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Exhibition of Sidney Nolan’s work showing at Gallery

An exhibition of selected works from Sidney Nolan’s 1982 ‘Illuminations’ series is currently showing at the Latrobe Regional Gallery.

By Latobe City Council - 12th January 2006 - Back to News

An exhibition of selected works from Sidney Nolan’s 1982 ‘Illuminations’ series is currently showing at the Latrobe Regional Gallery. These paintings are influenced by the work of nineteenth century French poet Arthur Rimbaud and offer an insight into the later work of one of Australia’s most important artists.

Best known for his Ned Kelly series, Nolan is one of the giants of twentieth century Australian art. Nolan was a visual mythmaker, an artist whose innovative and powerful paintings of the Australian experience have changed the ways we see ourselves. Forever the innovator, in the 1980s Nolan began experimenting with spray can paint, which enabled him to blend colours on the canvas to create layer upon layer of paint.

Gallery director, Louise Tegart, said that Literature was an ongoing preoccupation for Nolan throughout his life and can be seen in works inspired by Shakespeare, James Joyce and Thomas Hardy, along with many other renowned authors.

"Nolan identified with the French poet Arthur Rimbaud as another artist who strove to be remarkable. As both a man and poet, the wild Frenchman Arthur Rimbaud, appealed to non-conformist Nolan. In fact some critics have described his interest in Rimbaud as an obsession. Rimbaud was a Symbolist poet and wrote all his works before he turned twenty. Symbolist poetry was based upon spirituality, imagination and dreams and Rimbaud’s poetry clearly links the visual and the verbal.

"Nolan painted a few works related to Rimbaud early in his career but it wasn’t until late in his life in 1982 that he decided to create works related to Rimbaud’s poems ‘Illuminations’. Nolan painted 38 works and 15 of these are on display," Ms Tegart said.

"The works have been kindly lent by the Nolan Gallery. This is a rare opportunity to see the work of one of Australia’s most renowned artists as they infrequently leave the gallery in Canberra," Ms Tegart added.

‘Illuminations’ continues until Sunday 5 February 2006.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com

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