Scorching, mythic - the end of summer

BVRG : PORT - Eden Welcome Centre

Liam BENSON

Ken DONE

Celia GULLETT

Matthew JOHNSON

Julian MEAGHER

George RAFTOPOULOS

Brett WEIR

“as the inlet appears at the bottom of the hill, the cloud that has been placidly sitting across the face of the sun chooses at this very moment to divide, to become two formidable forms in the sky, their glacial separation completed precisely as I make the turn so that on either end it is as if their fingers are touching then slipping away from each other: and it is now, through the ensuing chasm, that the sun is victorious, and the inlet glistens and flickers as if it is a lake of diamond, and the sight overwhelms and is rapturous and I release a gasp. The terrible injustice of nature, equal part beauty and equal part cruelty, and so oblivious to tragedy: I am defeated and conquered, and I surrender to its beauty.
All I can experience is joy.”

Christos Tsiolkas – 7 1/2 - a novel, 2021

Inspired by a great summer read, this exhibition brings together works from our collection that for me, conjure up feelings of long lazy hot days, colour fields dancing through the haze of cicada song and the stories that evolve from staring into a rockpool somewhere along the 225kms of our coastline. The story of every art museum’s permanent collection is as unique as the community it represents. A cultural DNA that provides us with insight into who we have been, a mirror as to who we are now, and an embodiment of our ambitions as to whom we wish to become.

Scorching, mythic – the end of summer brings together works donated to the BVRG by artists and collectors, demonstrating their willingness to share the wealth of Australian contemporary visual culture with our unique, sophisticated and curious community.

Iain Dawson
Gallery Director
Exhibition Curator
February 2022