O’Keeffe, Preston, and Cossington Smith share a modernist spirit, and desire to capture an aesthetic distinct to place. Taken comparatively, the trio countered classical oil traditions in subject and style. You can view their works in the Heide Museum of Modern Art’s new exhibition, Making Modernism.
Margaret Preston painted local subjects: still life of native flowers, Australian fauna, and urban scenes of Sydney. Her second phase is characterised by a shift from colour to neutrals in geometric composition. Her third and final phase was influenced by a move to rural country. Preston’s vision of the Australian landscape, influenced by Aboriginal and Chinese approaches, are her most accomplished work.
Grace Cossington Smith composed with flattened perspective, expressive brushstrokes, and vibrant colour. In decorative still life, she sought to capture the lit shimmer of movement, an ambience characteristic of post-impressionist artists like Cézanne and Seurat. Of note are her interior scenes of war efforts, a departure from landscapes of urban and suburban Sydney.
The flowers of Preston and Cossington Smith are a stark contrast to the abstractions of Georgia O’Keeffe, who rendered petals in close-ups that dispensed with arrangement and breached the frame. Stung by Freudian interpretations of these organic shapes, she briefly retreated to self-evident still-life subjects. O’Keeffe later found her place in New Mexico, making its landscapes, flowers, and skulls hers. To view her unique vocabulary — sinuous, sublime — is to experience one of the finest modern oeuvres.
– Maloti
Maloti writes about art and books.
O’Keeffe, Preston, and Cossington Smith: Making Modernism is showing until 19 February 2017, at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen VIC 3105.
