'Connections,’ at the C.S.A.

Press, 25 October 1985, Page 9

'Connections,’ at the C.S.A.

“Connections,” at the CSA. Gallery until October 27. Reviewed by Jonathan Smart Twenty works are shown by four men, the connections being less of art than of friendship, art education and travel. Having said this, and in spite of the diverse nature of the show, there is in the work of the two New Zealanders and one of the Americans a strong sense of place. John Emery’s paintings explore the visual and magical qualities of artefacts from American Indian culture. Chris Taylor’s paintings quote a semiabstract form the lumbering lock forwards of New Zealand rugby. Maurie Angelo, having painted the South

Island landscape for more years than he probably chooses to remember, uses the island of Crete as his starting' point So there is almost a nationalistic feel in this international exhibition. And there is an indication of the importance of context, of the influence of social and physical environment upon creative endeavour. Emery’s trompe I’ecil watercolours are concise and clever formally, but more obscure in terms of content The works seem flat (even with their painted shadows) but each has carefully manipulated and assembled areas in three dimensions. Tension between real objects (such as leather thonging and feathers) and those con-

structed in paper and painted with life-like precision, contribute to this illusionism.

Furthermore, the signs and symbols are apparently fictions although based on close observation of the Pueblo Indians. But their meaning remains unknown and their execution too precious to evoke sustained thought as to their mystical power and cultural or ritual intention. There is a storm brewing over Crete. Through the brooding intensity of paint, at times vigorously handled and at others smoothly sponged on, Angelo suggests the volcanic ash storms and lava flows that have shaped the Cretan isle, and the atmospheric and human pollution (from Europe and a booming tourist economy) that threatens this landscape today. Canvases such as “Warning From Kriti” and “The Island” are divided by variously coloured and worked “rectangles” of pigment. Areas of threatening, sharp colours (reds, oranges and black) contrast with passages of lighter acrylic — the turquoise blues, purples and yellows of the Mediterranean.

Roy Davis’s work combine collage and anatomical drawings from a medical tome with pencil drawing —

a formal contrast highlighted by the limited tonal variation of the delicate drawing. I found the four works explicitly sexual. “Succulent Ha” with male heads, their voyeuristic eyes and teeth like carnivorous molars, beside female flesh all breasts, nipples and ovaries, seemed to be questioning male attitudes to women that see them purely as sex objects or vessels for reproduction. Taylor’s painting explored the aggression inherent in rugby and rock music through tightly packed and painted cuboid compositions. The effect was of aggression contained with little dribbled or textured paint and few gestural brushstrokes to ease the tension. “Study For Surprise Attack” appealed because of its looser treatment Onomatopoeic titles like “Ambrunti” and “Kikori” es-tablish-a rhythm complemented by Cezanne like “dabs of paint (a variouslycoloured visual flow of notes) and the tight bustling compositions. The connection is to the aggression latent and pentup in society that is released in sport and music sanctioned by that society. The idea is compellingly valid, but the metaphor a little vague.