Stephen Gallagher at Pablo Fanque until March 14, 2009
Melancholic Nites / Arcadian Daze by Melbourne based artisan Stephen Gallagher is a dazzling part of the 2009 Sydney Mardi Gras Cultural Festival and signals a dynamic development of the artist’s respected practice.The exhibition of exquisite accoutrements reflects upon the spirit of the Elizabethan Era, its poetry, its people, and the ornaments of the court. The work is the outcome of new research undertaken at the British Museum and the Museum of London during the artist’s recent Australia Council London studio residency.Gallagher has a unique and engaging practice as it combines the precious and non-precious in a truly modern way. His intriguing one-off brooches include coral, gems, gold, silver and embroidered thread, and form quasi-Elizabethan jewels. This tantalising elaborate new series of jewellery expresses both the visions of Arcadia – paradise lost — and the afflicted ennui of the Elizabethan cult of Melancholia.