EXHIBITIONS OF EXCELLENCE AND DIVERSITY AT THE COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY DURING AUTUMN During autumn the COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY, a cultural facility of the Cowra Shire Council, is offering a unique program of vibrant and diverse exhibitions for the enjoyment of the local community and visitors to Cowra. Opening Saturday March 24 from1.30pm the Gallery is presenting two exhibitions that highlight artist collaborations. The first exhibition is THE LADY & THE
UNICORN – A collaboration between Arthur Boyd & Peter Porter consisting of an astonishing series of images by Arthur Boyd one of Australia’s most significant artists who worked across numerous mediums throughout his career. Boyd's success in London in the early 1960s and throughout the 1970s introduced the opportunity for numerous high profile commissions and for him to undertake collaborations with fellow artists. London based, Australian-born, poet Peter Porter collaborated with Boyd over fifteen years and they produced between them four significant limited edition books of prints and poems.
Image: Arthur Boyd, late1960s. Photo: Axel Poignant. Bundanon Trust Archive; (Right) Peter Porter, 2009. Photo: Norman McBeath. Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. Gift of Norman McBeath, 2011).
For THE LADY AND THE UNICORN, the second project with Peter Porter, and possibly their greatest, Boyd produced a series of 24 bold and evocative etchings in response to Porter’s reinterpretation of the 16th century tale that has inspired musicians, poets, novelists and artists since it’s rediscovery in the 1840s. “This exhibition encapsulates the story of Arthur and Peter’s collaboration, a unique and generative relationship,” says
Deborah Ely, Bundanon Trust CEO”. The etchings and painting in the exhibition are all from the Bundanon Trust collection. Image: Arthur Boyd, Dearth of the Unicorn II, 1973 – 1974 (detail),
The second exhibition opening at the Gallery on Saturday March 24 from 1.30pm is OBJET D’ART an astonishing art project and collaboration between classic car collector Jeff Brown and artist Robert Clinch. It showcases an iconic 1960s Australian Sports car, the Goggomobil Dart, transformed into an art object by contemporary realist painter Robert Clinch who painstaking hand painted the car over a period of five months with his signature paper darts. The dart motif has persisted in Clinch’s paintings since1985 and signifies imagination, transience, purity and fragility. Both exhibitions continue to Sunday April 29. Image: Goggomobil sports car with painted paper darts. Photo courtesy Jeff Brown.
Opening Saturday May 5 from 6.30pm is the always popular CALLEEN ART AWARD an acquisitive art prize for painting in any style or subject. The CALLEEN ART AWARD was established in 1977 by art patron Mrs Patricia Fagan OAM with the aim of forming the CALLEEN COLLECTION for the people of Cowra to enjoy. The award has advanced significantly through the generosity of the CALLEEN TRUST. This year over 200 entries were received from across Australia and 46 finalists have been selected by a panel of art professionals. The winner will receive a prize of $20,000 and the winning work will join the CALLEEN COLLECTION housed at the COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY. There is also a People’s Choice Award which is nonacquisitive and worth $500 in prize money.
The Calleen Art Award exhibition continues to June 10, 2018.
Image: Zai Kuang, Audery, 2017, oil on canvas, 180 x 90 cm. Winner 2017 Calleen Art Award
Stay up-to-date with Gallery events, workshops and special activities on Facebook and Twitter or telephone the Gallery on 63402190. The COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY is located at 77 Darling Street COWRA NSW 2794. Open from Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm, Sunday 2pm – 4pm. Admission Free