Euan Macleod: Flux opening at Orange Regional Gallery

Euan Macleod Flux opened at the Orange Regional Art Gallery on Friday 22 March, to an enthusiastic crowd of Gallery Friends and supporters from near and far. Prior to the official opening Macleod and Gallery Director Bradley Hammond discussed their 2023 expedition to Haupapa Tasman Glacier in New Zealand’s Abel Tasman National Park, where Macleod painted, en plein air, works that feature in the exhibition. Their adventure laid the foundation for the momentous, glacial paintings that were produced in the studio, in which dramatic landscapes of minerals, rock and ice are traversed by searching figures, and themes of human introspection and interconnection recur. It also set the scene for Hammond’s visually arresting and insightful documentary on Macleod’s practice, which will be screened throughout the exhibition.

As a co-curator for Flux, Drill Hall Gallery Interim Director Tony Oates opened the exhibition, referencing the critical role galleries play in facilitating the cultural life of a city – and praising Orange Regional Art Gallery for being a centre of community, providing a place of social engagement.

In his pre-opening discussion with Hammond, Macleod articulated the unique opportunity provided to him in this exhibition to work on a grand scale, and fulfil his ambition to convey the freshness and immediacy of the small en plein air paintings. If you don’t get a chance to travel to Orange before the show ends on 2 June, Canberra audiences will have the opportunity to experience Macleod’s success in the Flux exhibition, when the Drill Hall Gallery reopens. The exhibition catalogue is available on our webstore here.

Euan Macleod: Flux is an Orange Regional Gallery and Drill Hall Gallery partnership exhibition.

Below are a selection images from the opening and installation of the show.