'In early April 2020 I found myself searching for some peace of mind amongst the chaos of the pandemic. One day, I heard someone on a podcast describe how a moth or butterfly doesn't simply grow wings on its already fully formed caterpillar body, but breaks itself down into a kind of soup and slowly reforms itself in the cocoon, reusing its body parts to come out at the other end as a completely new creature...
During Melbourne's long lockdown my studio and home became my cocoon, a place to grow and experiment. Usually, I spread my practice out between two studios – my home studio for painting and my sculpture workshop in Frankston. When the threat of limited movement loomed, I filled my car with bags of clay and adapted my home studio. With the paintings pinned to the wall, a conversation could take place between the two mediums – patterns, colours and forms flitting across the space.
This series depicts a spectrum of transformations, a diversity of personalities, patterns and forms, and a propensity for movement and flight within the immovable solidity of clay, plinth and frames.
They sprung from a year of isolation, as I slowly built my own community of butterfly and moth people to celebrate the hope of emerging transformed.'
– Brendan Huntley, excerpt from the exhibition text
Press release courtesy Tolarno Galleries.
104 Exhibition Street, Level 4
Melbourne, 3000
Australia
www.tolarnogalleries.com
+61 3 9654 6000
+61 3 9654 7000 (Fax)
Tuesday–Friday: 10am–5pm
Saturday: 1pm–5pm
