paint itself, light and shade, the shapes and the emptiness, balance and discord, stillness and tension. A study not of people but the absence of them, of peace, of whiteness.” Peter Wegner, 2016
Shell vase 2015 oil on linen 114 x 91.5 cm
The outsider 2016 oil on linen 92 x 76 cm
Green bowl and white vase 2015 oil on linen 120 x 152 cm
Green vase 2016 oil on linen 121 x 152 cm
Random gathering 2016 oil on board 110 x 81cm
Bone handled knife and blue bowl 2016 oil on linen 192 x 122 cm
Black funnel and cloth 2015 oil on linen 121 x 152 cm
The knife 2016 oil on linen 92 x 195 cm
Green vase and blue bowl 2016 oil on linen 92 x 182 cm
Nude on white sheet 2015 oil on linen 182 x 182 cm
A detailed CV for Peter Wegner is available from Australian Galleries australiangalleries.com.au Printer: New Litho Mulgrave Graphic design: The Designery Photography: Bernie Phelan Image: Artist’s studio, 2016
AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE: Derby Street 03 9417 4303
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