SPIRITED WINGS Mixed Media Works by CHERRIE STOTT
Stone Sculpture by VIKTOR ESZENYI
12th March - 2nd April at GOMBOC GALLERY
Reviewed by  Judith McGrath

Even if you're not an avid bird watcher you'll appreciate Stott's drawings of our winged friends. These works offer a faithful rendition of a bird's identifiable plumage as well as its colourful character, suggesting the artist knows more about her subject than just its outward appearance.

Stott is able to find 'human' traits in her subjects so we the spectator can easily relate to them. Here we see the dignified, the silly, the pompous, the timid - the individual bird within the generality of the species. There are portraits like the sartorial splendour in black of Cockatoo Elegance, narratives such as Lookout Below! were a pelican dives and gulls flee his engulfing beak, and moods as in the contemplative European Kingfisher.

Stott also knows how to use her drawing skills and the medium to produce fine pastel art. For example, in the small but most delightful Inquisitive Toucan, the named bird sits surrounded by green fronds. The repeated use of gentle curves in the leaves, the bird's beak and contours of its body, all work to create a unified composition which is punctuated by the contrast of the black bird in the middle of its cool green world. This pleasing composition together with the soft blending of the medium suggests a young bird in a safe environment.

At the opposite end of the gallery is the larger 'narrative' Love that Feather where a group of White Cockatoos collect on a branch to make, one supposes, a fashion statement. The inclusion of collaged gum leaves adds interest as it enhances the reality of the image and invigorates the surface. Stott's treatment of her surfaces, how she builds up the image from thin wash, through layers of pastel medium, to added accents of gouache or collage, provide as much interest as the picture she draws. More than a few gallery patrons moved up close to examine 'how she did it' then stepped back to admire the total effect. It's rewarding to see this type of reaction to an artwork.

Donnybrook stone and soapstone sculptures by Vicktor Eszenyi fill the first two gallery rooms. This artist owns an impressive history as a sculptor and has a long list of commissions to his credit, yet it is difficult to find sensitivity to the subject in works displayed here. However there are references to Lehmbruck, Brancusi and Moore in his work, which provides a level of interest for the viewer.

Eszenyi finishes the stone with a practised hand, which imbues the smaller and more simplified forms with a warmth that is missing in the clearly defined nudes. His larger carvings seem intended for placement in an environment where they enhance the whole rather than be the main focal point. He has selected some fine stone and one wants to caress its smooth surface.

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