It’s the supreme test of a great artist that their work never grows stale.
Upon repeated viewings, conducted over years or even decades, there are paintings that retain their freshness, renewing themselves in front of one’s eyes. As it has been only six years since a survey of Elisabeth Cummings’s work at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, one might assume it was too early for another viewing, but the exhibition at the National Art School Gallery decisively refutes this suggestion.
One of the main reasons Cunmings was slow to be noticed is her inherent modesty – not a condition that afflicts many artists. Always feeling she had more to learn, she has quietly outstripped those who think they know it all as her dedication and self-criticism began to produce canvases that could hold their own in any company.
While one can only applaud the NAS Gallery for this show, it’s also an implicit indictment of the Art Gallery of NSW, who have consistently ignored the claims of Sydney’s best-known artists. Cummings is 89 this year and will probably never be honoured by the state gallery within her lifetime – making her a member of a depressingly large club.
If Cummings deserves more attention, it’s not only because of the quality of her work, it’s because she is extremely popular. This show has enjoyed booming attendances, while an excellent catalogue may soon need to be reprinted. Among Sydney artists she is a rock star, with hardcore fans and dozens of emulators.concentrates on the work of the past 30 years, when Cummings really began to find her feet.
There are a series of pictures in this show in which this dialogue between inner and outer worlds is echoed, with a door or window providing the connection. It’s a device found in many of Matisse’s works. With Cummings, the most dramatic and vibrant example may be, where a blaze of sunlight enters by a wide open portal to illuminate a heavily laden table. In the corner, two dogs watch at a respectful distance.
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