There’s an amazing art exhibition on display at Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane!
Daniel Boyd is a contemporary, Indigenous Australian painter and sculptor, viewed as one of our best. He’s been exhibiting here and abroad since 2005. Rainbow Serpent (Version) is the artist’s first major Brisbane exhibition.
In the creation of his complex works, Boyd utilises traditional and cultural approaches to art. He utilises (obvious) dots to create striking, beautiful but non-traditional paintings.
From my perspective, without the dots, his style would be deemed realistic. Usage of the dotted format merges realism with abstract concepts. The outcome is unique. Clearly, these are collectible paintings, currently affordable.
Beyond the scope of this exhibition, Boyd has a lot of fun with the historical champions of colonialism. From the Eurocentric viewpoint, supposedly respectable beings are ‘vandalised’.
This is very cleverly achieved by the incorporation of piratical symbols: an eye patch, a seemingly absent right hand and a parrot perched on the shoulder of someone who could be Captain Cook…
If living in or visiting Brisbane, I advise students or lovers of Australian art to head down the valley and take in this exhibition.
Daniel Boyd: Rainbow Serpent (Version)
Institute of Modern Art – Judith Wright Arts Centre, 420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
Exhibition continues to 16 December 2023
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.ima.org.au for details.
Image: Daniel Boyd: Rainbow Serpent (Version), Institute of Modern Art, 2023 (detail) – photo by Louis Lim
Review: Michele-Rose Boylan