Hawkesbury Regional Gallery has a colourful new exhibition called Eat Art that is a feast for the senses!
Food and art are cornerstones of our very existence, so it is no surprise that food is the subject of our new exhibition Eat Art. Historically, food in art has multiple meanings, from demonstrating skill to symbolising virtue or lust and the extremes of wealth or poverty.
In the Eat Art exhibition, the artists use food to reveal something – personal, cultural, or philosophical; and all of the art works offer us a new way of looking at the commonplace around us. Through arranging and capturing food in paint, clay, or other mediums – these art objects describe life beyond the ordinary. The ceramic food recreations by artist Mechelle Bounpraseuth reveal everyday Australian life with soy or fish sauce, along with 'typical' Australian condiments like Heinz tomato sauce and Vegemite. Kenny Pittocks' artwork uses humour to alter ordinary food with a twist. His food sculptures look fun and edible including the delicious and irreverent Cadbury Favourites – in order from favourite to least favourite!
The portrayal of a familiar subject like food creates space for introspection and reflection. Dawn Tan's beautiful donuts conjure up shared childhood memories, and Cath Barcan's striking photographs of mundane lettuce wrapped in cling film can be seen as a political act. This cleverly contrasts with Chilly Philly's fun crocheted food hats and Chrissy Flanagan's knitted sausages that cause you to smile.
You will also be captivated by the cake paintings by Lucy Culliton that drip with sickly shining icing, oozing with whipped cream that will make you feel like you can almost pluck them off the canvas. The 2020 Archibald finalist Lucy writes:
I'm a realist; I like things to look real. If I'm painting food, I want you to know if its red sauce, its red sauce. It has to be the right shiny red. (Artist Profile, Issue 27, 2014, p.61 )
In this exhibition, symbolic dimensions are revealed, stimulating not just an appetite for eating, but for ideas, for creativity and the potential for creating change towards a more thoughtful and delicious future.
Eat Art featured artists include Marian Abboud, Cath Barcan, Mechelle Bounpraseuth, Lucy Culliton, Phil Ferguson, Chrissy Flanagan, Kenny Pittock, Ben Tankard, and Dawn Tan.
The free exhibition runs until Sunday, 31 January 2021 at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, 1st Floor Deerubbin Centre, 300 George Street, Windsor. For opening hours and more details visit www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/gallery or call 4560 4441.
Gallery Gift Shop
While visiting the Gallery don't forget to visit the gift shop.
Eat Art exhibition merchandise is colourful and fun, with delicious sweet treat jewellery and knitted sausage kitchen accessories. This is the perfect place to do your Christmas shopping, with a range of local artists' work available. Shop local this Christmas!
