McCulloch Gallery

Featuring work by artists Liza McCosh, Debbie Robinson, Lee Waddell, Sharon Sarwon, Ilona Jetmar and Alisa Teletovic

We live in a time of significant environmental change, with a growing awareness of the impact we are having on our planet. In southern Australia the prospect of increasing periods and severity of drought appears very real. In addition, Melbourne's water resources are under increased pressure from its burgeoning population.

With this collection, shot in January 2008, Mark Schapper has captured the broad sweep, the medium scale, and the detail of this truly fascinating area, which, together with the Mornington Peninsula back beaches, is arguably Victoria's most rugged and visually attractive coastline.

In any event, for those both familiar and unfamiliar with the area, these images are a timely portrayal of a part of our precious coast that could be seriously compromised by the Desalination Plant if it were to proceed.

Featuring artists Ben Sheers, John Forrest, Josef Marzi, Sarah Beetson, Chris Hutchinson, James Money and Craig Mitford and photography by Bill Henson

'Demonio Azul' and partner in pain 'Diosa', are the super-heroes I invoke when times are tough and arse-kicking is required."

Art work by emerging artist Andrew Mattock will be launched at 6.30pm on Friday 4 April at McCulloch Galleries, Melbourne.

Twentieth Century Mexican Cinema and Exotique( risqué 1950s corset magazine) inspiration behind the fifteen artworks which also seek to represent a journey through mental health issues. The artworks have been constructed from commercial enamels on marine ply-board, which are mediums Andrew relates to from his industrial background. This is painting from the hardware store!

Andrew Mattock explains how the mental health issue theme developed: “I have realised thorough personal experience that sometimes you are molded by family and friends to achieve their expectations, and that achievement of social and career status do not create who you are. In actual fact letting go of these barriers enabled me to find myself ten years ago. “I couldn’t have done this without the help of strong willed loving friends”.

St Kilda based Andrew Mattock is originally from Wiltshire, UK. His past his diversely crammed with car racing, running his family’s automotive business, studying ceramics, back packing to twenty seven countries, painting, freelance computer consultancy and migrating to Melbourne with his Australian wife.

Much has been written about the Vietnam War and its lasting impact on Australian society. Known as the first television war, this most divisive of Australian military commitments remains a controversial subject.

More than three decades after the withdrawal of Australian troops, memories of the Vietnam War still reverberate uneasily in the public consciousness.Despite the numerous histories and commentaries, documentaries and films produced over this time, there is little consensus on how the war should be officially represented in our history.Current attempts to present the Vietnam experience in a way that circumvents controversy tend by default to revert to military stereotypes of Australians at war, and fail to confront many of the unsettling facts about the conflict.

One group of veterans however, has not been so reticent. For the past 15 years or so they have quietly made art about the war.Composed mainly of veterans who went back to art school after their service, they have produced a large body of work, documenting first hand their experience of the Vietnam War.These unmediated art works by Australian service personnel, in large part neglected or ignored by official institutions are a unique legacy of the Vietnam War with a sobering message for the current generation.

Eli Greig: Eli is a Melbourne based photographer and honours student who has been documenting and working with refugees in Thailand, East Timor and with Afghan refugees is Melbourne. His images capture the experiences of refugees and the landscapes of their countries.

The Karen Environmental & Social Action Network: KASEN is a not for profit, grassroots organisation created by Karen individuals who share a concern for the future of their culture and land. It is the first indigenous organisation of its kind that attempts to unite and address both socio-cultural & environmental issues. All proceeds from the exhibition will go to KASEN.

Stunning works on Paper by Tim Storrier, John Olsen, Robert Jacks, Jason Benjamin and Howard Arkley. Contact the gallery for further info or to arrange a preview of the works.

50 Bucks: Bring On The Sluts!

SARAH BEETSON

Beetson will have on display 500 original drawings for sale.

Opening night on Friday the 6th of June from 630pm.

Please join us for Beetson's 2nd Solo Exhibition, "50 Bucks: Bring On The Sluts", opening in Melbourne on the 6th June 2008. The show will feature Australia's first Art Vending Machine - which has been donated by Pepsi Cola. Buyers will be able to purchase an artwork which will be vended from the machine in a 'message in a bottle' fashion, or alternatively make their selection from the gallery walls.

