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Review / Ireland inspires ‘luscious’ exhibition

‘Out West,’ 6 panels, Julie Bradley, 2019, mixed media gouache and collage. Photo: Art Atelier.

“evocation”, Julie Bradley, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen, Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm, until October 25. Reviewed by ANNI DOYLE WAWRZYNCZAK.

WINNER of the 2019 CAPO Fellowship and recipient of a three-month residency at Ireland’s Ballinglen Arts Foundation in North West County Mayo, Canberra artist Julie Bradley has had, amidst the global pandemic and in spite of personal sorrows, a year of great success.

‘Blue Moon at Ballycastle,’ Julie Bradley, 2020, mixed media gouache and collage. Photo: Art Atelier.

The residency, set among the majesty of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, has resulted in the majority of works in this immensely satisfying exhibition which is wholly inspired by place.
A March showing of “evocation” at Melbourne’s 1930s-founded artist colony Montsalvat, was Covid-cancelled just hours before the artist and her works were scheduled to leave the ACT.

The very good news for Canberra viewers is that this marvellous exhibition is now on display at the Belconnen Arts Centre, as part of the Centre’s Stage Two opening programs.
Bradley’s enduring interests over four decades of artistic practice, including narrative, myth and metaphor, and the nexus between visible nature and invisible spirit, found fertile ground in County Mayo.

‘Freycinet midden,’ Julie Bradley, 2018, mixed media gouache and collage. Photo: Art Atelier

Amongst the 24 works in the exhibition are a series of eight paintings (400mm x 600mm) whose titles subtly reference both the artist’s internal state and the exhilarating weather patterns over this dramatic pocket of Ireland. Titles such as “Waiting for Hurricane Lorenzo – Ballycastle”, “Dark Day at Doonfeeny”, or “Soft Weather – West Coast”, connect and situate her works and underscore the emotional response to place inherent in her paintings.

From the 900mm x 3500mm “Out West” to the exquisite 240mm x 1080mm artist books, the artist’s use of swirling gouache washes, collaged Japanese papers, and restrained use of anchoring vertical lines and ovoid shapes has resulted in this luscious, must-see exhibition.

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