Tales and Oddities in the Parlour Room

Come one, come all to Tales and Oddities in the Parlour Room!


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Runs: 1st to 12th October
Hours: Wed-Fri 12pm-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm.
Opening Night: Fri 3 Oct, 6pm-9pm
Address: Per Square Metre, 191-193 Johnston Street, Collingwood.



'Tales and Oddities in the Parlour Room' is an exhibition collecting the works of three young locally based artists, opening at Per Square Metre gallery in Collingwood from October 1st to the 12th.

The exhibition collects the works of Tom Gleisner, Jessie Ngaio and Randa Helal; three like minded artists who met while studying towards their Masters in Fine Art at RMIT. Works on display include paintings, digital prints, video art and sculptures.

Although all three artists are academically trained, their work also draws much of its inspiration from pop culture. "Though we see a lot of value in academic art world, really what the three of us have in common is a wariness of the anti-productive snobbery it sometimes breeds," US born Gleisner said, whose own work is influenced by Hollywood movies and the experience of living in Los Angeles. "We think you can have art that's smart while still being well styled, funny, and sexy!"
The exhibition is presented in the style of a Victorian-era parlour room, where aristocrats would display the arts and curios collected in their travels. "Renda has a seemingly dark, adult take on childhood and employs illusionism and collage to explore ideas of comfort and deception, while Jessie uses all these bright colours and expressive brush strokes to explore sexuality and 'savagery'. With the links to childhood and savagery, we liked the idea of some pretentious Victorian gentleman collecting these pieces and just assuming they're the works of a 'primitive' mind, rather than comments on those concepts."

Jessie Ngaio, a New Zealander with a background in Maori art, says part of the aim of having a Victorian flavour to the setting was to draw attention to the mix of old and new styles. "All three of us consider ourselves to be primarily painters, which is something a lot of the art world seems to be turning away from lately. There's pressure for artists to become more conceptual and less visual, which can be interesting, but we're trying to show that you can still have that visual appeal without dumbing down the ideas."

The opening night party for the exhibition is Friday the 3rd of October and runs from 6-9pm. Gallery hours are: Wed-Fri 12pm-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm. The exhibition is located at Per Square Metre gallery at 191-193 Johnston Street, Collingwood, VIC.





We'd love to see you there!