...that pretty little thing you can't ignore - Seventh Gallery - May 2006

…that pretty little thing you can’t ignore is an exhibition bringing together 6 diverse artists in an attempt to explore pretty objects and plain concepts. Within the context of an apparent surface tension between ‘fine’ and ‘commercial’ art, particularly in the Melbourne art scene, this exhibition attempts to raise questions about what is meaningful, what is beautiful and what kind of relationship the two might be having: Are they just friends? Acquaintances? Lovers in a torrid affair? Or is it all, already over? Could they – should they – get back together? Which one would you go on a gallery date with? And which would you take home?

The artists comprising the show have varying art practices: three are from a drawing background and three from a photographic background – though all have crossed into other media and forms. While all of them are able to make both conceptual and aesthetic artwork, their ‘natural’ tendencies or ‘nurtured’ practices have led them to each have a particular approach to the ideas and look of their works. This exhibition asks them to look at these practices and position themselves in perhaps more unfamiliar territory – if they are at ease with aesthetics, to begin with the conceptual and if they tend to the theoretical, to begin with the look and feel of the artwork.