"Translation: New Works in Glass", by Luke Jacomb (Otago Museum)
Jacomb's work, currently showing at Otago Museum, is inspired by the use of traditional 16th-century Venetian glass-blowing techniques juxtaposed with a contemporary Polynesian flavour.
Jacomb has absorbed and adapted influences from Polynesian culture, and the objects exhibited include sculptural interpretations of canoe paddles, fish traps and the show's centrepiece, a 3m-long waka constructed from panels of blown glass.
The paddles, in particular, tell of a shared heritage. Some centre shafts are made using reticello, a 16th-century Venetian glass technique that enables the shafts to resemble Polynesian fish nets. Other techniques resemble lashing and weaving.
This synthesis of European and Polynesian heritages has produced an art form that is not only elegant, but distinctive and commanding.
Jacomb's outstanding use of colour enlivens his beautifully crafted pieces even further, such as seen in the mustard-yellow fish trap or in the dramatic palette contrasts of his paddles, in which colours and patterns such as vivid scarlet and black or deep wine and teal combinations add an unexpected pleasure to these uncomplicated forms.
"Preoccupied, Part 1", by Ross Gray (Monumental)
The paintings exhibited date from 1998 and chart the development of his practice.
Some reference the grids of architectural drawing paper and the incorporation of negative wall space, while others are less controlled, with a more gestural approach, as seen in his recent work Out of Mind, which is, curiously, painted on an old house blind.
The facades of Christchurch's buildings, constantly changing with age, weather, development and demolition, provide Gray with inspiration for his paintings.
His more recent work, however, is perhaps in response to the architectural and psychological impact of the Canterbury earthquakes, with a freer application of paint and deliberate paint runs down the canvas signifying the destruction of the city's heritage buildings.
Gray's work is a reference to the layers of material within a building's crumbling facade and is painted in a way that suggests a mosaic of contours and perspectives. Although his work is about city issues, paint application and process appear equally important.
The subtle paintings suggest a series of abstract planes created with multiple layers of paint applied in horizontal sweeps with a wide brush. This process brings its own conceptual ideas through variations in colour, density and texture.
"Watercolours", by Bruce Hodgson (Tony Williams Studio, Carnegie Centre)Mt Roy, Lake Wanaka, by Bruce Hodgson.
Hodgson, a Dunedin artist, is exhibiting five landscape studies in a joint show with horologist James Hay.
Hodgson's paintings depict mountain and lake views, trees and townscapes.
All his work gives a sense of the pleasure he takes in the visual effects of light and colour and the material possibilities of paint.
Like Gray's, Hodgson's work also charts the development of his practice and his ability to experiment with style.
This is particularly obvious when aspects of perspective are deliberately distorted, colours are vibrant and line is exaggerated as in his work Houses and Gardens and to a lesser degree in his appealing work Mt Roy, Lake Wanaka.
Shapes are reduced, detail is minimal and loose areas of colour in ochres, blues and browns are spread broadly and generously.
Unlike the usual perception of watercolour painting, Hodgson's colours are stronger than life, taking on an independence of their own, not always expressing those that are natural and local.
Other work in the exhibition takes on a softer approach with Blue Lake, St Bathans. The emphasis here is more on the climate, the light and the season.
Painted with looser brushstrokes in a softer palette of inky blues, terracottas and golds, the effect is subtle and restful.
- Julie Jopp
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