Arts

Visual Arts Review: SALA Festival 2017 Exhibition Review: Saint Ignatius Art Show 2017

The 2017 Saint Ignatius Art Show biennial exhibition provides one of the largest offerings of South Australian artists at this year’s SALA festival with over 70 local artists participating.

Presented by: Saint Ignatius
Reviewed 11 August 2017

The 2017 Saint Ignatius Art Show biennial exhibition provides one of the largest offerings of South Australian artists at this year’s SALA festival with over 70 local artists participating. This broad range of artists mean a diverse variety of mediums are on offer, from ceramics, glass work and sculpture to drawing, print-making and painting and even jewellery.

This year’s featured artist is the award-winning illustrator Sally Heinrich whose whimsical illustrations will transport you to worlds far away. Also included are artists from the Kaljiti Arts in the APY lands whose works include paintings saturated in the earthy palette of desert browns, reds and yellows as well as a range of quirky and creative objects.

It’s hard to ignore the Rector’s Choice Prize Winner by Peter Serwan as the large, imposing portrait greets you as you first enter the exhibition. The piece is both stark and at the same time full, even cluttered, as an innocuous, balding, middle-aged man sits covered in orange safety flags among a group of minimalist, miniature houses set within a vast field. As bizarre as this image is (and probably sounds), it works really well, stimulating your curiosity as to what it all means. Serwan’s attention to detail and choice of colours create a cohesive environment on the canvas while its layout allows the images to still remain balanced while still accentuating the bare spaces within the image.

Judith Rolevink’s somewhat exaggerated sculptures depicting a range of different women in unusual and sometimes awkward poses are an absolute show stopper within the exhibition. These pieces capture your eye with their bright, bouncing colours and structural oddity and are a sculptural presence you will not have experienced elsewhere.

If you’re an animal lover then this exhibition is a must-see in this year’s SALA Festival. There is no shortage of artists who’ve presented their own imaginative interpretations of our animal friends. From Margaret Slape Phillips’ colourful, patterned feline portraits to Angela Black’s delicate graphite animal sketches, as well as Elodie Barker’s well known ceramic canine creations – there’s definitely something for everyone.

A surprising highlight is a miniature library that has been created inside the exhibition featuring a range of small works produced by some of the artists in lieu of paying an exhibition entry fee (with all proceeds going towards the school). These works have all been created around the theme of books and some incredibly imaginative works have resulted including a merry-go-round formed from a multitude of pages and detailed miniature sculptures of classic story-book characters, such as the beloved Matilda.

The variety within The Saint Ignatius 2017 Art Show offers a flavourful taste of the truly talented and diverse artists we have living and working in South Australia.

Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Twitter: @Georgie_xox

Venue: Saint Ignatius College Junior School, 62 Queen St Norwood, 5067
Season: 11 -13 August 2017
Tickets: Free Entry

 

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