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current exhibition
 Simon Clark
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| View Exhibited Artist Profile |
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Moving towards, yet further away from the ever-changing landscape, Callum Arnold carries the viewer into his extraordinary, complex and layered paintings, simultaneously representing the past, present and future. He readdresses how we have traditionally looked at the landscape, taking us on a contemporary journey (or road trip) through our varied country. He reminds us how we see and what we see to be an amalgam of fact and fiction; a mix of memory, contemplation, interaction and place; reflection (in all senses of the word) and refraction.
Arnold is establishing himself as a significantly skilled and confident painter who produces distinctive and stimulating works. His visual language is entirely his own and as unique as the environments he travels through. Optical effects, layering, blurring and the use of compositional elements such as meandering line, light and shadow move the viewer’s eye in and around his paintings.
‘Simulations’ reveals a landscape journey from Christchurch along the Otago coast to the Catlins. From the warm and dry Canterbury plains of ‘Southern Road’ (2009) to the coastal hills in ‘South Coast’ (2009) Arnold demonstrates event, time and place in one succinct painting.
Man made elements have become more prevalent in these works. ‘Settlement’ (2009) shows a sleepy coastal town, the architecture of houses interfaces with another sense of place and become emblematic containers of memory as we pass by. From the left, brooding clouds move over a painterly coast line as the sun rises warmly over fading hills. Fence lines, telephone poles and road markings, are rhythmically placed - they play with perception and lead you into the work, rather than across the surface.
Water seems to function as if a mirage - mirror-like - in a number of these works. Arnold’s palette is becoming increasingly diverse; rich greens and deep blues in ‘Lakeside’ (2009) make for a picturesque lakeside composition whereas the earth is warmer and more exposed in the rugged landscape of ‘Riverside’ (2009).
PLEASE NOTE: There are further small paintings intended for the exhibition but images and details will not be available until after the show has opened. If you would like to see these please contact Vanessa Eve Cook or Jacqui Tohill on (03) 477 7727 or email to info@milfordhouse.co.nz.
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Born Wellington in 1973, Callum Arnold gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours, 2000 and a Masters of Fine Arts with Distinction in Printmaking 2001 from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts.
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