Winter has always been incredibly symbolic. It invokes seasonal changes, psychological states, dark moods and feelings of solitude. Winter also functions as an artistic inspiration and it’s this singular word, along with its various emotions and associations, that is being explored in the aptly titled Winter at Gippsland Art Gallery.

Spanning painting, printmaking, photography and ceramics, Winter is concerned with both the physical changes the season brings and how these changes can invoke certain states of mind. With works drawn from the Gippsland Art Gallery collection, the exhibition includes pieces by Raymond Arnold, Robert Boynes, William Breen, Judy Dorber, Lesley Duxbury, Ron Eden, Kaye Green, Deborah Klein, Chris Langlois, Hiroe Swen, Gail Nichols, Stephen Wickham and Wayne Viney.

Across these artists’ work lays a blanket of coldness; the pieces chosen play upon dreary colours, a sense of chill and the feeling of seasonal barrenness.

Each work in the exhibition has been curated with the purpose of providing a unique and engaging interaction with the season. While Raymond Arnold’s Elsewhere World presents the strange and quiet state of winter through the Tasmanian landscape, Stephen Wickham shows us the snow-covered scenery of Mt Buffalo National Park: the latter of which is dedicated to Wickham’s deceased uncle.

Of course winter doesn’t always invoke loneliness and loss. Sometimes winter is liminal, as demonstrated by the hazy window frost of Chris Langlois. At other moments, the exhibition hints towards winter as being a pivotal time (and space) for contemplation and renewal.

Winter
Gippsland Art Gallery
27 May – 27 August