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 Recent Small Paintings - M16 Gallery -  2017
the lead road to cooma
The Lead Road to Cooma, oil on hardboard and lead sheet 8 x 10cm 2016

See Canberra and Die (vedi Canberra e poi mori

- M16 Gallery - 2013

About the Exhibition
Landscapes Bushfire Landscapes
Murrumbidgee Valley
Murrumbidgee Valley  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2010

mount ainslie
Mount Ainslie  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2012

friday chemical fire
Friday Chemical Fire Oil on Canvas 30.5 x 40.4cm 2011

majura valley
Majura Valley  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2012

belconnen
Belconnen  oil on canvas  20 x 25 cm 2011

Glenloch Interchange
Glenloch Interchange  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2010

Glenloch Interchange Morning
Glenloch Interchange Morning  oil on canvas 
30.5 x 40.5 cm 2011

Gungahlin
Gungahlin  oil on canvas  20 x 25 cm 2011

the arsonist
"The Arsonist"  oil on canvas  122 x 122 cm 2012
Finalist Work - 2012 Blake Prize

the seventh seal
"The Seventh [Suburb] Seal"  oil on canvas  122 x 122 cm 2013

the sixth seal
"The Sixth Seal"  oil on canvas  122 x 122 cm 2013








Landscapes continued...


black mountain
Black Mountain  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2012

black mountain
Black Mountain  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2011

Mount Ainslie from Stromlo
Mount Ainslie from Stromlo  oil on canvas  30.5 x 40.5 cm 2010

Beyond first impression – See Canberra and Die could mean ‘Canberra is such a beautiful place you must see it before you die’. The paintings in this exhibition suggest Canberra is more layered than it first appears. This exhibition contrasts two types of landscapes: impressionistic semi-abstract, with stark metaphysical bushfire images.

Has Canberra become a more three dimensional place after 100 years? In Canberra the landscape is the dominant feature; it has been contrived that way. Have you seen those unsubscribed spaces – left alone (perhaps forgotten), where the previous environment shows through? The smaller paintings in this exhibition reflect this balancing of ‘filled in’ with open space. The landscapes are of familiar places in Canberra which I have chosen to paint either because of the impression they have made on me, or because they are visually interesting. I used my mobile phone to capture a particular place; the phone’s camera distorts the image, which I further abstract in painting, capturing both a physical and emotional sense of the landscape.

The large paintings in this exhibition use bushfire imagery. They are expressionistic and show people or fragments of people in a claustrophobic, blackened landscape. The bush is a stage where things happen: burnt-out, shot-up, at times apocalyptic and fearful. These paintings have a spiritual dimension, titles such as The Seventh [Suburb] Seal and The Sixth Seal suggest this. The exhibition features the painting: The Arsonist, This is How I Nurture My Soul which was in the 2012 Blake Prize (for spiritual art) Director’s Cut online exhibition.

Death of a Swearword (stations of the cross) 2009

stations of the cross
Death of a Swearword (Stations of the Cross)  30 x 30 cm (each)  oil on canvas  2009
This artwork was a finalist in the 2010 Blake Prize and featured in that year's national touring exhibition.

copyright Martin Paull  2006