ALEXANDER MCKENZIE

Martin Browne Contemporary is delighted to present Edo, an exhibition of new paintings by Alexander McKenzie. The title of this exhibition reflects recent visits by McKenzie to Japan and his particular interest in Edo period gardens. The Edo period of the 17th-19th Centuries was a time of great political stability and seclusion from the world in Japan which led to a flourishing of the creative arts. In Edo period gardens the visitor is directed through the garden in a deliberate clockwise direction, encountering a series of scenes that are revealed at key points along the path. Often major elements are kept hidden until the last moment for maximum effect and impact.

This idea has played out in McKenzie’s latest series of paintings. The strong narrative within the works is kept deliberately concealed until the viewer visually walks through the painting, discovering a series of scenes that are interwoven into the composition. As McKenzie explains, “This Edo period design idea is intended as a metaphor for real life, the uphill in the garden representing an uphill in life, arriving at the gardens summit similarly reaching a peak in life etc. I have taken this idea into the paintings where looking at the pictures carefully will reveal the story. For me it is this intended, almost unavoidable, maybe fatalistic walk that we go on in the paintings that truly echoes both our temporal and spiritual lives.”

Alexander McKenzie has exhibited extensively in Australia and the U.K. He has been a six time finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Archibald Prize.He has also been a finalist on numerous occasions in both the Wynne and Dobell prizes. McKenzie’s work is held in major collections including Macquarie Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, the Park Hyatt Melbourne, and Price Waterhouse Coopers, London as well as in private collections in Australia, Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Hong Kong and the USA.