5 Feb 2011 to 5th March 2011.
The exhibition is primarily made up of works on paper and includes also marble painted in Trompe L’oeil, in the unmistakeable style of Jackson Slattery.
On close inspection the piece of “Marble” reveals itself to being light weight, hand made planks of fibreglass and paint, created with the same care into detail as the watercolours that won him the Metro Art Gallery Award in 2009. The characteristic veins of marble are realistic and deceiving, tricking the eye into a false reality. These works are reminiscent of the early frescoes, where painted marble was used to decorate the walls in ancient Greece and Rome.
Mr Slattery comes close to being a photo realist in his work, with the “Untitled” hand for example. But then again he has left slight traces of painterly watercolour wash effects to be seen in other works on display. His chosen subjects are in a way a stark contrast with the fluid qualities offered by the medium. For example the “untitled” (marble and clay) is a very tense image which has the inclination to create anxiety in the viewer. The artist has painstakingly and with outstanding craftsmanship, coupled with a keen eye for detail, been able to produce works of art of very high standard.
As testament to his expertise in the genre of watercolour, he has been named, in the current issue of Australian Art Collector, as one of the top 50 of Australia’s Most Collectable Artists; an accomplishment in itself for someone of his age.
In my attempt to interpret his art, contemplating his skill and recalling the surprise when watercolour is exposed as the medium I come to a realisation that the lightness of the medium he uses is subverted and turned on its head by the technical skill and subject matter that he portrays.
All this makes for a very absorbing exhibit with the viewer marvelling at the steady hand and mastery of colour and realism produced in such a very unforgiving medium.
