…one of our favourite art sites is Gallery 4 at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, which is the mega-vitrine at the entrance to CMAG in the North Building on London Circuit. It’s a bit tucked away, unless you’re en route to the Library or the Theatre, or on your way to CMAG itself, but it’s where CMAG often showcases its most adventurous works.
Currently you will see a magical piece by the late Neil Roberts, Cryonic Quintet, 1994. These cast-glass totems, sitting on Duchampian stools, on a platform, on a black floor, against a black wall, are spell-binding. Beautifully installed: the subtle elevation of the white floor plane on beer glasses is Neil’s own device. Detail below. The website entry, which also has some biographical and other relevant background both to Neil and to this piece, is by Deborah Clark. The work is in the CMAG collection.
P.S. Surely there’s a show to be made about the distinctive way in which Canberra artists of the 70s, 80s, 90s turned to found objects as the material of their practice – Rosalie Gascoigne, Neil Roberts, Ingo Kleinert, for starters…
1 response so far ↓
1 Charlie Sofo // Apr 16, 2008 at 7:05 am
Yes. I caught this work by accident when I was back in Canberra. I like Neil very much. It took me a while to realise where he fits in the history of art in Canberra. I found it frustrating that I could only ever see tiny glimpses of his work, like this. But it’s a beautiful glimpse, no less. I was also grateful to see Procter’s retrospective in the main gallery. It really filled in some gaps for me. Hopefully this signals a positive change for cmag.
Leave a Comment