About

Revealing references to both Eastern and Western traditions, contemporary Australian artists Natalya Hughes, Rosslynd Piggott and Marion Borgelt focus on colour and line, shape and symmetry, pattern and texture in their work.

Natalya Hughes draws on the lush imagery of ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Edo period Japan (1615–1868) and art nouveau designs of nineteenth-century British artist Aubrey Beardsley to portray human bodies. Hughes implies their presence by playing on our familiarity with the way volumes of cloth are depicted through shape, line and shifting pattern.

Rosslynd Piggott also explores her interest in Japanese culture, and her own personal experiences in Japan. Piggott is inspired by the gardens of Japan and Italy and uses gentle shifts in colour and opacity.

Marion Borgelt fans and folds stacks of paper to study the common characteristics of painting and sculpture, painted black on one side and red on the other, the colour contrast defines each form with an intensity reminiscent of east Asian lacquerware.

George Baldessin's Three pears 1975 is on view in the Watermall until 31 May.