Dream and Reason: Paradoxes of the Sublime
18 August - 11 September
Opening Event: Wed 26th Aug, 6pm-8pm
Andrew Totman, Wendy Sharpe AM FRSN,
Salvatore Gerardi, Juanita McLauchlan,
Annika Romeyn, Bridget Hillebrand
W Sharpe represented by King Street on William Gallery Sydney
J McLauchlan represented by Casandra Bird Gallery Sydney and Paris
A Romeyn represented by Flinders Lane Gallery Melbourne Victoria
Dream and Reason explores the Romantic notion of the sublime, a concept that is both catastrophic and transcendent, quiet and terrible. Standing in for that which lies beyond thought and language, the sublime is unbounded, paradoxical and polarising, with the power to provoke both awe and fear. The exhibition examines the interplay between human reason and nature's overwhelming forces and the mind's capacity to transcend its own limits in the search for infinite space, spiritual rhythms and elemental truths.
The show also celebrates printmaking's long history in Australia, marking the 60th year of the Australian Print Council and the 65th of the Sydney Printmakers, a tribute to the medium and the artists who take on its challenge.
Six artists feature across three galleries. Gallery 1 presents Archibald and Sulman Prize winner Wendy Sharpe AM, showcasing large-scale gestural monotypes that transform the space into a theatre of figures and colour, evoking the unease reminiscent of 1950s film noir.
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Someone from my past, Wendy Sharpe, Monotype Triptych, 120 x 90 cm (Each panel)
Photo John Fotiadis
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Galleries 2 and 3 hold a collective of five contemporary printmakers. Andrew Totman's abstract works pulse with the seasons, tides and lunar cycles. Gamilaraay artist Juanita McLauchlan, based on Wiradjuri country, channels her Indigenous heritage through the texture and chaos of the medium. Salvatore Gerardi's meticulous handmade pieces depict ecological change along Sydney's coastline, fooling the eye with an almost digital feel. Annika Romeyn, working on Ngunnawal Country, is drawn to the threshold of rock and water, where geological time meets seasonal change. Dr Bridget Hillebrand's cascading paper installations fill the gallery, dwarfing the viewer with repetitive monochromatic lines that read almost as text.
Together, these works push the boundaries of what prints can be whilst grappling with nature, ecology, technology and the vastness of contemporary experience.
Old Mutawintji Gorge 1, Annika Romeyn, 2023, watercolour monotype on paper,168 x 228cm
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
About the Artists
Monoprintng Workshop
Sunday 30 August 10am-4pm
Join master printmaker, Andrew Totman for A Day of Monoprinting workshop. Totman will introduce the participants to a variety of colour printmaking techniques for producing sensitive layered and bold multiple plate prints through step-by-step demonstrations and explanations.You will learn a range of mark-making methods, from customary to more experimental techniques using paper stencils, found objects such as leaves or feathers.
By the end of the session, you will have a small portfolio of unique prints to take home.This workshop is open for both novice and more advanced students with Totman providing individualised attention to help each student.
