Impossible Objects I

The current group exhibition at Melbourne gallery Utopian Slumps is the first of a two-part series curated by Melissa Loughnan and Helen Hughes, and conceived around ideas of optical illusion; offering up works that defy logic or expectation.

In Fergus Binns’ Toy Painting (Astronaughts and crosses), the artist incorporates imagery from low culture such as cartoons and comic books, juxtaposed with classical references and mythic figures. Three dimensional elements of cobwebs, pins and paintbrushes add a craft aesthetic and reject the two-dimensional illusion of the canvas. A central tension between order and disorder is at play in the contrasting use of a naughts and crosses grid behind which cosmic bursts of psychedelic colour explode.

In Dan Bell’s installation diagonal cross section of angora aurora, 365 split crumbs, constellations are created out of necklaces, rings and brooches affixed to the gallery wall. Using a multitude of crystals, plastic charms and glitter, Bell connects the dots with a web of chains, string and wool, using the language of star mapping to imbue the materials with a sense of mystery and awe.

Moya McKenna’s collaged series A cut through history uses a series of photographs taken at the Great Wall of China in which the artist cuts part of the images out, leaving blank spaces and shapes which distort and disrupt expectations.

Liang Luscombe’s work further expands the canvas into the world of sculpture and blurs the boundaries between the two, using acetate, resin and plastic to create structures that support or overtake the painted canvas.

A multitude of visual planes, realism and abstraction are present in Tim Price’s paintings, which explore notions of space and depth through the layering of paint and technique in a contrasting palette of sepia tones and neon.

Lastly an installation by Christopher L.G Hill is comprised of ready-mades, such as ceramic cockatoos, an umbrella, and a cheap foldout chair. These items of kitsch decor are given new status, and as such are both amusing and unexpected, whether arranged on a plinth or around the gallery floor.

Rating: Four stars

Impossible Objects I
Curated by Melissa Loughnan and Helen Hughes
Featuring works by Dan Bell, Fergus Binns, Christopher L.G. Hill, Liang Luscombe, Moya McKenna, Tim Price

Utopian Slumps, 33 Guildford Lane, Melbourne
June 24 – July 16 www.utopianslumps.com