Art seen: Saints and Courtesans

Ralph Body reviews Dunedin's latest art exhibitions.

"Frank Gordon's A-Z of Saints", Gallery de Novo.

Frank Gordon has reimagined subject matter once central to European art, the lives of saints.

His paintings combine a bobble-headed, cartoon-like style with features recalling Byzantine, early Renaissance and Celtic art. While the finished works seem somewhat irreverent, their humour is one of affection rather than satire.

The paintings are accompanied by detailed wall text recounting the stories of the saints depicted and explaining some of the symbolism employed.

Many of the saints are presented in contemporary times or in a local setting, suggesting the continued relevance of the values they represent.

In one image, Saint Francis is shown preaching to New Zealand native birds, while in another he chats to Jesus aboard a bus. Many of Gordon's paintings are on arched boards, recalling the traditional shapes of altarpieces or ecclesiastical architecture.

His Saint Christopher, however, is painted on a suitcase, befitting his role as the patron saint of travellers.

Saint Joan of Arc and Saint Xystus are presented in a contemporary setting, with the former Pope shown watching television while Joan experiences a vision as she chops carrots. In an element of gallows humour, a stack of firewood is shown behind her left shoulder, foreshadowing her death by burning at the stake.

 

Russell Cundall, "Impressions of North Otago", Forrester Gallery, Oamaru.

Russell Cundall's intimate landscape studies give a sense of the pleasure he takes in the visual effects of light and the material possibilities of paint.

All but one of the 15 works are of the same small size due to his practice of using a pochade box.

This is a kind of small, portable easel and paint box combined, which allows him to paint en plein air, directly in front of his subjects.

In this regard, together with his interest in light and painterly style, Cundall's works closely follow the principles of Impressionism.

If the finished paintings are somewhat generic in appearance, they nonetheless possess a real feeling of sincerity.

The majority of works feature a limited palette of greys, pinks and violets, in keeping with the scenes of sunrise and sunset which are Cundall's preferred subject.

These contrast with a group of four works from 15 years earlier, when he employed more vivid tones.

Many of the works depict Oamaru Harbour, with the artist's broken brushwork capturing the luminous effects of light reflected on water.

The combination of tranquil subject matter and subtle colour harmonies helps create a quiet, contemplative mood.

This exhibition continues at the Forrester Gallery until Sunday.

 

"Shunga: Japanese Erotic Prints", Brett McDowell Gallery.

Prudish art-lovers may wish to avoid the Brett McDowell Gallery, which is presently staging an exhibition of "Shunga", Japanese erotic woodblock prints.

However, the less puritanical will be gratified by the refined aesthetic and dynamic compositions for which ukiyo-e prints are famous.

These 19th-century woodblock prints, mainly by the Utagawa School, present scenes of aroused men and women with flexible hip joints in various states of intimacy.

As many ukiyo-e prints depicted the famous courtesans of the Edos red-light district, shunga images seem to provide a natural conclusion.

Indeed, Brothel Scene combines a view of solicitation with one of consummation.

Some images contain an element of humour.

In Nobles making Love, the woman's raised foot (and curled toes) kick at a tassel hanging from the ceiling.

Newly Weds features an abandoned mask, curiously bearing European features, by the head of the upended bride, while her lustful husband rummages among the folds of her kimono. From a stylistic point of view, the larger, two-panelled prints are the most sophisticated. My personal favourite, A Beauty and a Samurai, features the spatial ambiguity, cropped figures, decorative patterns and linear elegance which make even less licentious ukiyo-e so compelling.