Favourites at the Art Gallery of Western Australia

My daughter and I took a trip into Perth to visit the Art Gallery of Western Australia. There are several good temporary exhibitions on right now, the largest being Desert, River, Sea which shows Aboriginal works from the Kimberley. The exhibition is interesting because, as well as the traditional ochre paintings, the indigenous artists have used many materials including glass, markers, cow hides and acrylic paints.

I don't recall ever seeing Aboriginal glass art before. These panels were lit from the back and really glowed.

This amazing piece was shaved onto a hairy cow hide.

The Aboriginal works are strong on pattern and colour. Many of them showed intricate details of animal and plant life found in the bush. Spirits and ancestors were also prominent.

The permanent collections also have many pieces by Aboriginal artists.

Also showing now is the Tom Malone Prize for glass. The winner was a hilarious (but difficult to photograph) sculpture of 2 tree characters having a drink in a bar.

Other pieces I liked for their shape and glowing colours.

Also showing now is the Pulse Perspectives, art by year 12 students in Western Australia.

I liked the bold lines, saturated colours and graphic feel of these pieces.

This painting makes great use of negative space in the hair.

I liked this intricate lino cut.

This piece had an unusual display of puppets against a painted background.

This was my favourite student work. I love the way the quilt is displayed as if being worn by a faceless figure.

Back in the permanent galleries my favourite is this really textured piece by Leonard French. I realised that I'd seen another of his pieces at the NGV in Melbourne recently. I like the way he has used very regular shapes but arranged them in an irregular way. The piece has a thick paint texture and is quite shiny (and therefore not easy to photograph).

Again I was attracted to the shapes and symmetry in the gallery collection of vases and pots. Some of the vessels had really unusual shapes.

The patterns and shapes in the gallery ceiling were cool too!

Again I was attracted to bold and colourful, graphic style works whilst my daughter preferred landscapes in the old masters style.

The displays at the gallery seem to change quite often so it's always worth taking a look around.