Sunday 3 November – Sunday 8 December 2013 Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland Opening event 6pm Friday 1 November 2013 Floor Talk 12noon Sunday 3 November 2013
Russell Craig’s Slipstream, inspired by his travels or appreciation of the sea, refers to concepts of rhythm, motion and natural erosion. The works act as a symbolic metaphor for Craig’s own personal journey of travelling in the slipstream of those that have gone before.
Slipstream: Recent drawings by Russell Craig “...the past is in us, and not behind us. Things are
early sense that this could be his artistic signature. And
— Tim Winton, The Turning, Picador (Australia), 2004
acknowledgement of what has gone before evokes what
never over.”
In Russell Craig’s drawings a wealth of experiences,
so it has become. Yet within the drawing tradition the may follow.
influences, ideas and concepts is brought together in
While a multiplicity of styles within drawn and print media
their origins. His Indelible current becomes a boating
at Redcliffe Regional Art Gallery (2011), drawing and
bow and driftwood rendering the detail of the stern. It is
remains his touchstone. At this stage in his life, to explore
a series of vignettes that invite the viewer to explore
craft with tiny Buddhas as a patterned crevice within the a craft that describes an evolving aspect of Craig’s life journey, with shadowy depths developing a sculptural
feel. His use of charcoal and drawn media acknowledges the iconic tradition of drawing within the history of art
generally and his own mentors and influences specifically. He remembers Victor Majzner’s encouragement of
his drawing at Caulfield Tech in the 1970s and his own
was included in his 30 year survey titled Altered States
the graphic tradition, its dramatic shadows and tonality,
diverse interests in travel, mortality, the environment and
spirituality, it was drawing in charcoal to which he returned. Water, a flashpoint for anyone living in Brisbane in recent years, given long periods of drought intersected with
flood, is a central theme in these works collectively titled
Slipstream. Autobiographical elements are brought to
bear – Craig has been a surfer since he was a boy, and
“So often the random configuration of objects and scenes within my work are suggestive of the serendipitous nature of issues thrown to you in everyday life.” Russell Craig 2013
long term visitation to Stradbroke Island, spending time in
the water, he acknowledges as personally powerful and
“the most beautiful time in nature you can imagine”1.
In Shape of things to come, a series of surfboard-like
shapes is dominated by a woven cane trap, and he
notes, “I like the idea of using the sea craft shape as a
metaphor not only for moving through water but also my
life”. Each of these works is constructed from a series of images that are drawn and then married together, with
their juxtapositions as important as their unity. Drawings
are united as one work around issues, concepts and
aesthetics. In the final process, the merge of a series of
Yokohama Rain, 2013 includes memories of rain in Japan, droplets cascading over horizontals, united with an
eroded surface from Morocco and historic layers captured from Venice, a city both defined and threatened by water.
The spiritual qualities of water and its importance to the health of the body and of the planet are encompassed
in this unique series of vignettes. They see Craig in a
reflective place offering up evocative details to draw the
eye into a journey that is at once his and ours within the continuum that contains a life.
Louise Martin-Chew 7 October 2013
drawings on sheets of paper into one, they are changed.
Aesthetic unity is paramount with compositional balancing and gestural expressive possibilities overriding other considerations.
1
Phone conversation with the author, 5 October 2013.
Acknowledgements Russell Craig would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their valued contribution to this exhibition project:
Official opening – Dr. Anne Kirker Catalogue essay – Louise Martin-Chew Redland City Council and Redland Art Gallery Stephanie Lindquist Director
Redland Art Gallery Amy Wilson
Exhibitions and Public Programs Officer Redland Art Gallery
ISBN: 978-0-9923678-0-0 Designed by Stephen Kolesaric at Liveworm Studio
Images (left to right): (on cover) Russell Craig, Shape of things to come 2013, charcoal on BFK Rives, 80 x 364 cm (detail). (top) Russell Craig, Yokohama rain 2013, charcoal on BFK Rives, 80 x 486 cm
(bottom left) Russell Craig, Shape of things to come 2013, charcoal on BFK Rives, 80 x 364 cm
(bottom right) Russell Craig, Indelible current 2013, charcoal on BFK Rives , 80 x 364 cm
Redland Art Gallery is an initiative of Redland City Council, dedicated to the late Eddie Santagiuliana
Redland art Gallery, Cleveland Cnr Middle and Bloomfield Streets, Cleveland Q 4163
Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm
Sunday 9am – 2pm Admission free
Tel: (07) 3829 8899 or Email: gallery@redland.qld.gov.au www.more2redlands.com.au/ArtGallery