FRI 7 FEB 6pm Gala Exhibition Opening
A selection of wonderful new exhibitions is opening at NERAM on Friday 7 February at 6pm. It’s a gala opening with six new exhibitions – from a survey show of George Baldessin, to the inspiring story of the local White Family, as well as the usual permanent collection exhibtions and regional artists.
From the Maitland Regional Art Gallery, this survey show, Creative Power: the art of George Baldessin impresses with its contemporary feel. George Baldessin was an important figure in the history of Australian art and was a huge influence in printmaking and sculpture in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s. He is represented in all major collections around Australia, the Guggenheim in New York and the British museum in London.
The White family were prominent members of the Armidale community from the late 1880s, who left a lasting legacy of influence, both public and private, that survives in the city to this day. The White Connection connects the threads of the White family throughout Armidale and highlights their involvement in local activities, from community activities to family affairs, providing help and strength in times of trouble. In conjunction with this special exhibition, there is a series of talks recounting the stories of the White Family. The first is scheduled for Saturday 8 February 11am with historian Ann Philp speaking on the Stories of Saumarez White Family and Armidale. UNE Curator Ian Stephenson and architect and heritage consultant Clive Lucas will speak on 22 February and 1 March respectively.
There are 2 permanent collection exhibitions – Mrs Newling’s Drive explores the role of World War II in the building of the Hinton Collection. In 1942 with the threat of invasion, C B Newling, Principal of the Armidale Teachers’ College, had a radical solution to preserving the best of the rapidly expanding Howard Hinton Collection. “In an extreme emergency I could put most of them in my car and get Mrs Newling to drive them somewhere in the country”. This is what she would have taken! A basic aspect of artistic composition is creating a relationship between different shapes. In abstract art this is distilled into its most primitive and immediate form. See what artists such as Alun Leach-Jones and Helen Geier can do with the acute, the obtuse, the straight and the reflex in What’s your angle?
And finally two local artists with selling exhibitions using quite different approaches to their work. In Carried Away, Frances Alter reflects on her relationship with the tribe of Magpies she sees everyday near her studio. She captures the energy and dynamism in the New England landscape – the bounce of light, the drama of a stormy sky and the movement of living things in space. Sculptor Tony Sevil in Outside Inside creates an installation of wall pieces and freestanding sculptural works constructed from recycled objects, and plastic computer parts. The old becomes new in intriguing and quirky combinations of colourful and beautiful objects.
Come along to our opening Friday 7 February with guest opener Adam Marshall, MP Northern Tablelands. All are welcome.
