Brisbane River

Friday 28 June 2024
STREAMS OF FIRE AND TONGUES OF FLAME – A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ART OF GLASS
Presented by Geoffrey Edwards
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland

In this illustrated lecture the ancient and remarkable history of glass as an art form is traced with reference to works in major public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.  The lecture also refers to glass related imagery and symbolism in the visual arts, film and literature – a tradition that ranges in time and type from biblical allusion and Chaucerian dream visions of glass temples through to the novels of Daphne du Maurier, the films of Orson Wells, the poetry of Les Murray and recent science fiction.

Geoffrey Edwards was Director of the Geelong Art Gallery, one of Australia’s oldest and largest regional galleries.  Prior to this appointment, he held Senior Curatorial positions at the National Gallery of Victoria where he was in charge of the collections of International and Australian sculpture and Melbourne’s celebrated holdings of ancient, antique and modern glass.  His professional affiliations, here and abroad, are extensive and include, amongst others, the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council, Visions Australia, the International Councils of Museums, Craft Australia, Museums Australia (Victoria), the Winston Churchill Trust (he is a former Churchill Fellow), the George Baldessin Trust and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

Friday 19 July 2024
RUBENS: POSES, POSITIONS AND PROPERTY
Presented by Dan Evans
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland

Writhing sea nymphs with dimpled bottoms were only a small part of this prolific painter’s offerings. Rubens was charm personified and he worked for every major court in Europe. With his paintbrush he helped create peace in Europe and was honoured with a knighthood by not one but two European monarchs. Rubens used his position to retire early, retreating to his country estate to paint it most beautiful grounds. Understandably his career caused envy, yet created inspiration in equal parts, and his work demonstrates the close relationship between Money, Art & Power, whilst his attention to the female form has both scandalised and seduced.

Dan Evans, an educationalist with a passion for European art and architecture. He is a Housemaster at Cheltenham College, a full boarding and co-educational independent school established in 1841, where he also teaches History and A Level History of Art. Dan has been lecturing since 2001, and spent 9 years working as a senior lecturer, tutor, and tour guide for Art History Abroad. He was once voted the British winner of the World Guide of the Year Awards and continues to take groups of intrepid travellers to a range of European destinations.

Friday 16 August 2024
THE ART OF SEDUCTION
Presented by Lynne Gibson
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland

Seduction had been one of the enduring themes of art since Eve offered Adam an apple. Courtly love blossomed in manuscripts and miniatures of the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance offered painters an Olympian cast of amorous gods and goddesses. Puritanical Dutch and Prudish Victorians tutted over the loose morals of fallen women. Rococo artists revelled in the flirtatious fun of Fetes Galantes and Belle Epoque ‘Gay Paree’ flaunted the Femme Fatale. But in our permissive society has the ‘Battle of Sexes’ killed the spirit of romance? This lecture celebrates the theme of love and courtship through painting from the Age of Chivalry to the Modern Age.

Lynne Gibson is a freelance lecturer in the History of Art, as well as in practical Drawing, Painting and Printmaking. She has held posts at the Universities of Sussex and Bristol, where she introduced ‘Understanding Art’ to the Lifelong Learning programme. She gives talks, lectures, courses and guided tours for a wide range of organisations including ARCA colleges, Art Galleries and Museums, The Art Fund, The National Trust and The Arts Society. She has worked as a professional artist specializing in oil painting and etching. Her work has been exhibited widely and used in a range of publications.

Friday 13 September 2024
PARADISE LOST AND RESTORED – 400 YEARS OF GARDEN DESIGN IN OXFORDSHIRE
Presented by Timothy Walker
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland

The history of English garden design can be told in different ways, but rarely can it be told “through the lens” of one garden.  The Oxford Botanic Garden was founded at the beginning of the 17th century and its design bears all the hallmarks of 17th century design.  Through the next 400 years successive Horti Praefecti (head gardeners) changed the features reflecting the art of gardening, and occasionally the science of botany.   This talk looks at how the art of gardening has changed, or perhaps has not, in four centuries in Oxfordshire and how the Oxford Botanic Garden now reflects garden design at the beginning of the 21st century.  The title of the talk refers to the fact that one of the motivations for garden design remains the desire to create paradise on Earth.  The meaning of paradise may now be less rooted in the Biblical account of the rise and fall of man, but there is still a clear vision of what we would like the world to resemble.

From 1988 to 2014 Timothy Walker was the Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.  Botanic gardens are often described as living museums, and garden curators lecture about them in the same way as museum curators talk about their collections. Gardens are often thought of a place where science and art meet on equal terms. Timothy’s lectures often investigate this relationship.  Since 2014, he has been a college lecturer and tutor in Botany and Plant Conservation at Somerville College Oxford.

Friday 1 November 2024
UNFOLDING THE ART OF GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
Presented by Deborah Jenner
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland

O’Keeffe’s special vision bends, buckles and lobs flowers, landscapes and space itself into smoothly-painted folds of swirling hues in order to unearth a deeper truth. Through  the metaphor of folding, O’Keeffe’s art reveals an original interpretation of form and colour. Parallels with origami shed light on her approach to composition that never loses sight of the intrinsic wholeness of the blank surface. All allusions a 3rd dimension double-back (like a Mobius strip) to join the natural flatness of the canvas. Her palette is seen as a rainbow of translucent colour releasing brilliant hues through prismatic refraction from the underlying glow of white light. By redefining her art’s so-called erotic, biomorphic folds within a wider symbolic context, this study reveals a uniquely all-embracing vision of her work. Seen through the significance of folds, the critical texts on O’Keeffe’s painting – from those of Stieglitz’ revue, Camera Work, to the most contemporary – take on a new twist.

Deborah Jenner, American-born art historian; member of College Arts Association has resided in Paris since 1990. She has worked at the Ecole du Louvre, the Sorbonne, the Catholic Institute, and the British Council.  Her Doctorate thesis proved non-western influences in Georgia O’Keeffe’s art. Deborah’s publications include catalogue essays for Musée d’Orsay (New York City et l’Art modern) and Centre Pompidou (Les Traces du Sacré), many scholarly papers and Gallery critiques.  She gives public talks, guided walks and museum tours for ex-pat organisations and study-abroad programs.

Friday 6 December 2024
CHRISTMAS MORNING TEA AND AGM
Time & Venue: 10:30am, The State Library of Queensland