Longstanding artistic explorations of the tension between formalism and intuition reunite good friends Eugene Carchesio and Diena Georgetti in their first two-person exhibition. Both artists exhibited in Brisbane during the 80s, with Carchesio also writing texts for some of Georgetti’s exhibitions. “Eugene and I were peers in our formative years, creating a world of culture particular to our city – its music, art and people; we contributed to the development of each other, and in extension, our art,” says Georgetti. Despite her move to Melbourne in the early 90s, the influence of their Brisbane beginnings remains strong.
Conscious Intuition at Margaret Lawrence Gallery features new geometric compositions – paintings by Georgetti and sculptures by Carchesio – that fuse formalism with instinct and human experience. “Both Eugene and Diena see themselves as part of a lineage of artists whose works tap into the infinite domains of individual and collected histories and memories,” says exhibition curator and Margaret Lawrence Gallery director, Dr David Sequeira. Georgetti repurposes imagery from other artists in her paintings, questioning conventions of style and the desire to be unique.
“I abandoned my conditioned ‘gesture’, finding it limiting and misleading, instead replacing it with others, to broaden myself and the art,” she says. Carchesio similarly undermines traditional approaches to making, using ephemeral materials, such as cardboard, to offer humble introspection within a materialistic world.
Conscious Intuition delves beyond obvious visual cohesions to examine the interplay of more intrinsic qualities present in both artists’ practices. Georgetti draws the root of these parallels back to Brisbane, stating, “Our reckoning that art is as mysterious as life was made there.”
Conscious Intuition
Eugene Carchesio and Diena Georgetti
Margaret Lawrence Gallery
17 September—5 October
This article originally appeared in the September/October 2019 issue of Art Guide Australia.
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