Paper Works

Overview

Watercolours aren’t usually that sexy. Often the domain of octogenarians with a penchant for bridge-peppered landscapes, they don't come to mind when you first think of cutting edge Contemporary art. But still, Paper Works , at Newsagency gallery, is one of the best exhibits I’ve seen in a long while.

The show features works on paper by five early career artists: Callum Docherty, Daniel Smith, Jo Ann Cahill, Elisa Malo and Zoe Tubbenhauer. I loved nearly everything on display, but clear standouts were the pieces by Cahill, Tubbenhauer and Docherty. Each artist works with watercolour paints (among other things) and each brings something new and exciting to the medium.

Cahill’s use of paint is nothing short of virtuosic. Her works are exquisite, engaging and just plain fun. Adding a fabulously nonsensical, hilarious element to the pieces are their titles. ‘The dog, Max, endowed with intelligence and other special abilities, is at first loveable, but also proves to be a ferocious, unstoppable killer’ was a particular favourite of mine. She trawls the internet for images then appropriates them in her watercolours, turning inconsequential happy snaps –dogs in silly costumes, infant bears trying to break into a car – into jewel-coloured, fairytale-like images.

Illustrator and graphic designer Zoe Tubbenhauer creates beautifully delicate, slightly esoteric paintings that sit ‘in limbo between childhood and adulthood’. They reminded me of the lovely pictures that accompanied the Beatrix Potter books many of us read as kids, except Tubbenhauer’s works are a little less optimistic, a little more sinister. I noticed that most of her pieces had sold, and I’m not surprised.

Perhaps my favourite pieces in Paper Works were those by Callum Docherty. The artist explains that his images "portray a violently childlike distant world of confusion". I didn’t really see any violence in them, though. They’re childlike, absolutely, but I just saw awesomely surrealist, interesting, beautifully controlled pieces. Each work is made up of these great biomorphic shapes – sometimes executed in monochrome, sometimes in brilliant colours.

Newsagency Gallery is a great artist run space in Stanmore. Its sparse furnishings give it a cool, pop-up feel. But it’s based there permanently, so keep tabs on their exhibitions. I definitely will be.

Newsagency Gallery is open Saturday and Sunday. You can call for a private viewing on other days 0401 797 746. Image: Bears by Jo Ann Cahill.