Installation view - Neon Summer
Neon Summer
2 December 2017 - 4 February 2018
Glasshouse Port Macquarie Regional Gallery
This exhibition explores how contemporary art can inspire our imagination and create a dazzling world through vivid colour, magnificent form and breathtaking fantasy. The exhibition features splendid work by internationally recognised contemporary artists Troy Emery, Reuben Paterson, Kate Rohde, Simone Rosenbauer and JP Willis.
Troy Emery explores our complex relationship with animals in his colourful ‘fake taxidermy’ sculptures. On the surface Emery’s works may seem playful and mischievous – however there is a deeper side. Emery is profoundly interested in exploring the tension between decoration and representation in his dislocated animal forms, they explore the history of our relationship with animals and how this is underpinned by our ability to give meaning to them and use them in allegory and metaphors.
Reuben Paterson creates magnificent paintings with glitter and diamond dust. His works are inspired by the modernist tradition of pattern and form. The seductive and reflective surface of his works are magical and transcend the ordinary. The works explore our spiritual and emotional connections to people and the environment and conveys intangible ideas drawn from his personal beliefs.
Kate Rohde creates an enchanted world of magic and wonder in her vivid installations. Rohde’s work is quizzically inspired by the highly decorative and embellished 18th-century French Baroque and Rocco design periods. Her work transforms the ordinary into magical as she creates exquisite objects with transparent and brilliantly coloured resin. Rohde takes us on a delightful journey in the fantastical where our imagination has no limits.
Simone Rosenbauer captures the essence of summer in her photographic series Like Ice in the Sunshine. The humble ice block is her muse, she captures the ephemeral of nature of fleeting moments, fond memories, love and loss in these affectionate portraits. As the sun melts these beloved icons, colours merge, separate and pool melting into the flow of life.
JP Willis’ vivid works are reminiscent of fairground colours, childhood holidays and bright sunshine and on closer inspection the mandalas reveal a darker side. The designs are created from a meticulous repetition of machetes, AK47 assault rifles and MIG jet planes that transcend the brutalism of function to celebrate the raw beauty geometric shape. The works reference a Buddhist path to the end of human suffering, the attainment of enlightenment and the immanence of sanctity in the universe.