Dimensions: support: 855 x 1180 x 4 mm frame: 892 x 1219 x 48 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Fred Williams | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have "The St George River" by Fred Williams. It is undated and held at the Tate. The colors are so muted, yet it feels like a vast landscape. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Williams' landscapes challenge traditional depictions of the Australian outback. Instead of romanticizing the landscape, he offers a stark, almost alien view. How do you think this perspective was received in its time? Editor: I suppose people may have expected something more conventionally beautiful. Curator: Exactly. It pushes us to reconsider what we value in landscape painting and what it means to represent a national identity. It really does feel like we are peering at the landscape in a way nobody had before. Editor: I never considered how much politics are involved in landscapes. Thanks, that was really insightful! Curator: My pleasure! It’s about recognizing the power structures inherent in the act of representation itself.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/williams-the-st-george-river-t07532
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On his return to Melbourne in 1956 Williams began to paint the local landscape, and his abstraction of its form became his main subject and the basis of his reputation. He characteristically allowed the land to fill the composition, marking his surface with sparse gestures matched to the growth of gum trees so that they coalesce to give a sense of place. The focus upon the vibrant colour and rich texture of the earth made manifest a sense of rootedness in his location. Gallery label, May 2008
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