TJ McNamara: Toy becomes dance of lines

<i>Romantic Portrait of Arc in Steel</i> by David McCracken. Photo / Paul Estcourt

A children's toy called Endless Landscape that was popular in Victorian times is still sold today. It consists of several dozen cards that can be laid side by side in any order to create a harmonious landscape. The possible combinations run into millions. The fancy name for it is Myriorama, the title of an exhibition by Julia Morison at Two Rooms in which the toy is transformed into abstract art.

The exhibition is in two parts. Downstairs, four works on aluminum panels have been primed then given a wash of diluted Indian ink to give the surface a pale marbled effect. Every panel is the same size and they are assembled into groups. The largest is 15 panels and the smallest six.

All this is background for an extraordinarily austere dance of lines with a different character of movement in each work. The lines, printed by laser jet print, run in groups of more than 30 in concentric rhythmic loops, whorls and mazes broken by sudden agitations but always in a tightly disciplined way.

With remarkable ingenuity the panels within any work will always flow together no matter what order they are placed in - like the game but in two dimensions, not just horizontally. In three of the four works the stream of lines is hung on dark geometric bars, occasionally interrupted by gaps - not entirely to their advantage.

These are more than a game, they are a visually fascinating wall decoration in which absolute precision takes unexpected turns in ways that retain order, stimulate surprise and a constant impression of flow: along the wall in #1 and upward with a sense of growth in #4.

The only variant in this abstract schematic work are several panels where the lines dissolve in a mass of chaotic twists, almost like the floating tendrils of a jellyfish. This sudden descent into the irrational adds a piquancy to the severity of the other works and brackets the sequence at the beginning and end.

These works are brilliant in conception and realisation but they do take on the nature of a demonstration. They would be most effective fitted to a specific site but once installed the possibilities of changing the patterns would be lost and with it some of the point of the exercise .

There will be an installation at the Opera House for the Sydney Biennale.

Upstairs there is another, more mathematically inspired series of variations called Ringing the Changes in black and shades of grey. Each monoprint is unique but they are all variants of six separate panels, each with a special character. One is a tangle of ribbons, another a pattern of lines, a third is shaded and so on. The six panels that make up each work are shuffled to make variations and this is extended by inverting some.

The basis is the "changes" rung by bell-ringers. A chart on the wall lists 60 changes and alongside is a school photograph of a class of girls in school uniform with six bells. This reinforces the theme of groups looking the same but all in some way different.

The effect is of challenging virtuosity yet the huge suite as a whole has much more meaning than the isolated prints. At least six prints are needed as a group to be fully meaningful.

Another exhibition that begins in the commonplace and ends in the realm of art is the show of new works by David McCracken at the Gow Langsford Gallery.

This is sculpture for outdoor public places. Some works such as Heavy Tread are simply still-life on a huge scale. This work is a curved slab of steel with feet that would be buried in concrete. On one side is a raised pattern of the sort found on the steel plate treads of a stair. It looks aggressive. An irregular pattern on the other side suggests a braided stream or the irregular growth of a tree. A variation on this work lies on the floor and rocks at a touch for all its massive weight.

Both of these works are made in corten steel, which has a rust-coloured surface like the exterior of the new award-winning offices on Karangahape Rd. The outstanding exponent of the use of this spectacular steel is the American sculptor Richard Serra. One work particularly recalls the sculpture of Serra although it is more lyric and less spectacularly massive.

It is called Romantic Portrait of an Arc in Steel - romantic because it is a bridge to nowhere. Although it represents the principles of a stone arch in steel, the pieces are not divided by a simple cut but add elaboration by being curved.

A balloon in steel and a reflective work called Nice Round Figure is much more than "nice", being a 1500mm ball of stainless steel, highly polished but slashed by deep cuts. It is a masterpiece of making and its polished surface involves the viewer.

McCracken has been off the art scene for some time but conceiving and carrying out grand works on this scale would account for his absence.

Both of these major exhibitions have a certain seriousness. More lighthearted is the colourful, lyric work of Krystie Wade at Whitespace. She is a painter pure and simple. Her richly coloured works are based on observation of landscape, gardens and flowers.

These become a composition of colour and shape where the shapes are often livened by having a surface worked into regular patterns.

Each piece has a personality based on its colour and a variety of viewpoints. Fall Took Place has a hint of Icarus falling from the sky - its viewpoint is from above - while the very attractive A World of Strange and Irregular Voices is a delightful arrangement of shapes and colours apparently gathered looking through a window.

Time in Spain produced works notable for some very hot red hues. It's a show of charm and authority.

For gallery listings, see www.nzherald.co.nz/go/artlistings

AT THE GALLERIES

What: Myriorama#6 and Wayzgoose by Julia Morison
Where and when: Two Rooms, 16 Putiki St, Newton, to Feb 27
TJ says: With the help of computers and laser printing, virtuosa Julia Morison creates remarkable visual sensations and almost endless variation.

What: New Works by David McCracken
Where and when: Gow Langsford, 26 Lorne St, to Feb 20
TJ says: Big steel sculpture, bold in concept and skilfully made, underpinned by structural principles but with a flourish of art.

What: New Paintings by Krystie Wade
Where and when: Whitespace, 12 Crummer Rd, Ponsonby, to Feb 20
TJ says: Colours and shapes collected from out-of-doors are combined in attractive, inventive paintings enlivened by deft brushwork.