A few hours in Vienna

I finally made it to the National Gallery of Victoria's Vienna Art & Design exhibition, which is showing until the 9th of October 2011.

Gustav Klimt's art work held an immediate appeal to me after coming across it in my early high school years - his sumptuous use of decorative pattern and stylised ornamentation was such an inspiration for a young girl with a love of pattern and textiles.

Italian garden landscape 1913 by Gustav KLIMT

Austria 1862-1918

oil on canvas

Kunsthaus Zug, Stiftung Sammlung Kamm

Fritza Riedler 1906 by Gustav KLIMT

Austria 1862-1918

oil on canvas

Belvedere, Vienna

The star of the show (in my humble opinion) 

Emilie Flöge 1902 by Gustav KLIMT

Austria 1862-1918

oil on canvas

Wien Museum, Vienna

Also on display is a fantastic collection of Successionist poster designs, book designs, Wiener Werkstatte product designs, bentwood cafe furniture, architectural designs, (and most importantly!) textile designs by the likes of Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffman and Dagobert Peche.

Plate from Flachen Schmuck series, 1901

Koloman MOSER Austria 1868-1918

National Gallery of Australia Research Library

Plate from Flachen Schmuck series, 1901

Koloman MOSER Austria 1868-1918

National Gallery of Australia Research Library

I'm now heading to my couch with my catalogue in hand. Have a great weekend!

Beautiful Botanicals

BotanicaAsia is an exhibition of botanical art based on Asian themes from seven of Victoria's leading artists to be held at Domain House, Dallas Brooks Drive, South Yarra, from the 9th to the 25th of October. The central motif of the exhibition is the peony, and here are some of the beautiful examples below, including one from my botanic art teacher (at the Royal Botanic Gardens) Diane Emery.

Dolores Skowronski-Malloni

Dianne Emery

Jenny Phillips

Perhaps visiting this exhibition on the weekend will inspire me to do my botanic homework! Hmmmmm.

Chinoiserie exhibition

On Thursday night I attended Chris Chun's 'Chinoiserie' exhibition opening at the Washhouse Gallery in Sydney. It was a wonderful night - Chris's art work looked stunning in real life. And it was great to catch up with all of the old Sydney textile design crowd!


Read more at Chris's blog here.

Chris Chun and Chinoiserie

These beautiful paintings are by the very talented artist and designer Chris Chun and are part of his latest exhibition titled 'Chinoiserie'. The exhibition opens on Tuesday the 21st of April at The Washhouse Gallery in Rozelle, NSW, and will run until the 10th of May.

'Kyoto Blossom'

'Origami Butterfly'

'Siam'

'Pool of Longevity'

Chris's paintings are inspired by his recent travels to Asia, and reflect an inherent joy and harmony through the combination of vibrantly coloured washes, collages of Japanese origami papers and stamped patterns.

If you sense a love of pattern and textiles within these works, that would be from Chris's background as a textile designer - I was lucky enough to have him as a mentor at my first design job in Sydney, and am very grateful for all of his tips and tricks in the world of hand painted textile design! 

Chris has been painting full-time since 2004, but also manages to combine his love of painting with design work - I regularly see products in the stores with Chris's distinctive handwriting, including some great cards I bought just last week. Visit Chris's website at chrischun.com for more information about his paintings and designs, and check out his brand new blog here.

Botanical art in Melbourne

One day I hope to get to this kind of standard, but for now I will keep plodding on with my botanical fruit and vegies before I move onto flowers!

The 2008 Botanical art exhibition is on now until the 23rd of November at Domain House, Dallas Brooks Drive, South Yarra, opposite the Herbarium. Entry is free.

Victorian fashion in Bendigo

Images from the Exhibition 'Fashion in the age of Queen Victoria', now showing at the Bendigo Art Gallery. Lots of pieces from the Darnell Collection of textiles, collected by Doris Darnell, an American Quaker. A great insight into Victorian fashions, as the exhibit allows you to walk around and examine each display - no glass cases!