The Blue Square Project

Wahida Azhari, Christine Boiry, Shawn Stipling, Bogumila Strojna


May 17 to June 1
Opening Friday 16 May, 6-8 pm

Images (clockwise from top right):
Bogumila Strojna, Wahida Azhari, Christine Boiry, Shawn Stipling.

Blue Square is a group show by four European artists, Wahida Azhari (Germany), Christine Boiry (France), Shawn Stipling (England) and Bogumila Strojna (Poland). The theme and title Blue Square refers to the historical tradition of abstraction and the significance of the square as a geometric form in the paradigm of twentieth century art. The square also refers to the role of constraint in the creative process, the process of accepting its limitations and/or constructive aspects.

Each of the artists has responded to this theme differently. Azhari responds to the square 

by creating two diagonal forms that emphasize dynamism between interacting shapes. Boiry emphasizes movement and rhythm in her construction, while Stipling refers to a personal experience in relation to architectural style. For Strojna  the cube or square forms part of her essential artistic lexicon or framework, a constraint that is one of the guiding principles of her practice – what she refers to as her ‘cubic grammar’. 

Blue Square is curated by Bogumila Strojna.

Chris Packer

March 29 to April 13
Opening Friday March 28, 6-8 pm

Gotta Zip

Image: Chris Packer, Colour Column (detail).

Chris Packer's Gotta Zip expands on his previous work, with two composite sculptural paintings. A series of six large hanging works occupy the entrance to the upstairs mezzanine, their long vertical zips of pure colour bouncing off each other or twisting to reveal carefully coordinated shifts. As the viewer walks around or through these works, their harmonies adjust accordingly, each element pulsing to its own logic while still connecting to the whole. Further into the space, a second series of six interconnected works re-attaches painting to the wall, with zips on gridded wire stretchers again exploring colour in three dimensions.
 
Chris Packer is a Sydney based artist.
http://chrispacker.com