Anna Glynn: Amusement

Frances Keevil is delighted to announce her presentation of Anna Glynn: Amusement, a solo exhibition in Sydney.

Studio W in Woolloomooloo is the perfect setting for the artworks selected for Amusement. This 19th century terrace house, converted to a gallery, adds its own history and presence to a body of work taking an unflinching look at European ways of seeing and thinking about Australia since colonisation.

The centrepiece of works, exhibited on the ground floor, is prime evidence of the artist’s probing mind and ability to render her thinking in compelling visual form. The striking appearance and attractiveness of the work – a triptych on black paper – may lull a viewer into a somewhat superficial appreciation, until we realise this 2.1 metre high work is presenting us with a reimagined coat of arms for Australia, exclusively featuring extinct Australian animals and birds.

The exhibition’s curator, Dr Natalie McDonagh, finds this particular skill of the artist to be one of the most intriguing and important aspects of Glynn’s works:

“The invitation here is to look. To look closely. Look very closely, for there is a sleight of hand at play here. Do not let your eye or mind be deceived by pleasing, playful appearances. These are deeply serious works drawing on immaculate intellectual, historical and environmental research.”

The paintings, drawings and moving image works selected for the exhibition focus on the past ten years of Glynn’s practice giving us a precious glimpse into her art-making that now spans four decades.

In an era when when our major art institutions are encouraging us to ‘Know Her Name’, this is a prime opportunity to get to better know the name and work of this significant artist. Natalie says:

“Standing in front of Anna Glynn’s works in this exhibition you may find yourself having an Alice-Through-the-Looking-Glass experience, entering a strange world. It may be unnerving at times but you will be rewarded in ways impossible to predict.”