NERAM has unveiled five new exhibitions at their Gala Opening last Friday night.
The star attraction in this set of exhibitions is Capturing Flora: a passion for the exotick from the Art Gallery of Ballarat. NERAM is the only venue in regional NSW to host this hugely popular exhibition. It is the most comprehensive show of Australian botanical art ever held in Australia, and one that will appeal to anyone who has ever looked at a flower. This display of over 300 years of botanical art will take visitors through a historical journey of how Australia’s amazing and diverse flora have been recorded, interpreted and popularized by botanical artists from William Dampier and the early explorers to the present day. The 350 original drawings and prints range from colourful works which celebrate Australia’s vibrant and flamboyant wildflowers to black and white drawings which are incredibly detailed and meticulously observed.
Two regional artists continue this botanical and environmental theme. Robert Cobcroft’s solo exhibition, Echoes in the Hedgerow, takes a different stance, examining how the pioneers of the New England area brought with them the notion of planting out “New England” as a replica of the English countryside. This series of landscapes explores the effect created by combining the Australian bush with more than 150 years of planting English trees. Cobcroft’s imagery is translated as a nostalgic, homogenous binding of nineteenth century ideas together with modern photo technology. Val Allen’s exhibition, Reflections on Nature is inspired by her environment and the coastal and inland landscapes. She captures the changing colours, mood and variety that occur over time.
As always, NERAM also showcases exhibitions from its wonderful permanent collections. Herbert Badham was a realist painter of social urban life, and renowned for his scenes of Sydney. Observing the Everyday focuses on his key works in the Hinton Collection, in particular Girl at the piano and Hyde Park. Complemented by works in state regional galleries and private collections, this exhibition concentrates on the everyday – from domestic interior scenes to Sydney landscapes from the 1930s.
And finally this is the final exhibition opening for 2013, so we are celebrating the end of our 30th Birthday year with one last exhibition from our permanent collections – Splash! Dancing butterflies, party balloons and sparkling tropical fish in psychedelic and vibrant reds, yellows, pinks, greens and blues explode off the walls. Come in and enjoy your art museum. All welcome!
