Paintings from Antarctica
The mention of Ken Done triggers a rainbow of imagery of Sydney scenes and tropic summer days that are quintessentially Australian. The bright colours and tones of his practice exude the activities of summer along the coast and celebrate Sydney's most iconic buildings. However in his latest exhibition 'Paintings from Antarctica', Done has switched from the warm palette of Australia to a much cooler and demure palette in his travels to Antarctica.
Opening Tuesday 7 June, ‘Paintings from Antarctica’ brings a refreshing cool hue to the Ken Done Gallery. Inspired to support the McGrath Foundation, Done travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula in November 2015. The expedition aptly titled ‘Pinktarctica’ has resulted in the new exhibition, with proceeds from the sales of all works to be shared between the McGrath Foundation and the Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
Limited to a palette of cool blues, purples, and pinks, do not fear that this has at all diminished Done’s flair. If anything this reduced starting point reveals Done’s strengths, with highly gestural and confident works presenting a stunning oeuvre of Antarctica. They range from cool and stately, imposing icebergs, to works that are devoted to the entrancing nature of blue ice. Done has excelled in presenting a colourful insight into a place that one can easily assume is devoid of colour range. Pinktarctica revels in the sunsets that express a new array of colours – a warm contrast to the harsh white and ice blue of the landscape.
Mixing humour and colour in the landscape, Penguins and people III embraces the presence of the colourfully layered visitors alongside the penguins. The almost abstracted figures present a scene that could easily be mistaken to a day on Bondi Beach.
Making their own splash, a series of Antarctica pin-up works reveal the colourful figures that have long called Antarctica home.
New and fresh this exhibition remains quintessentially Ken Done. ‘Paintings from Antarctica’ presents a series of works that prove the strength of Done to create a narrative and sense of place despite being far from his time-honoured subject matter in Australia.
EXHIBITION
Ken Done | Paintings from Antarctica
7 June – 5 July
Ken Done Gallery
Courtesy the artist and Ken Done Gallery.
The curator Con Gerakaris’s considered arrangement of diverse works conjures the distinctive cultural and physical topographies of Asia. Entering A Tear in the Fabric, the...
Walking into Anna Johnson’s studio is like passing through a portal into another world: a flight of rickety wooden stairs leads to the top floor...
After winning the Fishers Ghost Open Art Award last year for her epic video installation Margaret and the Grey Mare, 2023, opportunities across the theatre,...
Co-curators and longtime friends Helen Hyatt-Johnston, Brad Buckley, and Noel Thurgate and Gallery Curator Lizzy Galloway, selected the Buddha from Harpur’s extensive collection of Ch’an...
William Kentridge’s Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot opens with the artist pacing back and forth against the backdrop of his studio, with remnants of a sketch...
To commemorate fifty years since the invasion, Savvas travelled to Cyprus to video her walk from her mother’s home in Kaimakli, Nicosia, to her father’s...
National museums serve as custodians of collective memory. They preserve, interpret, and present stories that shape a nation’s cultural identity. The National Museum of Australia...
The two-and-a half-kilogram catalogue for the Dangerously Modern exhibition, set inside its pink, gossamer carry bag, is the perfect metaphor for this exhibition at the...
As an Italian immigrant, who came to Australia as a young boy, Zofrea’s understanding and connection with the Australian landscape has been a lifelong journey....