Respected local painter and art school lecturer Bill Sutton created a body of large paintings in the 1980s that he called the Plantation Series. Featuring vast tracts of introduced pinus radiata – dark abstractions against parched yellow-ochre hills – these began as a kind of protest against the plantations interrupting the underlying character of the land. Somewhat in contradiction, he also developed something of an appreciation of their visual effect and endless array of interacting shapes and patterns. This rapidly drawn pencil sketch lets us into Sutton’s process, recording a motif that could be revisited if required. His addition of a signature shows that he also took pleasure in this drawing for its own sake. (Die Cuts and Derivations, 11 March – 2 July 2023)

“I like the rigorous quality of geometric abstract painting. I like the clarity of idea. I like the means used. I like the severity and the rigour of it. I don’t think this is a limitation. I think this is something which frees you to all kinds of investigation. It opens up all kinds of possibilities.” —Gordon Walters, 1975

Gordon Walters was a modernist painter who explored the potential of simple geometric elements, often playing with the relationship of figure to ground, or positive and negative space. This work pre dates his characteristic use of the koru motif and the critique of cultural appropriation that ensued. Unlike the hard-edged abstraction of his later works, Untitled is looser and more organic. The black and white forms use figure/ground ambiguity to enliven the image, and our eyes oscillate between seeing the wavy outlines as an object in front, or cavern behind. Around this time, Walters was introduced to the drawings of Rolfe Hattaway, a psychiatric patient that friend and fellow artist Theo Schoon met through his job at Oakley Hospital. Hattaway’s influence is evident here in the dynamic spontaneity of the improvised line and forms.

(Die Cuts and Derivations, 11 March – 2 July 2023)