I was honoured to be invited by Nicole Polentas (see my previous artist profile) to the formal opening of the ‘XAOS‘ exhibition at the Hellenic Museum a few weeks ago now. Unfortunately, I have been so incredibly busy that I haven’t been able to write about it before now, and it is only on until 9th April – so get your skates on (hours are limited: Tue-Thur 10am-3pm, or by appointment).
This was the most formal exhibition opening I’ve attended. It was invitation only, there were a few speeches (which all started with lengthy acknowledgements of distinguished attendees, including a number of politicians and a representative of the Prime Minister) and wonderful canapes were enjoyed, all before we were permitted to go upstairs to the exhibition itself.
formal speeches
Nicole is exhibiting alongside fashion designer Christiana Livaditis and photographer Elli Ioannou. As Nicole explained in her artist profile, her work is strongly connected to place and identity, and her work in this exhibition is heavily influenced by her recent trip to Crete.
I understand Nicole approached the Hellenic Museum with her idea for this exhibition. It’s excellent that the museum explored this idea with her and we now have a fantastic exhibition showcasing the work of three Greek-Australian women.
All photographs taken with artist and gallery permission; amended copyright notice: the below photographs are not to be reproduced without author permission.
photograph taken with artist permission; amended copyright notice as above
The colouring of the pieces in this collection had a special impact on me. Previously I had associated much of Nicole’s work with blues and whites and silvers; and I was excited to see a few strong new colours here – moss green and a yummy yellow (I don’t usually like yellow, but this one is lovely).
photograph taken with artist permission; amended copyright notice as above
The ‘plinths’ weren’t your traditional and boring old blocks, but had a fabulous feel of ancient ruins – I’m pretty sure that wasn’t coincidental either (I understand Nicole’s Dad worked really hard on this – yay for Dads!).
photograph taken with artist permission; amended copyright as above
Under the clear dome at the back of the above image is a brooch of luscious yellow gold (I think from memory it’s 22ct) – so gorgeous…
I think there are three rings, one bracelet, nine brooches and three necklaces … the necklaces, below, are wonderful (I’d love to see one on the body). The white one in particular (second from the right) attracted quite a lot of attention and admiration on the opening night, many people were connecting with it.
photograph taken with artist permission; amended copyright notice as above
Each piece has a story behind it, and it’s a shame that I can’t share all of them here … perhaps a book, with stories beside gorgeous photographs of the pieces, is the next project Nicole?!
‘XOAS‘ is at the Hellenic Museum until 9th April 2010 (limited opening hours as above).
Melbourne Jeweller 