Sculpture in the landscape

Posted: 07 Sep 2010  |  By: Ken Scarlett

Quietly, unannounced, almost unnoticed, three major collections of contemporary sculpture have been assembled by dedicated collectors at their properties on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

Baillieu Myer's collection at Merricks North is the earliest to have been established. Known through the publication Elgee Park, Sculpture in the Landscape 1 it has also been open to the public when there have been sales from the cellar door, for Elgee Park is a working farm devoted to producing wine and breeding horses.

The approach to this property is possible from two directions, each entrance marked by a strongly dramatic work. At one, a massive dry-stone-wall edifice resembling a mediaeval fortification immediately demands attention; it sits prominently on a grassy hilltop with an extensive view across Port Philip to the Melbourne skyline. This commandingly impressive work was constructed stone upon stone by David Long.

Then, further along the driveway towards the house, the New Zealand sculptor Chris Booth's Castlemaine Slate is beautifully sited amongst trees.

The other entrance leads one through a long flat paddock with the approach to the winery being announced by an imposing structure of Roman Liebach's Silent Chorus; its large slabs of recycled wood are placed vertically and arranged in a not-quite-complete circle so that one can step inside and be enclosed, enveloped and protected.

In close proximity are a range of works by Inge King, Stanley Hammond, Anthony Pryor and Greg Johns - and perched high on the stumps of two dead pine trees, two remarkably realistic eagles in bronze by Simon Normand. From the winery the collection spreads beside the vineyards, around the house gardens and down to where an impressive work by David Wilson, Dream of India, sits, partly hidden, on an island in the midst of the dam.

By contrast, the entrance to Ian Hicks's family's Shoreham Park, in a small seaside township on the Mornington Peninsula, is through a thick planting of trees that creates the perfect foil for Philip Spelman's brilliant yellow abstraction Ylang Ylang, which radiates a joyous sense of wellbeing within its dappled surrounds. Further along the driveway the scene changes dramatically and opens out to a spectacular view over grassy paddocks, down to the sea and across to Philip Island. Here, silhouetted against the sea and the sky, is a huge square of weathered timber resting on one corner, like the outline of a great diamond in the sky.

This collection contains major works by some of Australia's senior artists and also includes several surprises - unexpected works that reflect the collector's wide-ranging enthusiasms such as the Silver Cow, which was purchased at a fundraising event for Opera Australia. It was made by the props department, sculptor unknown. Andrew Rogers, on the other hand, is extremely well known and his enormous leaf-like Growing must be one of the largest bronzes cast in Australia.

The entrance to the third country estate, Alara Gardens at Flinders, is measured and carefully landscaped. A long, straight driveway, bordered by rows of elegant plane trees, leads the visitor past a large lake, on the edge of which are placed three quite disparate sculptures: a linear abstraction, Snake, in stainless steel by Bert Flugelman, a clutch of strange, bird-like creatures in Corten steel entitled Excavators by Greg Johns and at the far end of the lake, brilliant orange-red against the green grass, Kon Dimopoulos's characteristic plastic rods swaying in the breeze.

In front of the residence a series of garden areas have been designed to display the sculptures, sometimes intimately enclosing works, other times offering a long view, always enticing the visitor to wander and explore. Though relatively small, Clive Murray-White's neo-classical head in white marble can be seen from a great distance, and Adrian Mauriks' extremely large and complex Garden of Eden is given the open space that it needs.

From the house one catches the first glimpse of the sea, a view that stretches across Western Port to Phillip Island. Delineated against the sea and sky is a dramatic work by Geoffrey Bartlett, the base of which appropriately appears to have been made from half a spherical buoy topped by a sweeping form that resembles a fishing net. At the other end of the extensive lawn, Man on a Horse by the South American painter and sculptor Fernando Botero stylistically extends the range of the equestrian statue so beloved of military leaders. Not to be confused with Verrocchio's classical Colleoni in Venice where the imperious rider commands with unquestioned authority, Botero's pompous little gentleman in a bowler hat sits smugly on his toy-like horse, oblivious of his amusing appearance.

The three collections are distinctly different, in part accounted for by the varied landscapes but mostly reflecting the individual personalities of the collectors. Immediately apparent in each collection, however, is the great diversity of contemporary Australian practice - diversity of materials, of forms and of intent. One becomes aware also that a number of the sculptors have had their origins overseas, a fact that has contributed immeasurably to the richness of the current scene. While essentially collections of Australian works, Ian Hicks in particular has acquired a number of works by Japanese artists such as Keizo Ushio, the title of whose granite carving Oushi Zokei plays upon his own name, as indeed the work plays upon a continuing concept: this artist has a fascination with carving apparently endless ribbons of stone that entwine within a circular format. And more recently, the well-known Italian sculptor Remo Salvadori was invited to create one of his astonishingly seamless circles of steel cable, Continuo infinito presente, around the base of a rare Chinese Elm.

Despite the personal stamp on each collection, the works of several well-known sculptors appear and reappear - Inge King, Lenton Parr, Clement Meadmore, Robert Klippel, Greg Johns, Roman Liebach and Andrew Rogers. Above all, the collections are representative of the undeniable sense of energy and vibrancy that informs contemporary Australian sculpture.

Images from top:

Adrian Mauriks, Garden of Eden, 1998, painted fibreglass and resin, 300 x 1250 x 500cm.

Fernando Botero, Man on a Horse, 2007, bronze, approximately 280 x 150 x 100cm.