John Buckley Gallery

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For over 40 years Lesley Dumbrell has been methodically refining her technique of geometric abstract painting,injecting colour, light and emotion into an often otherwise precise, mechanical painting style associated with the Colour Field Painters of the 60’s.Working in this traditionally male-dominated painting genre, Dumbrell is recognised as a pioneer of the Australian women’s art movement of the 1970’s and spent much time during the next decade exhibiting in New York and elsewhere internationally, with contemporaries including Robert Jacks and John Firth-Smith.


Dumbrell’s unique abstract imagery, in these new works, employs a dazzling array of colour, creating optical effects that allude to natural forces – wind, fire, rain and earth. This highly articulated and psychological use of colour and line create a visual friction where space seemingly pulsates - simultaneously receding and advancing. Dumbrell’scompositions tangle the viewer in a complex and beautiful net proffering an electric sensory experience.

Dumbrell has been included in major surveys, including Towards Colour at the McClelland Gallery (2002), Good Vibrations at Heide Museum of Modern Art (2002) and Imagining the Apple at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (2004) Her work is held in most major collections around the country including the NGA, NGV, Art Gallery of NSW, QLD Art Gallery, the National Australia Bank and Artbank. Lesley Dumbrell, New Work is her first solo exhibition in Melbourne since a major retrospective titled Shades of Light; Lesley Dumbrell 1971 – 1999 at the Ian Potter Museum of Art in 1999 and we look forward to seeing you in the gallery during this important exhibition.

The preview week for Lesley Dumbrell, New Works, begins on Wednesday the 26 of
March. Please contact the gallery to arrange a private view.

Current Show

Title: New Works
Artist: Lesley Dumbrell
Type of Show: painting
Date: Apr 02, 2008 to Apr 19, 2008
Time: W-S 11:00am ~5:00pm

Gallery Info