Award paintings displayed

Press, 26 July 1978, Page 18

Award paintings displayed

Benson and Hedges Art Award, 1978. C.S.A. Gallery until July 31. Reviewer. Miehae! Thomas. ' ; ■ Twenty-three paintings selected from some 250 entries for the 1978 Benson and Hedges Art Award Exhibition by the director of the Australian National Gallery, Mr James Mollison, are now to be seen at the C.S.A. Gallery. “Lattice No. 45” by lan Scott, the winning winning entry which won the prize of $3500 is prominently displayed. Broad bands of orange, red, yellow and blue interweave diagonally across the square canvas in a symmetrical rotation. It is an elegant, and successful design, but nothing more than an enlargement of a fence pattern in subtly differing hues applied to the surface of the canvas with superb technique. Distinctly tougher, more challenging, and deserving recognition is Robert McLeod’s splurge of thick chocolate-brown entitled “Big: Brown: Brutal” which refuses to be ignored as it commands the right-hand wall of the gallery. Pat Hanly’s “Pintado

Protest” in which the black silhouette of a nuclear submarine looms ominously above joyous waves against a humid sky, is a masterpiece of direct expression. Nowhere else in the show is paint and colour used so freely and powerfully to express feeling. This is the best painting; it excells for its quality alone in spite of the fact that it is probably the most dated work, both in style and subject matter, in the whole exhibition. Mr Mollison’s preference for original statements rather than reflections of current art fashions is evident in his selection. No paintings are alike, and it is the highly diverse range of the individual concerns of each artist which stands out rather than any particular trend or movement. A strikingly independent figurative “scratched” painting in lacquer is shown by Bryan Poole of Dunedin — perhaps the youngest “new face” in the show. Dick Frizzell’s intriguing collection of comic-strip images entitled “The Faithful Rendering of Harry Brand” which

depicts a curious Robin Hood-like character brandishing a fly spray, is sure to provoke reaction, and .is in complete contrast to the very austere mathematical concerns displayed in “4 into 25: Three Rhythms” by John Bailey in which cleverly executed diagrams in black and white demonstrate the visual rhythms of logically repeated sequences.

This painting deserves more than a fleeting glance as does Eldred Wisdom’s subtle collage consisting of a gauze veil hovering beneath a layer of glass and producing an effect of indefinate space. Both these works appear insignificant initially but are ultimately more satisfying than the more obvious and very wooden photographic depiction of “Deborah" by Gary Waldrom, or Suzanne Herschell’s “Between Sky and Sea.”

The most popular painting — which will receive an award of $5OO and can be voted for on the form in the catalogue — might well be Peter Siddell’s “A Place to Stand.” Priced at $2500 this is one of the most expensive works on display, and its meticulous

detfail always attracts an audience.

A super-realist depiction of a view from an Auckland building the illusion is made more intriguing by the distorted reflections on the window which indicate the view of the hills behind the artist and give the spectator an unusual awareness of the space in which he imagines he is standing to look out over the city. The paintwork is very dull and unadventurous however, and the picture does not have the sparkle of the best photo-realist painting. Other works of distinction include a strong jungle of colourful brushmarks in a grid-like composition by Allen Maddox, and the familiar stained canvas of Gretchen Albrecht evoking ethereal space. A disappointingly imitative Hotere-like panel is submitted by Ray Thorburn, and there is a very technical painting by Wong Sing Tai the winner of a previous Benson and Hedges competition. After leaving Christchurch the exhibitton will tour the main centres in the North Island. Prices range from $4OO-$2700 and so tar only seven works have been sold.