‘Coast: the artists’ retreat’ at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
8 December – 18 February 2018
For over 200 years, the Mornington Peninsula has been a muse and haven for artists. Attracting a stellar roll call of some of the most recognisable names in Australian art, the wild and rugged coast has inspired works from artists such as Eugene von Guérard, Nicholas Chevalier, Louis Buvelot, Violet Teague, John Perceval and Albert Tucker.
This ambitious exhibition will bring together masterpieces from these iconic artists as the basis of an extended conversation, considering our relationship to the coast, to the Australian landscape and our environment. Newly commissioned works from G.W. Bot (pictured above), Megan Cope, Raafat Ishak, Euan McLeod and Kerrie Poliness tackle contemporary questions of our connection to landscape. These commissions, the result of a recently established artist in residence program at Police Point in Portsea, will consider the beauty and magnitude of the coastline through painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and video.
A full colour catalogue includes contributions from Professor Timothy Bonyhady who writes about his personal relationship and time at Cape Schanck with the late Andrew Sayers. Independent curator and former MPRG curator Rodney James capitalises on the twenty cumulative years of research into the region exploring the historical works, with MPRG Senior Curator Danny Lacy reflecting upon the contemporary, and artist G.W. Bot sharing her unique relationship with the landscape.
Andrew Sayers, We stood beneath the beam of light as it swept over the dark ocean 2014
Louis Buvelot, At Point Nepean 1875
Euan Macleod, From above (Mornington Peninsula) 2017
Eugene Von Guerard, Tea Trees near Cape Schanck, Victoria 1865
G.W. Bot, Cliff Glyphs 2017