Showing posts with label National Gallery of Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Gallery of Australia. Show all posts

04 October, 2010

A Golden Outlook...




 Granddaughter of Estee Lauder, & Creative Global Director  Aerin Lauder
Zinterhofer’s Manhattan apartment. Still-life paintings and an 18th-century
 landscape in an East Hampton living room; the brass-and-walnut cocktail
 table is by Willy Rizzo. Photographer: Simon Upton
 Extract from Elle Decor - 'Lauder’s Manhattan apartment is even more reflective
of the tweaks on tradition that she enjoys. The entrance hall, library, and
living and dining rooms were designed by French decorator Jacques Grange.
These spaces, in neutral shades of beige and gold offset by deeper tones, reflect
her love of French furniture from the ’30s through the ’50s and are studded
 with pieces by Armand-Albert Rateau, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Royère,
 and Jean-Michel Frank. Here the shots of color come in surprising forms.'
 Lately I have noticed I am being drawn to earthy ochres, mustards & golden hues. After closer inspection of my framed art exhibition posters, prints, cushions and accessories - orange hues and it's cousin hue - mustard, seem to be an unconscious choice of accent colour for me, when paired back with blues, whites & neutrals, red tones and pinks!
Who would have known! It may just be another subconscious aesthetic link to my love of Australian art, and Australian Indigenous art that am attracted to the colour mix.
Have you noticed there's another colour in your palette waiting in the wings? Is there a colour that you seem to be drawn to more often than not -
 


 
One of my favourite Australian artists', Sidney Nolan, paintings from his
 'Ned Kelly' series - titled 'Ned Kelly' 1946 enamel on composition
 board 90.8 h x 121.5 w cm . Gift of Sunday Reed 1977
Sidney NOLAN  b.1917 Carlton, Victoria, Australia – d .London, England 1992
This' Ned Kelly' print /exhibition poster form the Sudney
Nolan NGA hangs in my home office.

What does Orange as a colour mean?
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.While red is associated with fiery heat, orange is associated with the benign warmth of the sun.
 A dynamic color to be sure, orange offers a more thoughtful control than explosive red. Curiosity is a driving characteristic of orange, and with it comes exploration of new things. Put some orange in your life when you want: Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust. Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action. Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

* to spice things up when you feel time is dragging
* to become more involved in something
* to increase creativity
* relief from things becoming too serious

 


22 January, 2010

Friday Flowers... With Thanks!

Happy Friday! Thank you to all of you who have been checking in, following, and sending me lovely emails & comments at Palatial Living.... My image today is courtesy of my fabulous sister, who sent me a link for this lovely Garden & Interiors store 'Dee Puddy - Garden & Interiors' based in the UK. I love these hand made porcelain gift tags... there are also similar ones I found on Esty as well - make sure you take a look!
This weekend I have made into a looong weekend - with our national holiday on Tuesday 26th Jan aptly called 'Australia Day' , I am taking the Monday off too! So after a quite a busy week with 'Verandah' and helping a couple of my lovely clients, this weekend I am looking forward to relaxing, swimming at the beach & catching up with family & friends, and maybe popping down to Canberra for the National Gallery's exhibit 'Masterpieces of Paris' from the Musee' d'Orsay - this exhibition was travelling to Australia when I was in Paris - so I missed it there!

So if you're in Australia or your an Aussie abroad, away from home, I hope you have a wonderful 'Australia Day' inspired weekend...otherwise I know you will have a lovely weekend anyway! Take Care & Enjoy! S x


Image from Dee Puddy

11 September, 2009

Friday Fruit...


With warm weather upon us this weekend [in Sydney up to 30 degrees Celsius] I was feeling a little conscious of bearing arms - literally ! I am a little partial the pear is one of my favourite fruits - to eat, for it's silhouette and variations of colour, and also to use for styling props.
In one of my final year exhibitions at Uni I explored the pear, it's shape and symbolisms, the works were titled ' Belonging'. My inspiration was from years as a little girl visiting the Australian National Gallery, Canberra [A.C.T] where at the entrance to it there is a magnificent sculptural work of bronzed pears that I covet to this day, titled “The Final Pear Version” by George Baldessin[b.1939 -d.1978]. Several years ago I was over-the-moon as I finally was able to get my hands on an official NGA photo release of it - where it lives framed in my upstairs gallery frame montage. The pear [speckled brown Bartlett's] was even present at our wedding reception[some 5 years ago now] as a sculptural piece placed next to clear slumped glass candle votives & offsetting the urns filled with vine, berries, and magnolias & roses posed a fabulous natural mix [I'll post an image of it shortly].
So here's a colourful, textural, healthy option to the weekend... For a safe dose of Vitamin D in the onset of Spring Summer weather, and a crunchy few pears!! Enjoy x



Image from House Beautiful

22 March, 2009

Weekend Away...with Degas

Dancer adjusting her slipper 1873 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / HO Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. HO Havemeyer, 1929 Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Over the Weekend we visited one of my most favourite places - the National Gallery of Australia [affectionately know as the NGA] in Canberra [Australia's National Capital - Territory] only 2.5 / 3 hrs drive south from Sydney. As a member of the gallery I try to visit several times a year and make a weekend of it.... and how could you not when the NGA brings some of the biggest and best exhibitions together from collections from all over the globe...here is a small taste of the exhibition 'Degas: Master of French Art'.