The majority of the moleskin-sized, 500+ artworks will be priced at $50, hence the the 'cheap' nature of the subject matter. This show is not to be missed. We hope to see you there.

Helbourne - An exploded exhibition of text and image
Every so often there is a night where the lives of people are thrust together by the unseen currents of coincidence. On such nights the very fabric of time is frayed and our present is influenced by alternate realities. Our sense of what is 'real' distorts and the impossible becomes probable.

Helbourne is an exhibition that tells the story of five people on one such night.

The story is a character narrative staged throughout the bars and cafes of the Melbourne CBD and is told through site-specific, screen-printed artworks and short stories.

The McCulloch Gallery will be the central hub of the event from which people will be able to experience all the works and literature created.

Illustrated by David Gill and Dave Smith from Qualia Creative in collaboration with novelist Brett Hamm, Helbourne is an original and engaging exhibition that invites the public to explore and connect with the space they Inhabit

The influence of the silver screen on Matthew Kyme’s fourth solo exhibition will be instantly apparent to the audience. He has impenitently captured the mood of Film Noir, a genre of film popular in the 40’s that typically deals with crime drama that emphasize paranoia, moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Filmed in black and white, films of the genre are said to draw inspiration from the stark amoral paintings and cinema of the German Expressionists.

“While there are numerous portraits in this exhibition, I have produced some group scenes in which I have strived to capture the apprehension and strain associated with relationships between men and women in theses films, an atmosphere of tension and brooding. Commonly, these paintings are large canvases with two central characters whose poses, whether provocative or demure, allude to the circumstances in which the characters reside.”

Many of the paintings resemble frames from non-existent films. Presenting the audience with something that albeit familiar, they have never seen before, this ensures the audience freedom to make of the works whatever they wish, there are no actual films and scripts, no rights or wrongs, just a glimpse into something new and uncharted. The title of the exhibition itself comes from a line in the Film Noir classic ‘Phantom Lady’.

At what point does super realism collapse into animation? Where exactly does gothic darkness collude with fairy-tale lights? and how does the most innocent absence of recent departures imply intrigue and a sense of dread?

Ben Sheers plays with paradox; it lurks and pervades his canvasses whether in his narratives of uncertainty; his choice of colour and his use of light and shade. These paintings deal with what Freud termed the 'uncanny'- they trap enigma in sublime stillness invoking the kind of terror and beauty that Kurtz voiced in the last lines of The Heart of Darkness: 'The Horror! The Horror!'
In 'Experience',the eye is drawn to the gleaming yellow sports car as it takes on a transcendence under the fluorescent lighting. Outside less exotic cars wait looking like preying things, in more murky golden lights and yet all are unpopulated. A scenario is set - but it is non-negotiable.Something is about to happen or perhaps has happened. The question of whether we are looking at a crime scene in preparation or one after the fact is equally represented in 'headlights' whereby we see a car with headlights ablaze making material a place of calamity. Trees have fallen, a disturbing stillness envelopes the viewer as he or she ponders whether the car will descend over the cliff where a clearing has been made or whether there has already been a descent from an 'other' and somehow the represented car is party to the event.Similarly in 'Meeting 'where the lines of things and people are a little blurred and in the eerie light of dawn or sunset take on a quality of animation. We ask what plot is being hatched, what crime has been completed , what illegal exchange is in progress and yet it is not something we can solve- It is a scene that will haunt the viewer, and like all things uncanny, it is a scene to return to again and again.

None of the places depicted are inviting but they cannot be ignored- they enchant darkly;they put one into a trance as we feel drawn into something old and familiar and yet it is a familiarity that is indecipherable or in some way not able to be submitted to 'reality-testing'. This is the world of the uncanny.

'Servo' and 'Silence' are stills of stillness and locked memories.The almost innocent picture of ordinariness in 'silence' disturbs us as a place of tattooing and in the light that unfolds its activities it seems to allude to other stories that emerge from the idea of further images inscribed on the body as tattoos.

