With Bryony making her home in a shared house, and Callum busy with his own social life, family activities now occur only rarely. We needed a family dinner to celebrate Susan's new job, so Bryony suggested a day in Prahran looking at commercial art galleries. She needed to visit some galleries for an assignment, and persuaded me that it would be a good experience. So last Saturday we dressed up a little and went off to trendy Prahran.
Our first gallery was rtist, a new space in a trendy part of town. Apart from one artist, who's name I cannot remember, the works were well-crafted clichés. There was no outstanding originality or distinctive style.
Next was Helen Gory Galerie. This gallery contained some memorable works. We saw still-lifes by Morgan Allender. I did like her paintings, even if I found them too nostalgic. Ms Allender's paintings sit in almost timeless past - any point in the last 400 years - but certainly not the future. The subject hails from Flemish 17th century works, and the style reminiscent of late Impressionism, with touches of surrealism.
Our lunch was yum-cha at Hutong Dumpling Bar, based on a recommendation taken directly from the Cheap Eats iPhone application. We had a great meal and a great time. God has blessed us with fantastic children.
After lunch Bryony jumped at the opportunity of a private tour around the art works in the Cullen Hotel, named after the works of Adam Cullen it contains. They have lots of prints and some originals. I didn't know anything about Adam Cullen before the tour - now I like his works. He reminds me a lot of Brett Whitely, though I think Adam has more discipline and commercial savvy.
We finished our gallery crawl at Anna Papas Gallery. Downstairs were some sculptures in wood and aluminium. Upstairs were prints comprising two layers of translucent paper with cut-outs in the top layer. The technique interested me; the abstract images bored me.
We had a special day together, and I thank Bryony for organising it.
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