Featured Artist: Alexander McKenzie 'THE CAIRN'
I am thrilled to welcome Alexander McKenzie as our featured artist on the blog this month! Alexander McKenzie’s newly imagined landscapes in 'The Cairn' explore the terrain between the dreamlike and the familiar. Inspired by the early use of cairns as sepulchral monuments, Alexander McKenzie’s new body of work is a combination of the urgency of creativity, the distilling of memory and McKenzie’s own wanderings and imaginings.
"In grand, romantic settings, Alexander pays homage to 18th and 19th Century landscapes of the sublime. Yet buried in each image, subtle 21st Century motifs – power lines and street lights – transport the viewer back into the modern world. As our eyes travel around McKenzie’s narratives, we are invited to discover these strange and wondrous worlds as well as to contemplate, reflect and consider the intended journey."
Alexander McKenzie has exhibited extensively in Australia and the UK. He has been a six time finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Archibald Prize – most recently in 2013 with a portrait of Toni Collette – and a seven time finalist in the Wynne Prize.
It was an honour to spend time with Alex and his beautiful family at his home studio on the weekend and I cannot wait to share my interview and pics with you this week. In the meantime I hope you enjoy a sneak peek of the amazing works from Alexander's upcoming exhibition. The works are sublime, truly stunning and so real yet dreamlike!
Stay tuned to the blog this week for more details. In the meantime for further information or images please contact the gallery on 02 9331 7997 or gallery@martinbrownecontemporary.com