LLOYD REES: LIFE AND LIGHT, EXHIBITION DRAWING TO A CLOSE

LLOYD REES: LIFE AND LIGHT, EXHIBITION DRAWING TO A CLOSE

A touring exhibition of works from the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s collection by one of Australia’s most accomplished draftsmen and landscape painters, Lloyd Rees, is currently on display at Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum.  The exhibition is however in its final days and will only be on display in Gladstone until Saturday 25 January before it must move on to the next venue.

Lloyd Rees (1895 - 1988) spent his early days of his career training as a draftsman and artist, sketching Brisbane's buildings, streets, river and landscapes.  His lifelong fascination with architecture is evident in the exhibition Lloyd Rees: Life and Light, with intricate drawings of the construction of Brisbane's St John's Cathedral on Ann Street and detailed drawings of St Brigid’s Church at Red Hill.

Maud Page, Acting Deputy Director, Curatorial and Collection Development at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAG|GOMA), explained what visitors can expect to see.

"Lloyd Rees: Life and Light is a selection of over 50 sketches, paintings and prints which surveys the range of Rees’ artistic achievements throughout his long career.  It incorporates portraits, landscapes and street scenes painted in Australia and abroad and several of his later landscape paintings."

The exhibition has been very popular at the Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum since its opening last December.  The Gallery/Museum's Curator Jo Duke noted how encouraging it had been to see so many people visiting the venue specifically to see Lloyd Rees's works.  "It's wonderful to see the Region supporting the historically significant Queensland-born artist.  She stated, "Visitors are tending to stay longer in the space, taking their time at viewing Lloyd's remarkable ability displayed on our gallery walls and then inspired, sitting down to draw."

The exhibition is touring to twelve venues across the state thanks to the generous support of Glencore Queensland.  Currently on its tenth stop, the exhibition next travels to the Redcliffe City Art Gallery.   After the tours conclusion the works will go back into the archives for quite a number years before they are even considered for another display.

The Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum is located on the corner of Goondoon & Bramston Streets and is open 10am - 5pm, Monday to Saturday with FREE admission.  Closed for the Australia Day public holiday, the Gallery/Museum can be contacted by phoning (07) 4976 6766 or emailing gragm@gladstonerc.qld.gov.au   

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