Spheres by Ken Griffiths. Oil on canvas on plywood. By Catherine Watson
WHOEVER thought of sticking Ken Griffiths and Susan Hall together in an exhibition should be congratulated.
Griffiths and Hall are two of Bass Coast’s most respected artists but beyond that appear to have almost nothing in common in artistic style or interest.
Yet curator Karin Murphy Ellis manages to find a common thread by the way she has hung the exhibition, and also bounced each artist’s works off the other.
This is an exhibition very much influenced by COVID and the lockdowns.
WHOEVER thought of sticking Ken Griffiths and Susan Hall together in an exhibition should be congratulated.
Griffiths and Hall are two of Bass Coast’s most respected artists but beyond that appear to have almost nothing in common in artistic style or interest.
Yet curator Karin Murphy Ellis manages to find a common thread by the way she has hung the exhibition, and also bounced each artist’s works off the other.
This is an exhibition very much influenced by COVID and the lockdowns.
| Griffiths at last found time to look through his old work – stored in map drawers – and found, somewhat to his surprise, some interesting pieces by his much younger self. Some of these rediscoveries are in the exhibition. I assumed the burnt forests were recent works but they were actually painted in 2011, after the Black Saturday fires. | “I think Ken is the most fantastic drawer. He’s got a wealth of unbelievable work. They’re quirky. He’s got a very cheeky sense of humour.” |
Sure, there are the enigmatic paintings that are his trademark: the stylised and often slightly grotesque figures (often mocking self-portraits). There’s a large painting blandly labelled Interior with Figures, though it’s fairly obvious the figures are having a bloody good time.
There’s a gorgeous small oil painting of spheres in a moody landscape. What are they doing there? Probably not even Griffiths knows the answer. Perhaps he drew a circle because he could.
There are also much straighter paintings you wouldn’t recognise as a Griffiths at first sight: brightly coloured seascapes with figures, scenes of birds and forests and fish. Though, true to form, the birds are flying through a burnt forest and the fish are dead.
A lot of the smaller pieces have been done on unstretched canvas and glued to plywood. The process makes them “pop”, he says. “They’re not just sitting there”. He thinks of his unframed works as collages with the plywood itself a part of the work.
The very act of framing a work changes it, plus it’s very expensive, Griffiths says. The smaller works are for the people who’ve told him over the years that they’d love to buy one of his paintings but they’re out of their price range.
“Now we’ll see if they were telling the truth,” he jokes.
There’s a gorgeous small oil painting of spheres in a moody landscape. What are they doing there? Probably not even Griffiths knows the answer. Perhaps he drew a circle because he could.
There are also much straighter paintings you wouldn’t recognise as a Griffiths at first sight: brightly coloured seascapes with figures, scenes of birds and forests and fish. Though, true to form, the birds are flying through a burnt forest and the fish are dead.
A lot of the smaller pieces have been done on unstretched canvas and glued to plywood. The process makes them “pop”, he says. “They’re not just sitting there”. He thinks of his unframed works as collages with the plywood itself a part of the work.
The very act of framing a work changes it, plus it’s very expensive, Griffiths says. The smaller works are for the people who’ve told him over the years that they’d love to buy one of his paintings but they’re out of their price range.
“Now we’ll see if they were telling the truth,” he jokes.
*****
| Susan Hall’s works are also coloured by COVID. She admits to feelings of despondency in the early stages of the pandemic. “Sometimes I’d think ‘What’s the point? We’re all doomed.’ But we also had time to sit back and think and try something you wouldn’t normally do. | “Susan’s works are very atmospheric. They’re traditional landscapes but they can be quite subtle and powerful.” |
“I really enjoy doing the landscapes because I just love nature but I also love colour and pattern and it’s hard to put into the traditional way I do my art. I’ve always had it but it’s been lying dormant for a while.
The exhibition features a large un-Hall-like abstract work called COVID Recovery.
“I just thought I’m going to have a play with this. I’ll just get out some colours and see what happens. I was thinking warm colours over cool colours and then reversing it. I did a few. I thought probably no one will like it but it’s part of what happened to me during COVID.
“I wasn’t sure whether to put some of my experimental stuff in but Ken encouraged me. It’s good to show people you’re not stuck, you can do other stuff.”
Susan Hall's Coastal exhibition and Ken Griffiths' Mélange exhibition are at ArtSpace Gallery until March 22. Open 10am-4pm daily. COVID safety rules apply.
The exhibition features a large un-Hall-like abstract work called COVID Recovery.
“I just thought I’m going to have a play with this. I’ll just get out some colours and see what happens. I was thinking warm colours over cool colours and then reversing it. I did a few. I thought probably no one will like it but it’s part of what happened to me during COVID.
“I wasn’t sure whether to put some of my experimental stuff in but Ken encouraged me. It’s good to show people you’re not stuck, you can do other stuff.”
Susan Hall's Coastal exhibition and Ken Griffiths' Mélange exhibition are at ArtSpace Gallery until March 22. Open 10am-4pm daily. COVID safety rules apply.