Upcoming Exhibition | Alex Wanders ― ‘Gleanings’
Expect the unexpected. Hobart based artist, Alex Wanders, takes the familiar and adds a sprinkle of ambiguity and mystery in his enigmatic exhibition of new works, Gleanings.
Scenes from Hobart adorn the canvas. But with a twist. Mount Wellington/kunanyi is presented on a table, as a still-life, in Moon under the Mountain. A gleaming sphere rises from below. “I take the familiar and make it unfamiliar,” he tells us. “Gleaning subject matter from my local environment, I place the everyday in dislocated locations.”
In Davey Street an unassuming art deco house catches the eye of Alex. It too is served up as a feast on a table. “There is a suggestion that what is in front of our eyes may not be as straightforward as we think. Like every artist, I bring my own set of thoughts and beliefs about what I see in the landscape.”
Alex employs a modernist style with dramatic shadowing, and in Gleanings he expands his artistic journey from the mid-century architectural structures that dominated previous paintings. His net is cast wider, both in scale and subject matter. Paintings range from large to small, and there is even a beautiful series of still life flowers. Again, with a twist. “Shadows add a darker side to the beauty of the flowers.
Alex Wanders solo exhibition, Gleanings, runs at Handmark from February 14 until March 10. Join us for his Artist Talk at the Gallery on February 16 at 2 pm.