Memory, Myth and Metaphor: China – Australia

The Australian Watercolour Institute and China Cultural Centre in Sydney will collaborate to hold the ‘Memory, Myth and Metaphor: China – Australia’ exhibition, featuring 40 excellent artworks from 10 members of the Australian Watercolour Institute including David Van Nunen OAM, Xidan Chen, Ian Grant, Guan Wei, Wendy Sharpe AM, Cheryl Che, Ginger Li, Neil Taylor, David Wang and Sean Cassidy.

The exhibition is curated by David Van Nunen OAM, president of the Australian Watercolour Institute, demonstrating the exchange and mutual influence between Chinese and Australian painting art. With the artworks of the 10 artists, you will find the Chinese art elements, more or less in each painting, which create a dialogue between the Chinese and Australian art.

"An exponent of the plein air landscape painting tradition for more than four decades, the central themes of my oeuvre are Sydney Harbour and its foreshores, Australia’s wilderness areas, national parks and botanic gardens. Invariably, my landscape subjects are informed by the vibrant palette and bold brushwork of European Fauvism.

"Recently, I have been exploring Chinese ink painting and calligraphic mark-making in relation to gestural, abstract Western brushwork, most notably in the series of works I executed in my tenure as artist-in-residence at the Himalayas Art Museum, Zhujiajiao, which culminated in a solo exhibition there. The tradition of Chinese painting has informed Western contemporary art to the same extent that Western contemporary art has transformed the tradition of Chinese painting. My avid reading of Chinese history and experience of that culture continue to inform my own art practice." – David van Nunen OAM