Arbor

Angus Cummings, Merrian Dennis, Louise Donovan, Jodi Heffernan, Chris Lawry, Shirley Ploog Kathryn Ryan, Liz Sullivan, Trevor Tagliabue, Liam Waldie, Linda Weil, Diana Wiseman

curated by Keith Lawrence

Wednesday 19 April - Saturday 6 May 2023

   

(Images from left - Kathryn Ryan, Diana Wiseman, Shirley Ploog)

Tree, a rooted object in space connected to the land functioning to purify, revitalise, cleanse, shelter, protect and to provide sustenance. It’s hard to separate a tree from the world it inhabits, be it an singular tree emerging, against all odds, from a sheer rock face or a solitary tree standing proud within a vast, open vista. Never out of place, never wrong, they defiantly survive, constantly reclaiming and regenerating environments.

But the tree is more – a popular and universal symbol that represents a multiplicity of meanings across various cultures and religions.

Arbor is a curated exhibition by Keith Lawrence focussing on 12 artists’ connectedness to the subject. Arbor is a personal journey of connectivity with the immediacy of the world around them. From the tree outside the kitchen window in inner-north Melbourne to the captured imagery of just a few of the several thousand trees planted by the artist and husband on their regional Victoria property, Arbor looks to the elegance and natural beauty provided by Mother Nature as captured and experienced by the artists featured in the exhibition.

Detailed, intricate and intimate; broad, emotive mark making; or simply a detail within part of the expansive Australian landscape, Arbor celebrates the beauty of the natural environment that inspires each of the artists featured in the exhibition and their responsive visceral evocation.