Geometries

Overview

From Seinfeld to Friends to Kevin Smith's Mallrats, 90s pop culture was jam-packed with characters staring at pictures and trying to spot optical illusions. It was a time of Magic Eye books, after all — but peering at pieces of art, soaking in colours and arrangements, and endeavouring to see more than the obvious wasn't invented then. And, it has never gone out of fashion.

In fact, doing just that is on the agenda at Queensland Art Gallery's new Geometries exhibition, which is on display until Sunday, February 2, 2020. The free showcase rounds up a heap of works that look simple, but prove otherwise the more that you look at them. There's no such thing as a plain old abstract painting of lines and shapes here.

Whether they're playing with scale, sequencing, scope or proportion, these are pieces you'll want to spend some time with — so prepare to get cosy in QAG's Watermall.

Image: Wilma Tabacco. Australia b.1953. Hellza poppin. 2004. Oil on linen / 183 x 244cm. Gift of William Nuttall and Annette Reeves through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art.