Issue 6, July 2003
EXHIBITION
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| North Ryde Landscape |
Roland Wakelin
Roland Wakelin, one of Australia’s most admired painters of the 20th century, is the subject of a long-awaited exhibition at the Macquarie University Art Gallery - Roland Wakelin: Master of Colour. As many of the paintings on display have never been seen by the public, the exhibition is a rare opportunity for admirers of his style to see a number of works together in a formal setting.
Wakelin, a pioneer of contemporary painting, is credited with founding the modern movement in Australia. At the beginning of the century, when Australia was conditioned to the Heidelberg ideal of expression, Europe was feeling the full impact of the French post-impressionist giants – van Gogh, Gauguin and Cézanne. These developments passed practically unnoticed in Australia until Wakelin and fellow artist Roy de Maistre began to incorporate elements of the early cubist’s style, namely geometric composition and application of paint, into their own works.
Expanding the cubist ideology, Wakelin and de Maistre formed a scheme for harmonising sound and colours. In these particular works, which bore such names as Synchromy in Orange Major, the artists attempted to portray the landscape in colours that were not representational but which suited its mood through ‘sounding’ a corresponding musical note.
Never one to follow artistic fashions or pander to popular taste, Wakelin was condemned by critics for defying the artistic taste of the times, and it was not until 1935, fifteen years after he began working as an artist, that he held a successful exhibition.
“Wakelin was never popular with critics and while his work is yet to be understood, in ten years or so I believe it will be very much recognised among the art establishment,” explains Leslie Walton, author of the only comprehensive study of Wakelin’s work.
Undergoing a number of shifts in style during his career, Wakelin is best known for his strong romantic vision. He developed a particular affection for the North Ryde area and painted a number of lyrical scenes of the then semi-rural area in the 1950s.
Undergoing a number of shifts in style during his career, Wakelin is best known for his strong romantic vision. He developed a particular affection for the North Ryde area and painted a number of lyrical scenes in the 1950s. The area was then semi-rural, very much like Heidelberg in Melbourne, and members of the Northwood group including Wakelin, Lloyd Rees, John Santry and George Lawrence organised many painting trips to the ‘country’.
Producing an exceptionally diverse range of paintings that are now represented in both national and international collections, Wakelin will be remembered for his mastery of colour, intellectual method of composition and unrelenting pursuit of artistic truth.
“There is a strength about Wakelin’s work that I don’t think existed in the works of his contemporaries,” says Walton. “Many now believe him to be the best colourist of the 20th century – the way he could make a sky look like a wonderful living thing was masterful.”
The exhibition is on display from 28 July until 5 September.
Opening Hours 10am-5pm Mon-Thurs
For further information contact Rhonda Davis on T: (02) 9850 7437 or Email: rdavis@vc.mq.edu.au