Culture

Cressida Campbell at the NGA

A major exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia surveys the work of important Australian printmaker, Cressida Campbell

Cressida Campbell (b.1960): From the Balcony, 1995, incised woodblocks, painted in watercolour, 120 x 239.5cm | Photo by author

Last week I managed to catch Cressida Campbell’s showcase at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. The showcase is the Gallery’s major summer exhibition and consists of a retrospective of the artist's work from the 1980s to the present and contains more than 140 works from the artist. The opening of the exhibition back in September 2022 was celebrated with the acquisition of Bedroom Nocturne, 2022, which was purchased with the assistance of the Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund. The work, just visible on the far right of the image below, is perhaps one of Campbell’s most intimate; depicting the bed that Campbell and her husband share just moments after they woke one morning. The circular frame forces Campbell to make interesting compositional choices that only serve to enhance the feeling that you are peeping into a private space.

Cressida Campbell (b.1960): exhibition view of incised woodblocks, painted in watercolour | Photo by author

What captured me most was not only the texture of the works but also the colour choices and exquisite…