UNTIL 19 February, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery has a great mix of exhibitions and events. Julian Opie is a major international artist whose work often depicts figures and landscapes reduced to their essential outlines and flat colours fields. Judith Alexandrovics is a Melbourne artist whose oeuvre spans the decades since the early 1970s until 2019. MPRG’s current exhibition draws these two artists together so that visitors can see common threads throughout their work.
Exhibition curator Angie Taylor says, ‘Both Opie and Alexandrovics create a snapshot of people in unremarkable moments such as walking through the city, making their way to work, waiting for the tram or train, walking or waiting with an anonymous group of others. It is a fascinating portrayal of being in the presence of a group but not known to each other.’
MPRG also has some fantastic collection works on display by G.W. Bot, Locust Jones and David Larwill, as well as Front Beach, Back Beach, a recent public art project that has been brought indoors for visitors to see.
They have an extensive program of school holiday workshops available, including specialist workshops for VCE students to inspire them for the year ahead. Flinders artist Vera Moller will do a workshop with VCE students on how to create small sculptural works on 24 January.
There’s also a general public talk with Vera Moller coming up in early February and an artist talk with Amanda Shone and SOLTICE piano trio performance in the gallery on 18 January. Head to their website to find out more about exhibitions and events.