News briefs
Nan goes alternative
The Oxford St gallery He Made She Made launched its third exhibition on Tuesday to showcase its Nanageddon collection. A group of 20 artists unveiled its graffiti-afflicted sofas, antique leather trunks and doilie-inspired light fixtures, poking fun and honouring nan-esque tastes.
The self-funded collective has described the exhibition as: “An homage/slap in the face to all things Nan. Nannageddon is a group show dedicated to subverting traditional craft, glorifying the sickly sweet, iced with a little bit of graffiti for good measure.”
The artists, designers and creatives range in age from 20-50 years. One of the collective’s members, Maaike Pullar said: “Some are student grads and some have been in the game for a long time.”
The exhibition will run for the next six weeks but she said the group expected 600 oglers on the launch night. “We’ve had a lot of support from design blogs.”
Ms Pullar said the group came up with the theme then sourced other creatives through Facebook and their blog. The pieces on display are also for sale and collected funds will go toward covering overhead costs.
Nothing plain about art
Artists with a knack for painting outdoors were commemorated yesterday at the NSW Parliament.
Of the 284 entries, 43 applicants were shortlisted as finalists for the $20,000 Plein Air Painting Prize. John Bokor’s “Quiet Streets, Bulli” won this year’s prize.
Artists were challenged to paint landscape pieces depicting scenery across the state including Balmain, Bowral, Manly, Bega and King’s Cross.
One of the competition’s finalists was Pyrmont resident Jane Bennett. “I paint the damaged, derelict, doomed and disappeared,” she said in a statement. “The astounding rate of Sydney’s recent development has both fascinated and repelled me. My challenge is painting to an unknown but inevitable time limit as buildings are demolished as fast as I can paint them.”
The collection of shortlisted works is on display at NSW Parliament until May 31. Ms Bennett has had a prolific career and has portrayed the changing urban landscapes of Sydney for several decades.
Her full collection, amassed over 30 years will be on display at the upcoming Pyrmont Wine, Food and Art Festival from May 18 to 27. The series of paintings is visual evidence of how Pyrmont has evolved over the years.
She has also been a finalist for several other prestigious prizes including the Sulman, Wynne and Dobell Prize for Drawing. For more information, visit www.pleinair.com.au.
By Deborah Erwin
