Richard Orjis & Ruth Cleland | Suburban Dreams | Dowse Art Museum
RUTH CLELAND and RICHARD ORJIS have recent work in the exhibition "Suburban Dreams" at The Dowse Art Museum in Wellington from 30 January - 29 May 2016. The dream of the nuclear family in a brand new house on a quarter acre might be getting harder to reach but the suburban dream still shapes our national identity. After all, from J-ville to Stokes Vegas, most of us call the suburbs our home. Suburban Dreams explores the place of suburbia in our lives, finding significance and complexity in the commonplace.
This group exhibition includes an iconic Ian Scott painting that idealises the 1970s New Zealand family, contrasted with bittersweet reflection in a film from the same period by the late Joanna Paul that explores the traps of suburban life in Thorndon. Humour is found in an ironic presentation of stately homes in 1990s Churton Park by Murray Hewitt, along with a celebration of the antics of twenty-first century teens in Wainuiomata by Tim Barlow.
Suburban Dreams asserts that, while suburbia might feel boring at times, it’s a safe place to express yourself, rebel and dream of a world beyond. Challenging stereotypes, Suburban Dreams considers the hopes and difficulties we experience in the places we find ourselves living in.
Artists in Suburban Dreams include: Gabrielle Amodeo, Susannah Bridges, Steve Carr, Derrick Cherrie, RUTH CLELAND, Glen Hayward, John Lake, Kerry-Ann Lee, RICHARD ORJIS, Joe Sheehan, Kate Small, Yvonne Todd and Robin White.
www.dowse.org.nz
To enquire about works by RUTH CLELAND or RICHARD ORJIS: info@melanierogergallery.com
