GROUP SHOW OPENED

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27471, 4 October 1954, Page 6

GROUP SHOW OPENED

The 1954 Group Show, a very comprehensive exhibition of New Zealand art and craft work, was opened in the Durham Street Art Gallery on Saturday evening. The group comprises a number of independent artists who produce a show of contemporary art and craft work each year. The wood carvings are particularly outstanding this year. There are more than 100 paintings in the show, representing a wide variety of styles and subjects. Other exhibits include pottery and jewellery, as well as the wood carvings. The paintings and drawings include water colours, oil paintings, and pencil, chalk, and crayon drawings. The pictures exhibited include some fine portraits, vivid country scenes, restful landscapes, and interesting studies in which abstract form and colour relationships are used. Some contributions from artists now living in parts of New Zealand other than Canterbury will show differences in style from the other works exhibited. A number of the entries show considerable advances over earlier works by the same artists. A very high standard of technical excellence is often obtained. Unusual lighting effects, the use of cloud forms in the design of pictures, the adaptation of material forms into coherent pictorial design, and the assured use of strong colouring are characteristic practices of a number of exhibitors. Z * t A very delicate sense of design m the tracery of a winter tree is a feature of one picture, while there are monotones in which the quality of the blacks is exceptional . Originality of conception is evident in a number l of ccses, and several exhibitors reveal special individual talents and characteristics. r