Two very exciting exhibitions have just opened at Traffic Jam Galleries .Both exhibition catalogues include photos of some of the works displayed on a wall in an interior home environment .
Jenny Green’s FIELD OF FLOWERS, running in parallel with Rebecca Pierce’s COLOURPLAY, includes free standing sculptures of pained steel and smaller works of bronze. They all swirl, vibrant and feel alive.Some of the smaller bronze works look like twisting ,falling Autumn leaves.
First we see the tall, standing Primavera series of assorted leaves in various colours
Resurgence in painted orange steel, has a vibrant, dynamic line in its swooping composition .
Next is the Arcadia series of blue flowers with red or emerald centres on a bronze base.
The layered Flourish sequence in various solid colours follows and we see some in a garden using a spring base.
A comment on feminism can be found in the Aphrodite series of armless , very thin waisted with long necks and an oval head that has no facial features models that wear long glamorous gowns.
The Flora series of small standing painted steel Autumn leaves then catches the viewer’s eye.
To complete the exhibition is a pairing of two standing sculptures, again armless with long oval heads and no defined facial features , Hope and Promise in blue-green outfits .Hope wears a dress , Promise knee length shorts .
Rebecca Pierce’s latest exhibition COLOURPLAY, running in parallel with Jenny Green’s, is vibrant , thickly textured , colourful and striking..It has links to emotions , myths and legends and various religious aspects.
Pierce’s exhibition is divided into a few sections – works of Impasto, ‘commentary’ works , sculpture , photography and mixed media.
Her Impasto works include – Black Cinamon , vibrant reds and purples against a turquoise background , with a tree branch in the middle of the composition and a large black segment throughout .
A series of three- Tangerine, Hidden Treasure and Aqua Cluster is next , scattered heavily textured flowers dynamically oozing across the works .
Pink Pussycat is a charming work of red,pink and purple sprinkled flowers with a branch leading the eye to the right hand side of the work while simultaneously pushing back to the left.
Lush 1 and 11 is a pairing of extremely thick blue and purple flowers with a triangular feel to the works.
The Island’s Bougainvillea is a fragrant ,fragile, delicate branch of Bougainvillea leaves , propelling the eye to the top of the work .
Island Bougainvillea I and 11 are far smaller works of deep pink, fallen , dispersed petals.
A series of four more Bougainvillea follow, two on pink ,two on blue .
I have previously reviewed A Very Big Daydream (can you see the orange butterflies?) and Jack and Jill Returns 1 and 11 .
Three delicious bursting icecream cone flower arrangements –Blueberry Bombe, Tutti Frutti Spumoni and Julia’s Pink Cone delight the eye.
The ‘commentary’ works include
Not Every Backyard (ie an allusion to NIMBY, but it is also far more to do with hidden secrets in a family and domestic violence) is dominated by a thick , swirling ,red white and purple surging sea of emotion taking up a third of the work and fragments of doll parts like islands ( broken childhood trauma ?) leading towards the top.
Charters White Moon Floating is a semi abstract atmospheric piece of foggy mountains.
24 Hours The National Capital Art Prize 2022 Finalist is a perhaps somewhat eerie semi abstract masklike self portrait in black , blue and purple , dealing with the grief of a loved one passing
The Motion of Transition , Part 1 Sophie , Part 2 Alex is a reflection on transgender rights and bathroom facilities , with jewel like flowers and a slightly modified bathroom sign.
The diptych Mist Revisited – Castles in the Air , a Heysen Art Prize – Interpretation of Place 2014 Finalist , is a haunting , luminous looming misty landscape in blues an reds – one can feel the mountain of dreams.
Tulips At Cable Tape After Torrential Rains , set in Tasmania , is a misty combination of pale pinks and blues ,
Toxic 15 – Self Portrait With Poison is an intense ,yet soft ,blurry self portrait (behind a shower screen with the black and blue dots ? Or a mental screen to cope with life’s backlash?) Huge sad eyes gaze calmly at the viewer , the person in the portrait having somehow dealt with and accepted life’s shattering events..
The sculpture section features two works –
A Mental Landscape- A Psychedelic State (an RSASA Abstract Prize 2023 Finalist that perhaps in some ways looks like the Hogwarts Sorting hat ),is an analysis of the mind , learning and discovery and the use of psychedelics to provide fabulous texture and colour.
And Look Back (a 2023 Du Rietz Art Awards Finalist) looks like a falling folding scarf yet reveals Pierce’s enthusiasm for motorbike riding with its reflective mirror and cord that also exemplify the possibility of hope as well as the tense tightrope we hike today as well as the disturbing situation of climate change.
With The Motion of Commotion 1 – Exploding Head -Pink , a comment on the ‘ Exploding Head’ Syndrome we see a huge bouquet of flowers ( yellow and white , blues and reds ) in a black and white chequered vase .
Screwed a The National Capital Art Prize 2021 Finalist consists of a dozen pale blue paintings of a boat and the sea, with ‘Screwed’ graffitied over it .The title refers to the engine and the dangers of being on the water , as well as life’s unexpected , unwanted events.
I have previously reviewed Communication Breakdown – Rabbit Proof Fence – a Gosford Art Prize 2022 Finalist and the heavily tattooed Lang Ink Becomes You – Perception Versus The Individual ,a Fishers Ghost 2020 Finalist , Bowral Drawing Prize 2021 Finalist, Kennedy Art Prize 2021 Finalist and Lynn McCrea Drawing Prize 2021 Finalist
Two photos are included – Limitations and Controls 3, an intense, bald ,heavily tattooed young man against a black and white tiled background with soft colourful sculptures covering the lights at the left hand side of the page. This is contrasted with a black and white photo of the same male at the laundromat in his underwear.
The Mixed Media section has the following: Shavings 11-14 , what look like acrylic and resin swirling bouquets of flowers in dark blue with multi layered and coloured accents .
When the Genies Emerge From the Bottle is a portrait of a depressed person, bald with huge eyes against a turquoise background .
Then we see The Dissertation Aluminum , a diagonal angular , oval portrait with a face depicting the environment of rocks etc. which is paired with Stonehenge Aluminum – a somewhat melancholy person with a circular head yet a bright , colourful face in blue green and purple , with tousled short curly hair staring directly at the viewer . They have a long neck and are wearing a striped tshirt . Finally there is The Motion of Commotion 1 – Exploding Head – White Aluminium , a bouquet bright colourful and full of movement which does indeed swirl and burst .It is heavily textured and intense there is both a pushing downward and an upward dynamic feeling of the flowers with the yellow and black checked box as a base.
The exciting exhibition opened 28 October 2023 and runs until 29 November
https://trafficjamgalleries.com/exhibition/field-of-flowers/
https://trafficjamgalleries.com/exhibition/colourplay/