Thursday, July 8, 2010

man + land


Kevin Connor, c.Red church, Gladesville, 2010, oil on canvas

July seems to be the month for the painted landscape; three galleries, three exhibitions that feature a male artist and his interpretations of the land. For Kevin Connor (above and below) its an urban setting that he is experiencing; for Chris Langlois it is the rural settings near the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina Distrinct NSW; and for New Zealand born Euan McLeod it is a glacial expedition that he is interpreting...
Each one has tried to capture
A moment
A place
And an energy
that is unique to them and that landscape...

Kevin Connor, c.Red road to the city, 2010, oil on canvas

For Kevin who has a studio located in Darlinghurst, the energy that he is giving us is frenzied and out of control! There is not one place that feels comfortable for the eye, as you dart around the canvas just as his hand has darted around with a loaded brush. The colours are muddied and urban and the picture that he is giving us is of a manic city that is full of confusion and intensity.



Kevin Connor, f. evening light, Riley st, 2006-10, oil on canvas


Chris Langlois, Landscape, Porphyry Point, 2010, oil on linen
For Chris Langlois the land is much calmer and the energy more fluid and contemplative. It is as if he has floated out onto the Murrumbidgee River in a boat and sailed down with the current, drawing and sketching as he went. His exhibition at Rex Irwin Art Dealers is similar to the feeling we get from the works, in that it is quiet, calm and restrained space. Funny that! I definitely felt as if I was in a meditative state after leaving the show and in a world that was the direct antithesis to Kevin's... The works did bring to mind the brushstrokes of one Arthur Streeton; taking a step back in time to a place where time stood still for more than a mere moment!

Chris Langlois, Landscape, South Creek, 2010, oil on linen




Chris Langlois, Landscape - Pipeclay Point, 2010, oil on linen

This was one of my favourites...I love the blue dusky light and the frosted feel...
Abstract in a way, and alittle like Mark Rothko don't you think?


Chris Langlois, Landscape - Middle Creek, 2010, oil on linen



Euan McLeod, Snowstorm, 2010, oil on canvas


And then there is the third way.
Euan Mcleod and his large interpretations of man - 'the explorer'!
This landscape is bitterly cold and raw, as if man is constantly struggling to come to terms with his sense of place within it. Its a harsh land and man is definitely the outsider... The energy that Euan is trying portray is all about the natural elements of the snow, the wind and the ice. A little reminiscent of Peter Booth, these works are as much about the exterior scape as they are about the interior worlds within the body and the mind. The works feel alittle like an allegory of where we are going and what we are trying to achieve as a race...
Euan McLeod, Glacial, 200, oil on canvas
Euan has created some beautiful rugged paintings, with layers and layers of beautiful oil paint that you can smell a block away from Watters Gallery in Darlinghurst!

Euan McLeod, Large Icebergs, 2010, oil on canvas



Euan McLeod, Man and Penguins, 2010, oil on canvas

This painting is my favourite! It's all about the light I tells ya! It may be about man and it may be about landscape, but if it can also capture a sense of light, then its a beauty...!
Euan McLeod
7 - 24 July
109 Riley st
Darlinghurst
Chris Langlois
29 June - 24 July
First Floor 38 Queen St Woollahra
Kevin Connor
3 - 29 July
243A Liverpool st Darlinghurst

No comments: