Hailing from Australia’s most influential multi-generational family of artists, the painter Arthur Boyd (1920–1999) secured his role in the famed dynasty with his impressionistic landscapes. Describing Australia’s geography as “metaphysical” and “mythic,” Boyd imbues his paintings of the terrain with an eerie playfulness. “Wilder Times” sees 14 of Boyd’s monumental works—originally commissioned by the Arts Centre Melbourne in 1984—returning to Bundanon, the home of Boyd’s studio, for the first time since they were created. The series depicts a spot along the river Bangli/Shoalhaven, painted at times from dawn to midnight. By placing the waterline in the center of the canvas, Boyd achieves a horizontal symmetry between the land and its reflection, resulting in a kaleidoscopic burst of color and light. Sixty works by other Australian artists from the same period are also part of the display, engaging with ideas of land ownership and environmental protection that characterized the era. —Nyla Gilstrap
The Arts Intel Report
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
Wilder Times: Arthur Boyd and the Mid 1980s Landscape
![](https://photos.airmail.news/4wnh9evyllypgap6jdhhpg75i78u-1332c6d7c5e3395d94ddf0223a3044d6.jpg)
Arthur Boyd, Early Light – Pulpit Rock, 1984.
When
Until Oct 13