I've visited the National Gallery of Victoria's Triennial twice now and I can firmly say I've not experienced everything. There is so much to see some art is skipped, but on the other hand, the scale of many works means that much is simply unmissable. So yes, reclining Buddha, check. Giant skulls filling a gallery, … Continue reading UnReview: Triennial
National Gallery of Victoria
Review: A brush with Vincent
The National Gallery of Victoria winter masterpiece exhibition this year is Vincent van Gogh and the Four Seasons (on now). I finally got to visit on a particularly sombre, grey Melbourne Friday afternoon. Last year the big exhibit was Degas. It was interesting. I recognised familiar paintings of the usual suspects, admired paintings I'd not … Continue reading Review: A brush with Vincent
New Year, Newish Me
After a difficult six months or so for a variety of reasons I won't bore you with here, I've plunged into 2017 with some new goals. In December, I joined a writing club - it sounds exotic - but basically it's a FB group where members make a commitment and get support to keep it. … Continue reading New Year, Newish Me
Review: De ga ga and state of the art
The Edgar Degas exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria is almost at an end. I have been thinking about it a bit, because while I was excited to attend, I didn't connect as I have to other 'blockbuster' exhibits. I wondered if it was me or Degas. Degas could be seen as a kind … Continue reading Review: De ga ga and state of the art
Beethoven/Turner (Overdrive)
There's nothing like writing procrastination research- attending a free gig by three members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing three movements by Beethoven, while in between Ronald Vermeulen, Director of Artistic Planning, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and John Payne, Senior Conservator, National Gallery of Victoria, chat enthusiastically about Beethoven and a William Turner painting they sit before but did … Continue reading Beethoven/Turner (Overdrive)
De rigueur Degas
I thought I would have more to say about seeing the works of Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Victoria and maybe I will. However, more time is required to mull viewing more than 200 pieces all together in the first major retrospective since 1988. It's true that I learned things, both from the art and … Continue reading De rigueur Degas
Darkness & then Light
If the work of Jan Sensbergs was heavy with the portent of industrial annihilation, across the corridor at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square) it was all feathery lightness. I wanted to see Sensbergs, but the bonus was remembering Luminous: Australian Watercolours 1900-2000 was also on display. It was a welcome contrast. The art … Continue reading Darkness & then Light
Sensbergs & Observability
Just before it closes I finally got around to seeing Jan Sensbergs' exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square). His lines and perspectives appealed to me and his vision of cities and interior spaces are not bleak exactly, but not happy. I feel like he and William Blake could agree on the damaging modern … Continue reading Sensbergs & Observability
Exhibition Review: things borrowed, all of them blue
I ducked in to see Alchemy of Colour at the National Gallery of Victoria, as a kind of respite. It was a dark retreat from a Friday afternoon in the city. It was quiet, and peaceful. It was everything I needed. It was blue. Although the exhibit closes on April 3, most of the works are … Continue reading Exhibition Review: things borrowed, all of them blue
Review: Of Marthas and Whistlers Mother
Yeah, I saw Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. So, spoilers ahead. I know, people loathed it. Put it this way, I enjoyed not liking it all, and I didn't hate it either. It felt like a long, slow motion languid symphony for random chess moves, before everything was in place for the action. And then Saruman … Continue reading Review: Of Marthas and Whistlers Mother
Writing Bec 