Tony Irving: Are We There Yet?

Overview

Perhaps Tony Irving was born a little too late. His current exhibit, Are we there yet?, at Eva Breuer Art Dealer in Woollahra, feels like an homage to modernism. Irving is a perfect fit in Eva Breuer's stable of artists. The works shown in the Eastern suburbs gallery are unfailingly conservative and pretty, but that's cool. Not everyone wants to look at drawings of Tracey Emin's vagina.

Irving cites Canaletto (Italian guy. Painted slightly insipid portraits of 18^th Century Venetian life.) as one of his favourite artists.  Unsurprisingly, Irving's works are incredibly staid. That said, they're also lovely. The paintings are like Edward Hoppers but without the darkness. Giorgio De Chiricos but without the creepiness.  There is a quietness and stillness in them but he uses symbolism terrifically well and it adds a fantastic surrealist flavour to the works. Each painting is a snapshot of urban life – cars, vistas, streetscapes -  primarily Italian but there are a handful of American scenes in there just to mix it up.

"The street is the starting point for most of my paintings", Irving explains,  "but in recent years as I've started travelling more again, that has moved from Australia's urban environment to a wider world. That world is often surprising or inspirational, but the street is still there, people still go about their business and as an artist, my imagination conjures a narrative that might be playing out."

Several studies and smaller versions of the paintings are included in the exhibition. Usually when galleries throw these into the mix it's to show the artist's creative process or somehow enhance the viewer's engagement with the final product. It's meant to be enlightening but in the Irving show it feels like filler.  There are also a few little drawings included. They seem to serve no purpose other than to cover space on the wall and they're hung over a desk, so you can't pass by them easily. They feel like an afterthought. The works are beautiful, and you will enjoy seeing the exhibition. Even if your taste is more Munch than Monet, it's worth a visit. Just don't expect them to set your world on fire.

Image by Tony Irving, care of Eva Breuer Art Dealer.