Cate Maddy

Cate Maddy, Pale Entourage, oil, acrylic and pen on canvas, 152 x 122cm, 2010

Cate Maddy, Only the Poppies are Given Light, oil and acrylic on canvas, 152 x 122cm, 2010

These paintings are translations of my readings and explorations of nature, of mapping its formations and abstracting what I feel to be the ‘essence’ of a particular moment. The work aims to create a dialogue between silences and spaces and the landscape of shapes and shadows to create a metaphorical language through colour and form which although derived from the natural world, hints at many different meanings. In the distillation of shapes we see figurative elements, but at the same time recognize a more universal emotional world of memory, death, love nurture and ecstasy.

My work looks at a world driven by contradictions where consumerism and environmental awareness compete and the presence of man seems impossible to evade.

Painting enables me to contemplate my complex environment, including natural and constructed, social, cultural and emotional in an expression of limitation and the limitless. Symbolizing our personal choices of what we include in our lives, our ability to exorcise the way we view life and our need for drama and exaggeration.

So I have fallen in love with Cate Maddy Paintings when I was browsing around the net to find any art exhibition that I could visit during the holiday. The more I look into it, the more I wanted to have it on my own lounge. So I contact the gallery for enquiry the price. It turned out it was exhibit down in Melbourne, at Harrison Galleries.

The lady replied back to me with the price, and also mentioned that they could arrange for delivery to Brisbane. I've never buy any paintings before since I've been waiting for right one. I know the price would be quite dear. As I excepected, the price is around $3000 to $4000 AUD. It's quite a lot amount of money for a painting but I think it's a decent price. It just really doesn't fit my single low-paid designer salary.

It's sad really… I really just can't afford it T_T Now, trying to remember to my recent visit to Bali. I actually meet an artist that suits my taste. At that time, we think his price offer was already quite dear. We just never deal with buying paintings, so we just look around and left. To think about it the price in comparison, I should just bought that paintings in Ubud, Bali. Sigh…

Take your time: Olafur Eliasson

360 room for all colours (2002)

I felt very very lucky to be able to see the exhibition down at Sydney. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney is the only Australian venue for the exhibition, generated by San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art. It was just happen that I was down at Sydney :D

Even though I like art, but I have not heard Olafur Eliasson before. I came to visit the MCA to see how the gallery since I applied for a position there. To be honest, I am trully fond of the exhibition. I think this is the first art exhibition that gives a really great sensation. It's hard to put it in words, but once you experience it you'll understand.

Olafur Eliasson is an artist born in Denmark who transforms our experiences of the space around us. Take your time: Olafur Eliasson takes the form of a visual journey, in which viewers move from ligh-lifted open spaces through immersive, built structures. Individual works find inspiration in the distinctive landscape, theories of colour and perception.



spoiler allert: if you are going to see the exhibition, you might not want to read this.
My favourites would be the Beauty (1993). You would have gone through this dark (pitch-black) tunnel that seems have no ends. You would become quite anxious wandering what will happen in the end of the tunnel or will the tunnel ever end. In the end of the tunnel, you would find your self inside in a dark room like a cave, you would see the Beauty comprises a thin veil of mist (water), illuminated obliquely by spotlights which produce a soft, hazy rainbow effect. The Beauty, it's such a perfect name, it was really beautiful and soothing. I wouldn't mind having the instalation if I have big contemporary house.


Sunset Kaleidoscope (2005)

The exhibition runs at MCA, Sydney ends in 10 April 2010, more information here. If you interested to come to exhibition, remember to take your time…

Brisbane Eye

Brisbane Eye, originally uploaded by Dan Halford.

Have I told you that Brisbane just recently got their own version of the London Eye. I thought it was a joke when I heard it over the news. Then there was no sign of any feriss wheel on the due date, which was supposed to be up on May on the 20th anniversary of World Expo '88 at the South bank Parklands.

Few months after that I saw a white big constructions of a ferris wheel. I was so thrill, so it was true!!! This beauty was definitely one of the crowd pleaser during the Riverfire festival last weekend.

Apparently, I haven't had time to jump into this georgeos wheel yet. But it's on my list for next weekend stroll with Picasso exhibition.

Color Chart: reinventing colour 1950 to today

The sites companion for the current MoMA exhibition: Color Chart is so BRILLIANT. Don't miss the opening of the sites. The colour swirls is the best. I wish the exhibition came to Brisbane (very less likely to happen though T_T). Don't forget to read the introduction page. You'll agree that it is a great exhibition. (via swiss miss)