Laurence Aberhart, William Eggleston, Noel Mckenna
08 Mar - 05 May 2013
William Eggleston
Untitled (Memphis), 1970
dye-transfer print
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1980
Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York and © Eggleston Artistic Trust
Untitled (Memphis), 1970
dye-transfer print
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1980
Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York and © Eggleston Artistic Trust
LAURENCE ABERHART, WILLIAM EGGLESTON, NOEL MCKENNA
South Of No North
8 March - 5 May 2013
View the everyday world differently through the paintings, ceramics, videos and photographs of three visual artists whose works are connected by an interest in the commonplace, a regional sense of place and a similar visual sensibility in this free exhibition at the MCA.
This ongoing series of exhibitions at the MCA places the work of an Australian artist alongside that of international peers. Primarily known as a painter, Noel McKenna (Australia) joins photographers Laurence Aberhart (New Zealand) who works predominantly with black and white photography and William Eggleston (USA) who works almost exclusively with colour photography.
See how all three artists create intimate scale works and employ centrality in their compositions in subject matter ranging from architecture, environments and signs to people and interiors, capturing moments in time across America’s deep south, New Zealand’s North Island and Australia.
All three share an interest in the stories and poetry of everyday life, drawing their subjects from the world around them and turning our gaze to the humble and familiar. They tap into the wonder of childhood in their subject matter, Aberhart with his images of children and McKenna through his series of paintings of ‘big things’ – a very Australian civic obsession; while one of Eggleston’s renowned images Memphis (c.1969-70), takes on the view of a child, photographed while lying on the ground looking up to a tricycle that looms gigantically, dwarfing the landscape surrounding it.
Discover how Aberhart and Eggleston’s work has influenced and inspired the art of McKenna. Eggleston originally trained as a painter and his use of colour is similar to painting where one colour is saturated against another. Eggleston and McKenna create colour snapshot-like images, where composition is both considered and intuitive. Aberhart’s luminous, exquisitely detailed black and white silver gelatin contact prints are exposed and developed over time, appearing more distinctive than the things they depict, reflective of McKenna’s use of technique to add extra dimension to his humble subjects.
Experience the wonder of the everyday world through these rich images akin to short stories where emotions and narratives are condensed into rich and provocative sensations. Be drawn into unique moments and places through the work of these three gifted visual storytellers.
South Of No North
8 March - 5 May 2013
View the everyday world differently through the paintings, ceramics, videos and photographs of three visual artists whose works are connected by an interest in the commonplace, a regional sense of place and a similar visual sensibility in this free exhibition at the MCA.
This ongoing series of exhibitions at the MCA places the work of an Australian artist alongside that of international peers. Primarily known as a painter, Noel McKenna (Australia) joins photographers Laurence Aberhart (New Zealand) who works predominantly with black and white photography and William Eggleston (USA) who works almost exclusively with colour photography.
See how all three artists create intimate scale works and employ centrality in their compositions in subject matter ranging from architecture, environments and signs to people and interiors, capturing moments in time across America’s deep south, New Zealand’s North Island and Australia.
All three share an interest in the stories and poetry of everyday life, drawing their subjects from the world around them and turning our gaze to the humble and familiar. They tap into the wonder of childhood in their subject matter, Aberhart with his images of children and McKenna through his series of paintings of ‘big things’ – a very Australian civic obsession; while one of Eggleston’s renowned images Memphis (c.1969-70), takes on the view of a child, photographed while lying on the ground looking up to a tricycle that looms gigantically, dwarfing the landscape surrounding it.
Discover how Aberhart and Eggleston’s work has influenced and inspired the art of McKenna. Eggleston originally trained as a painter and his use of colour is similar to painting where one colour is saturated against another. Eggleston and McKenna create colour snapshot-like images, where composition is both considered and intuitive. Aberhart’s luminous, exquisitely detailed black and white silver gelatin contact prints are exposed and developed over time, appearing more distinctive than the things they depict, reflective of McKenna’s use of technique to add extra dimension to his humble subjects.
Experience the wonder of the everyday world through these rich images akin to short stories where emotions and narratives are condensed into rich and provocative sensations. Be drawn into unique moments and places through the work of these three gifted visual storytellers.