Luminous exhibition kicks off national tour in NT

A major exhibition exploring artists’ engagement with the phenomenon of light will open at Charles Darwin University on the first leg of its regional and national tour this week.

Drawn from Wesfarmers Arts’ corporate collection, Luminous World features paintings, photographs and sculpture by leading Australian and New Zealand artists, many of whom have never before exhibited in the Northern Territory.

Wesfarmers Arts Manager Ms Helen Carroll said this was the first occasion the organisation’s contemporary art holdings had been the subject of a significant exhibition and tour.

“Light gives us our bearings in the world, shaping perceptions of colour, form, texture and contour,” Ms Carroll said.

“Human experiences of light can be as simple as the optical process whereby light gives us sight, and as intricate as the role of light in cultural, mythic and spiritual concepts and beliefs.

“Luminous World reveals the imaginative and creative ways that artists have explored light, its presence and absence, and the role it plays in defining and transforming our world.”

Luminous World was developed as a touring exhibition in association with the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and will also be shown at the National Library of Australia, the Samstag Museum of Art at University of South Australia and The Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne.

Luminous World is showing at the CDU Art Gallery, Building 12, Orange Precinct, Casuarina campus from 8 August – 4 October 2013 as part of the 2013 Darwin Festival.

Exhibiting artists Judy Watson and Andrew Browne will conduct floor talks with Guest Curator Helen Carroll on Thursday 8 August between 12 and 1pm.

The CDU Art Gallery is open Monday to Friday from 10am – 4pm or by appointment, with special opening hours on Saturday 10 and 17 August from 10am – 3pm, on Sunday 11 August 11am – 2pm and Sunday 25 August, 10am – 2pm. Entry is free.

To find out more about the exhibition, visit W: www.cdu.edu.au/artgallery.

For more information about the Darwin Festival, visit W: www.darwinfestival.org.au/.