An exhibition of works by Sydney artist Euan Macleod will open at Orange Regional Gallery on Friday 22 March.
Flux will feature a series of paintings produced ‘en plein air’ or ‘in the open air’ during a recent expedition to the Huapapa Tasman Glacier in New Zealand, as well as a suite of studio works inspired by the remote and dangerous location.
FLUX: Isabella Wickham and Joel Tonks hang Euan Macleod’s ‘Flux’ exhibition.
Orange Regional Gallery Director Bradley Hammond accompanied Macleod on the trip, during which he shot footage of the artist working on the glacier and conducted interviews with him, which will form part of a documentary that will be screened in the Gallery theatre during the exhibition.
Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair, Cr Mel McDonell said this would add another fascinating aspect to the exhibition and provide insight into the artist’s creative process.
“It’s a rare treat for the audience to not only see the works, but also the artist himself producing the exhibition, especially one that was created in such a beautiful, but inhospitable and dangerous environment of minerals, rock and ice,” Cr McDonell said.
Born in Christchurch in 1956, Macleod has lived in Australia since 1981 and has held more than 50 solo shows in New Zealand and Australia. He has won multiple awards including the Archibald Prize, Sulman Prize, The Dobell Drawing Prize and the Gallipoli Art Prize.
Adjoining the glacier paintings are 200 works from an astonishing series Macleod made of his friend Geoff Dixon. The portraits, created almost daily over FaceTime began in 2021 during Covid lockdowns as a way of maintaining a connection with Geoff, who had recently lost his partner. The two continue to meet regularly with more than 450 portraits to date.
Flux will be officially opened at 6pm by the Australian National University’s Drill Hall Gallery Interim Director Anthony Oates.
The talk prior to the opening is already fully booked, however at 11am the following day, Saturday 23 March, residents can join Euan Macleod and Geoff Dixon in the Gallery as they discuss the portrait series.
Bookings for the discussions are essential and can be made through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/orange-regional-gallery-21898364994.
Flux is an Orange Regional Gallery and ANU Drill Hall Gallery partnership exhibition supported by King Street Gallery on William and the Orange Regional Arts Foundation. Euan Macleod is represented by King Street Gallery on William, Sydney.