'The National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition Degas: master of French art spans the range of Edgar Degas’ work, from his early portraiture and historical subject matter, through his move to modern subject matter, and on to his late experimental paintings and photographs in the 1890s. It also examines the rich visual and literary sources that Degas drew upon in his early years.
A major exhibition theme is Degas’ transformation as an artist and his recurrent experimentation, leading to his mature and very distinctive style. It traces the development of his work from the finely crafted early paintings to those possessing a more brilliant palette and looser brushwork, and concludes with radical later works that include finger painting. This development made Degas an influential figure in the evolution of modern art — an artist whose work was admired and collected by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.'

For more about Degas and the exhibition of this phenomenal master of modern art click here.

'Degas: master of French art will also explore other relevant themes in Degas’ work, such as the influence of French caricature, japonisme, literature and the theatre. Through modelling wax figures of horses, ballet dancers and bathers (which were later cast in bronze), Degas was constantly searching for ways to depict movement and form. The relationship of his sculpture to his paintings and drawings is an aspect of this exhibition.
Degas was a consummate painter, draughtsman, print maker and sculptor, who in his later years also undertook experiments in the new medium of photography. Degas: master of French art will focus on all these arts and their interrelationships.'
Jane Kinsman - Senior Curator, International Art, and curator

DEGAS: the uncontested master by Jane Kinsman with Michael Pantazzi

Horses, ballerinas, laundresses are [Degas’] predilections and of all the things in the world which surround him seem to preoccupy him exclusively. But what truth there is in his draughtsmanship, and how astute is his understanding of colour. Jules-Antoine Castagnary, 1874
Born in Paris in 1834, Edgar Degas was considered a radical artist in his adoption of modern subject matter and he was to become a key figure in the evolution of modern art. Degas: the uncontested master covers the period from Degas’ early portraiture and historical subject matter of the 1870s through his move to modern subject matter, to his late experimental paintings and photographs from the 1890s until his death in 1917.

Bonjour Degas - a word book in English and French
This delightful book designed for children looks at details of paintings by famous 19th century French artist Edgar Degas. It includes his favourite subjects—ballerinas and dance classes, horses and riders, and people at work. You will discover the words for things in the paintings and for colours in English and French.

An fabulous extension of the Degas- Master of French Art exhibition was Degas' world: the rage for change
The exhibition Degas’ world: the rage for change is less specifically about Degas than the world he inhabited. It is about his fellow artists and friends—those who inspired him, and those he, in turn, inspired. As an exhibition it seeks to avoid the clichés of sweetness and light with which Impressionism has been interminably burdened. Instead, it is about the real world of nineteenth-century France.

International Art Collection-TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deFrance 1864 – 1901
La Clownesse assise: Mademoiselle Cha-u-ka-o [The seated clown: Mademoiseille Cha-u-ka-o] [La Clownesse assise. Mlle Cha-u-ka-o: from the album "Elles" [Ed 37/100]] 1896 from the album Elles [Womankind]Collection Title: EllesPrint, planographic Technique: lithograph, printed in colourImpression: 37/10052.8 h x 40.6 w cm Accn No: NGA 77.16.3

International Art Collection GRASSET, Eugene Switzerland 1845 – France 1917 La morphinomane [The morphine addict] 1897drawing pencil. Edition: uniqueimage 41.2 h x 31.2 w cm Purchased with the assistance of Orde Poynton Esq. CMG 1995Accn No: NGA 95.781
International Art Collection GRASSET, Eugene Switzerland 1845 – France 1917
France La vitrioleuse [The acid thrower] c.1896 Collection Title: L'estampe originale, Album VI, Arpil-June 1894Print, planographicTechnique: colour lithographImpression: 71/10040.0 h x 27.7 w cm 60.6 h x 44.0 w cm Gift of Orde Poynton Esq. CMG 1993Accn No: NGA 93.2045

Mark Henshaw who curated this particular exhibition I had the privilege of hearing him speak about some of the pieces in this exhibit and why he chose them...if you have the chance to stand in on any curator speak about their exhibited space I strongly recommend it - there are so many wonderful facets of the pieces and how they be brought together by the curator that you may never be able to understand on viewing alone. You can read Mark Henshaw's essay on the exhibit through this link . Mark Henshaw is the Curator of International Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books for the National Gallery of Australia.
All works in the exhibition Degas’ world: the rage for change are from the National Gallery of Australia’s International Print collection.

Also video trailers of the Degas exhibition - Master of French Art can be viewed here through this link.
Images from NGA

20 March, 2009

It's Friday & A Weekend Away!

Well Friday is upon us again, and I hope you have a had a wonderful week - absorbing shades of green through your daily life... and so I thought that in finishing the 'Colour Week' of Green for March I found this great image of a vintage American pick up truck - complete with mattress, and a couple of cosy quilted throws [one avocado green - of course], and even better driving off into the sunset as this is what I am doing this weekend - going away!
On a spur decision my husband booked a weekend away on Thursday evening! Where you may ask are heading? We're off to Canberra [Australia's national capital] to visit the National Gallery [N.G.A] and to catch the 'Degas - Master of French Art' exhibit, as well as visiting local markets and enjoying some delicious food & wine...
Wherever you are this weekend I hope you have a great one! Enjoy x

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