Steve Lopes
Outsider
19 August - 6 September
View exhibition catalogue
STEVE LOPES continues to pay reverence to the quiet beauty of the land in his work. This new exhibition of paintings is created outside the studio and located entirely within the landscape. These plein air oils were completed directly on location and reveal the artist's connection to particular areas that have sparked his inspiration over the last year.
LOPES demonstrates a skilled, thoughtful approach to landscape. He is interested in the potential for landscapes to set a particular tone and atmosphere to enable a psychological setting in an image. Outsider not only speaks to LOPES' plein air approach, but also to the artist's role as an outsider stepping into a setting that seems otherworldly and almost void of human existence. It is as if LOPES is the first person this land has played host to in a long time. In some paintings, an empty, abandoned boat, old ruinous buildings and man-made constructions hint towards some level of human engagement in the land. There is a haunted beauty in the rugged, windswept, coastal wilderness captured by the artist.
LOPES exhibits a vitality and confidence to the paint handling in this latest series of works, which reflects the busy and energetic approach that LOPES is fast gaining a reputation for in the Australian art scene.
