Personal Journeys – 40 years of Australian Women’s Abstract Art

Margaret Dredge, Untitled, 1980

A collection of artworks by Australian artists from the Dingle and Hughes collection will be on display at the Shoalhaven City Arts Centre from Friday 6 February to 1 April this year.

All works in this exhibition are centred on the theme “Personal Journeys – 40 years of Australian Women’s Abstract Art”. Each artwork reflects the artist’s view of their own personal journey, with each creation representing a part of their life.

The making of art is a personal journey, one that can take an artist from a simple idea through to an obsession. The challenge is to make an idea come to life on a canvas or as a sculpture. How to give outward expression to the feelings and emotions involved in living and relating to the people and environment around you.

The works in this exhibition were produced by Australian artists between 1960 and 2000, and they form a part of the M.G. Dingle and G.B. Hughes collection. The artists were all known to Max and Gavin and the works were chosen for the collection because they represent the artist’s journey through the landscapes of the mind.

Grace Burzese. Temple 1995 acrylic and beeswax on linen 150 x 120 cm

Elizabeth Cummings. Kimberly Water Hole 2002 oil on canvas

Grace Burzese. Lines of Violet 1997 acrylic on linen 59 x 58 cm

The collection has been assembled over a period of forty five years and as a whole reflects two personalities and, considering purchases have been made individually and jointly, shows a remarkably consistent curatorial vision.

This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Gavin Hughes who died on 25 October 2008 just as the final selections of paintings were being made to be included in this exhibition.

Shoalhaven City Arts Centre 12 Berry St Nowra
Launch – Saturday 7 February 2009, 12pm until 2pm
Exhibition open – Friday 6 February until Wednesday 1 April 2009 (closed Sundays and Mondays)