James Yuncken: Places Nearby

Overview

Let's just admit it: landscape painting can be boring. The English countryside is great and all, but if you've seen one painting by John Constable, you've seen them all. There are few artists that can make them interesting, and when they do, it invariably looks like an acid tip. Lookin' at you, Van Gogh.

But James Yuncken has found a way to imbue the style with newfound life. All his paintings in the upcoming exhibition Places Nearby document just that: places that are really, really, really nearby. Painting the nooks and crannies of the inner north and north-east, Yuncken has created works that strike a chord for locals. With an intricate, matte style each painting looks like an old Polaroid hidden deep within an old photo album — the kind you take on your first day in a new neighbourhood.

To get the full experience, we recommend heading along on Saturday, September 6. From 10.30am, the artist is leading an intimate walking tour around the sites in his work. Meeting at the iconic Black Cat on Brunswick Street, Yuncken will guide you through the laneways, shopfronts and streets that inspired him. This "show and tell" will also include a tour of his personal studio.

See here for more information.