(Suburban streetscape)

Barbara BRASH
Australian 1925–1998

(Suburban streetscape) c. 1950
coloured linocut
Colin Holden Charitable Trust
© the estate of the artist

This early linocut demonstrates Brash’s long-lasting fascination with the effects of colour and layering. A distinct relationship between her  choice of colours and the forms they represent can be observed: the sides of the house articulated with orange and purple planes; a pathway suggested by a series of blue and yellow strokes. A formative use of multiple blocks to generate polychromatic imagery is a defining feature of this composition, where colour acts as a type of key in helping us to understand the spatial relationships staged therein.

George Bell, under whom Brash was studying at the time of this work’s creation, was a strong advocate for modern art styles and encouraged students to experiment with mediums beyond painting and drawing.

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Read by a voluntary Geelong Gallery Guide