There's no doubt about it, paintings by Jos Myers own a kind of frenetic energy. She is able to capture the pulse of life in her work via bright colours, strong texture and/or collage, undulating contours, feverish brush work, strong mark making, dripping paint, and a certain sense of joy in living, looking, and learning.
This exhibition is a mini retrospective (from 2000 to 2006) and includes large and small works inspired by different faces and places. Of the faces, you got to love Truckeee. With cap on head, fag in mouth, and a casual expression he exudes a 'been there, done that' attitude that delights. You just know he's the type who, after knowing him for only five minutes, will be your best mate. Then there's the delightful North Cott Nippers where three children, shin deep in the clear water that laps Cottesloe Beach, stand at attention with arms at their sides, wearing white zinc smeared across nose and cheekbones, and broad smiles. If you hunt through the family album, you'll find a photograph of you and your friends/siblings in the exact same pose.
Other faces and figures that delight are found in Kings Cross. Here four blue ladies of the night in red or black bikinis strut their stuff with the Harbour Bridge as a back drop. They are cheeky and fun and return our gaze with a purpose. But it was the noble Wahines that captivated me and brought me back again and again. This collection of serene, gentle women wearing feathery crowns, project a sense of confidence and kindness but most of all, the strength of womanhood.
Myers takes us to different cities via her art, including the Big Apple. The tall towers, hustle and bustle of this metropolis is adeptly recorded in New York Gumby. The cacophony of colour and jumble of information dazzles the viewer, as big cities often do. This same jazzy momentum is found in Sydney as seen From Lavender Bay. Here the artists captures the hot pale sky and cool blue water, dotted with multi coloured boats. This work may be a tribute to Brett Whiteley, who's style the artist freely admits she is fascinated by and can relate to. While on the east coast, the riotous image Boomers and Pies is a powerful tangle of black and white that captures the mad scuffle of Aussie Rules footy. Even if you are not a fan of the sport, you'll find something of interest in Myers' painting of the magpies!
I've been to New York and to Sydney but it's back home in the West that I like best, particularly Yallingup. This large diptych shows a dozen surfers, of various size and gender, straddling their boards waiting for the rolling water beneath them to surge up into a big one. There is a fascinating sense of power, and depth, to the water as the surfers seem to bob like corks on the surface.
Myers has a way of exciting the viewer with her work. They are easily accessible and familiar, not because we know the sitter or have been to the pictured place, but because they are images of real life, filtered through a joyful heart and talented hand. See the show, it'll lift your spirits.