Emotional Landscapes II

Visual Art Exhibition Review | Brian
Rope

Emotional Landscapes II I Margaret
Gordon, Manuel Pfeiffer and Alan Pomeroy

ANCA Gallery I 23 April – 11 May 2025

In
July/August 2024, ANCA exhibited Emotional
Landscapes I by Jenny Adams, Julie Delves, Eva van Gorsel &
Delene White. Van Gorsel
subsequently received a Canberra Critics Circle award for her imaginative and
creative observations and, in particular, her key part in that exhibition.

Emotional
Landscapes II
featuring artworks by three other artists has the same purpose – questioning
the dichotomy of being apart from nature versus being an integral part of it. Photographer
and former climate scientist van Gorsel curated this show, in close
consultation with the artists.

My
initial reaction on entering the gallery was to immediately see the landscape
in Pfeiffer’s pieces, but not in the other works. That was my narrow interpretation
of landscape. Gordon’s works feature landscapes of nude human bodies, whilst
Pomeroy has “set out to re-imagine the contemplative posture as a composite
posture figure set against evocative landscapes.” Pfeiffer’s art is not a
straightforward representation of landscapes as we might actually see them. Like
those of all good artists, they are interpretations of what he saw.

Each
artist has revealed something of their personal emotional experiences to a
variety of landscapes, enabling viewers of the works to reflect on their own
emotional responses to landscapes they explore.

Gordon
most commonly produces small sculptural pieces of her models. But here she presents
mostly pastel and charcoal drawings, with just one acrylic painting and one
ceramic sculpture.

Margaret Gordon, 38 Small Form, 2024, ceramic sculpture, 13.5 x 18.5 x 10cm Photograph provided by ANCA

All
these human landscapes are female. She participates in a variety of workshops sketching
both genders, but as selected pieces for this show she felt it appropriate to
use only drawings of female models. The drawings are diverse, showing various
amounts of detail in differing parts of the sketched bodies. That, plus the
variety of body types reveals the diversity of the female body landscape. How we
each respond emotionally will depend on our genders, ages, personal body types
and more.

Margaret Gordon, 26 Another Seated Form, 2024, pastel and charcoal, 52 x 46cm Photograph provided by ANCA

Six
of Pfeiffer’s works on canvas are painted with acrylic; two are mixed media. All
eight vibrantly colourful works are striking in appearance. As always with this
artist, they are beautifully composed and executed. One most interesting feature
is the inclusion of shapes, such as that of a diamond or an egg. They are paintings
of landscapes many of us have visited or, at least, seen in photographs. We can
clearly recognise some outback places. My favourite work is of the Devil’s
Marbles, but they are all a joy to look at.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 04 Karlu Karlu (Devil’s marbles), 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 24×36 inches (61x92cm) Photograph provided by the artist

Some
of the landscapes portrayed are less obvious, but the titles identify them. So,
for example, we know the Nullarbor is being portrayed even if we don’t immediately
recognise it. I very much enjoyed the clear representation of the long straight
stretch of road through a flat landscape with no trees. The magical place known
as Larapinta is also delightfully shown, almost demanding we walk on the long
trail.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 07 Magic Larapinta, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 24×36 inches (61x92cm) Photograph provided by the artist

And
then there are Pomeroy’s wonderfully thought-provoking works. Again the catalogue
titles arguably provide keys which enable us to open the doors to the material
we need to explore in order to properly think about what this artist is saying.
Each piece shows figures set against evocative landscapes. They are observing
and meditating, fingers pressed against their mouths almost being gnawed. They
are sitting on the fence in one work – seeking the wisdom of the three wise
monkeys?

Alan Pomeroy 02, On the Fence, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 91.5 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE

All
are simply delightful paintings. And there is also a most affordable 40pp book
featuring the artist’s own photographs of his art. In it his artist’s statement
reveals the inspirations for these works in his continuing artistic inquiry,
and his hoping to encourage awareness of the power of thought .

Alan Pomeroy 05, In Too Deep, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 112 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE

As
with its forerunner, Emotional Landscapes I, this exhibition most successfully
achieves what its artists set out to do. They have created artworks which cause
us to reflect on our personal emotional responses to the natural world in which
we live. And invite us to ask ourselves how and whether we can live in harmony
with our natural environment.

This review is also available on the author’s blog here.