Art seen: August 22

Gail de Jong: Freefalling. Photo: L Elliott

(Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell)

Silvery water rushes forcefully through a rocky landscape, glimmering from within like molten metal. In her new solo show, Gail de Jong explores the power and grandeur of waterfalls, the anticipation of hearing a first low roar of sound through the trees, or the surprise of turning a corner and standing amidst the mist and spray. De Jong utilises her signature, highly textured paint application to incredible effect in works like Freefalling, where we see the cracks in the land as the water tumbles down, the scars of both destruction and renewal, and the illusion of weathered stone. The wintry palette creates a ghostly blueprint of the water’s path.

In Plume, the water arrows towards a steep precipice before gushing to the ground below, while in the aptly named Shimmer Falls, the water is drawn down in silken ribbons, the paint smoothed out like the sheen of silk. A coloured monoprint, Fringe, draws the viewer closer into the action, as if we are stepping directly into the waterfall to glimpse what lies beyond.

In a rare journey for De Jong into a green tonal palette, she juxtaposes the central canvas Hidden Falls against the craggy, silvered terrain. Here, the rolling, mossy hills are etched with raised lines like the veins of leaves, sketching the outlines of flourishing trees, giving the effect of the river cascading over a final slope to bring vibrant life and growth to the land below.

Lorraine Higgins: Fragrant Perch. photo: L Elliott

(Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell)

Cromwell’s Hullabaloo artists create in different media, with very distinct styles, but their works frequently come together with pure harmony. On one wall of the gallery, Andi Regan’s gorgeous flock of Tarāpuka/Black-billed gulls appear to soar and weave, mixing man-made materials with the natural grace of the birds’ form. The clustering of smaller gulls amongst the larger wingspans builds the feeling of liveliness, with a three-dimensional effect from the casting of shadow. A single bird seems to have glided into the adjacent canvas of Ro Bradshaw’s Grey Skies/Dry Fields, the lone figure flying through a silent, overcast sky, as the land stretches below in bands of barren, heat-scorched abstraction. On the other side is photographer Eric Schusser’s gorgeous Chatto Creek, where clouds streak the sky above rolling, isolated hills, and one majestic tree stands its ground in the shadows.

Nearby, Josh Olley’s solemn bronze O-pen ...Power of Words, the wise owl, stares pensively into the distance, quill pen clutched in one claw, ready to communicate what may or may not be heard and heeded. Lizzie Carruthers’s highly expressive animals engage in a communicative stand-off of their own in He Said, She Said, and ceramicist Sue Rutherford’s Hares keep a vigilant eye on proceedings.

Working with layers of paint and resin, Lorraine Higgins positions her birdlife in circular portals of lush, hazy solitude, where cool jewel tones seep into one another in Secret Garden, and the woodland bursts into effervescent life and birdsong in Fragrant Perch.

Philip Beadle: On the Cromwell/Clyde Road. Photo: Eade Gallery

(Eade Gallery, Clyde)

In his latest collection, Philip Beadle delves further into exploring the effect of light on water, land, and the human consciousness. The late-afternoon light in autumn has a particular gentle glow, with the muted edges of imminent dusk and the low-lying dust of gold across the hills, perfectly encapsulated in Beadle’s painting. In Autumn Ride Beside the Clutha River, a cyclist enjoys the peace under the burnished trees, travelling down a path striped with the shadows of overhanging branches. The richness of the oil paint brings a fullness and depth to the composition, while Beadle’s short, quick dabs and brush strokes lend a slightly impressionistic effect and the sense of blurred motion, as if we too are moving against the flow of the water.

The earthen tones and golden hues are used equally effectively in On the Cromwell/Clyde Road, where a hint of sunlight breaks through the gathering grey cloud, slipping across the craggy hills like a final rush of warmth before the frosts of winter. The sky is slightly hazy in Late Autumn on the Otago Rail Trail, with the light creating a shimmering visual effect as it illuminates the fields and vines. Through the trees, we glimpse the roof tiles of scattered houses, a cosy hint of human life nestled under the mountains. Beadle introduces a more verdant palette in Aorere River, Golden Bay, with the green trees reflecting in the emerald tones of the water, just faintly touched with a hint of gold.

By Laura Elliott