'Under constriction' takes they eye across an extraordinary industrial scene in the paint of whites and varied shades of grey both in the large objects and the prevailing weather and time of day. And yet that bright blue rubbish tin with the open yellow lid promises not only the fact of past activity but the promise of more.
Ben Sheer's paintings have found new territories of exploration. These extraordinary images of our world , our memories and our uncertainties are bound up with the dualities of loss and discovery, action and stalemate; super realities and their reflection and finally tap anxieties associated in childhood but haunt as as adults; silence , solitude and darkness.

September 14th

New Paintings by

Carlo Billing

Sensitivity to the plight of the oppressed peoples in situations of exploitation and war interested Rudd from the outset of his artistic career. Many of his early paintings and drawings show an inner, psychological questioning of the effects of displacement caused by war and the alienating effects of living in large cities. This has led the artist to enthusiastically explore the pictorial effects of paint within the rich context of popular culture – an ongoing inspiration of his to this day.

By the turn of the 21st Century, Rudd’s political persuasions became much more clearly discernible in his music and visual art. In his visual art in particular, he became much more dedicated to exposing the contradictions and injustices within the current, global system of neo-liberalism. This has led to a growing multi-disciplinary approach to his art including the development of The Carriers Project. His simple objective was to expose his paintings to very large audiences by carrying them on foot through busy city streets, shopping malls, major art museums and fairs to inspire debate about art and politics. As expected by the artist, there have been many confrontations with authorities.

Rudd currently continues to enthusiastically explore the potential of painting’s role in society while planning many other projects involving public installations, interventions and experimental videos in Latin America and South-East Asia . He truly believes that art is a weapon and that in today’s current global climate, should not only be relegated to the matching of somebody’s couch.

15 emerging and Australian artists creating works inspired by the alcoholic drink Absinthe. All works on display will be 50cm by 50cm each.

October 7th till October 20th

New paintings by

Jason Moad

Lifelounge has hand-selected 12 talented artists, designers and typographers from around the world to collaborate on a unique typographic project entitled, Some Type Of Wonderful. Coming from a variety of backgrounds in everything from traditional fine art to graffiti, graphic design, illustration and typography, each artist has been given a design brief relating to a designated month of the year.

The artists include:

ALEX TROCHUT (SPAIN)
MERIJN HOS (THE NETHERLANDS)
JESSE HORA (USA)
SI SCOTT (UK)
HELLOVON (UK)
MERDA (AUSTRALIA)
TIMBA SMITS (AUSTRALIA)
PUZLE (AUSTRALIA)
JUSTIN LEE WILLIAMS (AUSTRALIA)
NIELS SHOE MEULMAN (THE NETHERLANDS)
STEVE “ESPO” POWERS (USA)
LUKE LUCAS (AUSTRALIA)

You can refer people to the Some Type Of Wonderful website (http://www.lifelounge.com/sometypeofwonderful) for more information also.

Light Chasing! is an exhibition in which I have explored the notions of the spiritual and its relationship to light. Wassily Kandinsky's book Concerning the Spiritual in Art sparked my interest to investigate the connections between painting and the spiritual. Being greatly influenced by the theories of the sublime, these works are a response and interpretation of how light, and its effect on our surroundings, can evoke a spiritual experience.

Oils have a luminous quality that I employ in my works to create a type of atmosphere and mood that hopefully draws the viewer’s eye into the painting – a quality I find strongly appealing and evident in the works of Rick Amor, Louise Hearman, Caspar David Friedrich, Edward Hopper and JMW Turner.

I am drawn to the works of Rembrandt, stopping to admire the effects of chiaroscuro, and to peer into the darks and lights. The ability of light to distort objects and illuminate shadows, creates interesting forms and colours. Distortions can affect how we see our world and challenge our perceptions of it; they preoccupy my thoughts throughout the whole process of creating my paintings

Exhibition featuring works by Tim Sommerfeld, Susan Mcminn, Justin Lee Williams, Sonya Veronica, Carlo Pagoda, James Money, Andrew Mattock, Jason Moad, Van Rudd and Justin Varga