Award Winners

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES 2018

109th Annual Exhibition

At Victorian Artists Society Galleries - East Melbourne

October 5 - 16

OPENED AND JUDGED BY JOCK CLUTTERBUCK

Somewhere in the 1930's the noted English arts writer Roger Fry made the observation that "an artwork has had its effect on us before we notice it".

What he was alluding to is the fact that our conscious awareness is the last of our responses to be awakened by an artwork.It has already had an effect on our subconscious,an effect on our "flight or fight" instinctive reaction and an effect on our emotional centre by the time we get around to consciously making an assessment of it.

All of these reactions go to make up the Presence of a work,in a nutshell,how much of all the artist's responses has he or she brought into the present moment ,the clearing or meeting place between artist and viewer.

Jo Reitze gathers our attention in the moment and holds it so that we are transfixed by her"Front garden in autumn" and we are really there with her.
Vicki Sullivan,uses oil paint with great skill, the horses in her "Light horse wales and kangaroo feathers" come alive; we can sense their aliveness and vitality.
Gillian Lodge paints a sublime ideational dream world in her "St modomocs bellarine bees",the foliage and the grass,wattle blossom and bees are all painted with an other worldly dream like clarity.
Robyn Pridham creates a beautifully muted abstract "Scrubby series no 2 ,which holds together with real emotional rigour,balancing on a rasors edge.
Carmel Oconnor constructs a tough whimsical piece of theatre with "Darlington puppeteers' an enigmatic space frame which holds our attention and sense of mystery.
Good solid drawing and draughtsmanship lifts Sue Jarvis's "Lion dance lunar new year into the group of six works which are my choice as Highly recommended works.
It is the broard sweeping energy and gusto of Susan Sambells "Timeless land 'which make it my standout choice for the Annie Davison Oliver Award.
and I have chosen Jan Martins "Evening at Lakes Entrance" for the Danks Trust Award. It is a fine example of the technique of watercolour being harnessed to deliver a real emotional charge to the recording of a sublime boating moment in the sunset at Lakes Entrance.
Jock Clutterbuck October 8

Annie Davison Oliver Award - Susan Sambell  Timeless Land.

Danks Trust Award - Jan Martin  Sunset, Lakes Entrance.

HIGHLY COMMENDED.

Vicki Sullivan 106 Light-horse Wales and Kangaroo Feathers

Sue Jarvis  Line Dance Luna New Year

Jo Reitze 99 Front Garden Autumn 

Robyn Pridham 97 Scrubby Series No.2

Carmel O’Connor 82 Darlington Puppeteers

Gillian Lodge 53 St. Modomnoc’s Bellarine Bees

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES 2017

108th Annual Exhibition

At Victorian Artists Society Galleries - East Melbourne

October 5 - 17

OPENED AND JUDGED BY CLIVE SINCLAIR, FVAS