Fire is intrinsic to Australian culture, both in the bush and in the backyard. From wild fire to hearth fire we are all attracted to the flame. In response to the Perth International Arts Festival's theme of 'fire', these well respected artists display their own fascination with, and ability to control, fire in art if not in nature.

Woodward approaches the fire in its more comforting stages; as a controlled campfire or after its fury has been spent. Her mixed media drawings of women either sleeping near or keeping a watchful eye on a small fire dispels fear while reminding us we shouldn't turn our backs on the flame. The Escape of the Young Wombat describes in oil a 'slow burn' with its hot oranges, flashes of flame and black broken trees. A threat yes, but there is time and a path for the wild life to escape and survive.

Blow relates to the sun's fire; how it awakens a suburban street or finds its way to the forest floor. A muted light filters through all these intriguing landscapes in oil. The Rising of the Sun and the Drawing Down of the Moon depicts an illuminated morning sky at the left and the darkening evening on the right. Between dawn and dusk we discover suggestions of a face or a hand formed by the tangled growth of a landscape articulated by short brushstrokes in mid tone hues.

Boissevain's images of wild fire are all about laying oil paint down on the board. His fire is a collection of bright orange splashes amid the green, burnt trees are calligraphic marks quickly sketched in black with a thin brush, and smoke is a cross directional dance of square brush work in white and blue. All these painterly aspects are brought together in the pictorial accuracy of Wild Fire.

Darby too respects the attributes of the media oil and acrylic to depict bush fire with verisimilitude. His aerial view of Fire Line shows a path of flame across the middle of the canvas. The upper half reveals rich earth ochre dotted with eucalyptus green while the 'burnt out' lower section glows with textural iridescent 'ash'. There is beauty to be found before and after the burn.

Sher identifies Fire as one of the four elements in nature: making its mark on Earth, fed by Air, quenched by Water. His oil on paper images abstract nature into areas of high key colour that differentiate sky, smoke, land, river and flame. Rain, Dust and Fire sees the blaze sweep along a high horizon, illuminating the world before it in rich hues while concealing its regenerative processes under a cloak of smoke and blackness.

Mitchell concentrates on fire 'power' behind the scene in his oil paintings. Obscured by cool white glass doors, anonymous grey-suited men form small groups. In the safety of their air-cooled offices they define and control the strategy that will fight or light the flame others must face. More chilling is how in Suits 3 a corner of a video screen shows the image of an aircraft carrier, fire power to the max.

Greenaway controls the fire of the kiln to produce excellent porcelain bowls glazed with soft green, yellow, orange or red. These works are beautifully turned with some elegantly scored or banded to augment the perfect shapes. Porcelain is translucent allowing light to add another aspect of appreciation. Meanwhile the matt black Bucchero forms serve as excellent counterpoints to the gentle coloured pieces.

This is an exhibition of excellence, one that should be seen.