Exploring the Art World -Canberra NGA- Cressida Campbell Exhibition

Everywhere we go I try and sneak in a visit to an art gallery or art show. A theme or style may interest me, or the colors being used by the artist. Mostly I want to see art that is different than mine! On a recent trip to Canberra visiting family I visited the special exhibition Cressida Campbell at the National Gallery of Australia.

This particular exhibition attracted me because of the florals on the flyers. Cressida Campbell is a contemporary artist, working in painting and printmaking. I just liked the look and the colors of her work, and the focus on Australian native plants and flowers, but I knew nothing about her.  Her work reminded me of the well know Australian artist, Margaret Olley who it turns out she does have a connection with and similar themes of interior of her home and still life.

When I visit a gallery, especially a large gallery like Australian National Gallery, I don’t feel the need to see all the galleries and every artwork, I always go with the frame of mind, I’ll be back another time. I want to leave something left unseen. It takes away a lot of the stress! Also I want to focus and reflect and remember what I’ve seen and the art that interests me. So I don’t overdo it, that can be overwhelming .

So his time it was just this special exhibition (although as we were leaving the gallery a sculpture did grab  my attention, a wax head on the ground, a headless man in a suit standing on a fridge….I do love the idea of burning something slowly over time to change the art and further the  narrative  Urs Fischer, Francesco 2017…but that’s for another discussion)

Back to Cressida Campbell. The volume of her work is impressive. Rooms upon rooms of her paintings, many still life, plants and flowers, interiors of her home and objects she loves.

Approaching her work, I could see a fine outline giving distinct edges to the composition. Painted with muted colors, her work is clearly carefully planned and laid out before she adds the color. The areas of paint also have a lot of texture, so close up the works are very interesting as well.  Speculating her technique I imagined line drawings and some sort of printing to get the textured effect. Questions were answered with a video showing her unique process, involving carving, painting, printing and more painting!

This beautiful exhibition, a survey of her work brought me into her world of color and shapes, and representation of the objects and nature that she sees with her artistic lens,  the latest being painted on round panels as an extra compositional challenge.

The detail in her work and the volume of her pieces in her style are impressive, her work ethic and her art is a celebration of her world. Once again the theme of home is one I am interested in and can relate to as I am constantly questioning the meaning of home. I left the exhibition reminding myself to focus on creating art that represents my world, and my colors and to continue to explore new techniques. An exhibition well worth the visit!

 Showing now until 19th February 2023 National Gallery Canberra, Australia.