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Fred Williams, Cape York river swamps II (not titled) 1977, gouache, 57.6 x 74.8 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased from Gallery admission charges 1983 © Estate of Fred Williams

Fred Williams, not titled (Cape York scrub) 1977, gouache; synthetic polymer paint, 57.2 x 76.2 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased from Gallery admission charges 1983 © Estate of Fred Williams

Fred Williams, Weipa I 1977, gouache, 57.6 x 76.4 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased from Gallery admission charges 1983 © Estate of Fred Williams. Licensed by Viscopy.

Fred Williams, Cape York bushfire (1) 1977, gouache, 57.2 x 76 cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Fred Williams, Insect-catching plant, Weipa 1977, gouache, 57.6 x 76.6 cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Fred Williams Weipa Series, Cape York

2 March – 1 July '18

Fred Williams (1927-82) is one of Australia’s most respected and influential twentieth-century artists. He is best known for his distinctive depictions of the Australian landscape, where the horizon line is removed to create a seamless melding of the sky and land, and elements of the countryside are reduced to simple image markings on a flat plane of striated colour.

Williams travelled to Queensland in mid-1971 and 1973. The experience expanded his colour palette to include the rich purples and greens of the exotic rain forests and tropical vegetation of the region. 

In 1977 Williams made his first light plane flight, travelling to Weipa on the west coast of Cape York, Queensland. For the first time he saw the vastness of the Australian landscape from an aerial perspective. This experience had a profound effect on Williams and led to the creation of what many still consider his finest works – the Weipa series. 

The Weipa works fall into two main categories, those of the landscape, where the tropical vegetation meets the shoreline, and closer, more intimate studies of specific types of vegetation. 

In the same year that Williams flew to Weipa he became the first Australian artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1980 works from the Weipa series were exhibited in Paris, captivating audiences and taking Australian landscape painting by late 19th-century impressionist artists to a new level of modernity and abstraction.

  

Image: Fred WILLIAMS, Coastline, Weipa 1977, gouache, 57.4 x 150.2 cm (sheet). National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE  | $12.95

All works from the exhibition are reproduced in the catalogue that is available to purchase through the Gallery shop.

(07) 4046 4800

email/info)(cairnsartgallery.com.au


Related Event

Interpreting Landscapes Until 26 Mar 2018

Related Event

Fred Williams: Weipa Series Opening 9 Mar 2018

Related Event

Foundation Exclusive: Fred Williams Exhibition Walk Through 9 Mar 2018
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