The galleries: Independent outlook

By T.J. McNAMARA

Last century established the independence of a work of art as a thing in itself, an autonomous object. There are three shows this week, from abstract to realistic, which all emphasise the independence of the object on the wall.

The biggest of them is the exhibition of abstract painting by James Ross at the Bath Street Gallery which runs until December 20.

Ross has a considerable reputation as artist, theorist and writer. It is some time since he has had an exhibition here but this one is a development of his previous work.

As in the past there in an interplay between the painted surface and an attached transparent surface.

The painted surfaces, sometimes two or three panels, are invariably an uneasy trapezoid or kite shape.

Transparent, toughened glass in precise circles or rectangles is mounted sometimes in front and sometimes behind the angular painted surfaces.

The colours range from pale off-white through different greys, to yellow and red. Even the strongest colours are slightly subdued and really at their best when rubbed back so that the grain of the supporting panel is revealed.

Although these are abstract paintings there is always a sense that they have been inspired by light falling in a room. They are obviously the result of long meditation. Sometimes there are fine vertical lines on the painted surface and there is a feeling that the placement of every line has been deeply considered.

Nothing, except the grain of the supporting panels, is random

The whole show is really variations on a theme, like something by Bach. Sometimes the theme is played on small instruments and sometimes on a larger group but it never quite reaches the grandeur of organ tones.

Nevertheless, as is often the case with abstraction, the larger works are the most impressive.

The end wall of the gallery is occupied by two big works, one is red with a tall rectangle of clear glass in front of it. The effect is reflective so that viewers see themselves immersed in a red space. Next to it is a piece in red, yellow and green with circular glass in front of it and notable for the delicacy of its surfaces.

Depending how they are lit, the transparent panes make shadows on the wall that multiply the effect of the painting. It is unfortunate that the poise of the painting often makes it seem diffident and lacking in energy.

This makes No.10, which is in grey and red, has angles thrusting to the right and more ambiguous space than the others, ultimately the most impressive work in the show.

Further up the road in Parnell there is an intriguing archaeological sort of show, called The Lost Birds, at the Artis Gallery, until December 21.

It is full of moa bones. There are no real bones - these ones are painted and modelled in clay as artistic objects to evoke the past.

They are by Bronwynne Cornish, who makes ceramic caskets that are topped by birds' skulls and leg bones. Each casket has a keyhole which suggests both unlocking the past and how such bones are now locked away in museum collections.

They are odd, dry objects but intriguing. The skulls particularly are marvellously modelled and these little sculptures are stained brown to make them look aged.

They evoke mortality, collections and the past.

A more distant past is also evoked in her splendid Eagle Jugs, which look like ritual objects from Ancient Egypt.

Eagles, or at least harrier hawks, are the subject of paintings by Hamish Foote that are also part of the exhibition. His small paintings show wide vistas, recognisably New Zealand because of the presence of cabbage trees, dominated by large rocks and distinguished by hawks soaring high in the sky.

These little works are made into objects by being done on thick panels that make them something quite different from a picture on a page in a book. The thickness makes each one an arresting object.

The same memorial tablet effect carries over into his pictures of moa bones with museum markings on them and his icon of a huia feather.

This is certainly not big, noisy art but in its own quiet way is very effective.

The third show of paintings as objects is work by Nic Moon, who is having her annual show at the Lane Gallery until December 20.

She uses natural objects, shells, cat's eyes and feathers in her work to make an ecological point.

She also paints shells, sea eggs and feathers with great exactitude. These painted objects are isolated on a wide horizon to intensify the idea of them as symbols of refuge.

Patterns of shells are made into ritual, totemic objects and feathers are made into colourful spiral galaxies and given a celestial shine.

The limitation of the work is colour, which is sometimes bright without being rich and is generally at its most effective in natural shades of brown.

The galaxies are round, the pieces with shells are shield-shaped but the finest things are simple rectangles.

These pairs combine a textured close-up of a feather with a more distant, delicate image.

The artist's feeling for the magic of nature is apparent everywhere but in these works it is combined with unusual use of paint to make independent objects with both force and charm.