New works by artist Tina Smyrnios, exploring photographic and drawing processes to create images of both fragile beauty and strong confrontation, will be featured in Smyrnios’ first solo exhibition with Anna Pappas Gallery.
Through experimentation of materials and surfaces, Smyrnios has constructed images that recall pain, frailty and destruction, while allowing an unexpected radiance to break through the darkness.
The physical surface of paper works is violated with tools such as scrapers, burnishers and sandpaper, creating an almost sculptural feel that invokes the materiality of stretched skin or a dark sky, while photographs are manipulated to stress a level of tension and vulnerability. These strong physical compositions are fragmented by fragility that belies a contradiction of content and image.
Smyrnios’ work has been exhibited widely across Australian institutions and is held in various collections including the Benalla Art Gallery, RMIT, the Print Council of Australia and Swan Hill Art Gallery.
The exhibition is on until 29 November, at Anna Pappas Gallery, 2-4 Carlton Street, Prahran, Tuesday to Friday, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, Saturday 11.00 am to 5.00 pm. For more information visit annapappasgallery.com