Past Exhibitions
Exhibition Works
The Song We Have Inside Ourselves (2006)
Get In Behind (2006)
This Wedding Could be your Funeral (2006)
Summer Sand And Sniff (2005)
I Don't Believe A Word Of It (2006)
The Dog Has A Suggestion (2006)
The Comfort Of Old Friends (2006)
![Holding On When Everything Flys Apart [sic] (2006)](https://d1poczgreawftx.cloudfront.net/4/7A56D1E9-CF73-41D5-B99F-838C7BAFDBD4.jpg?i=4869)
Holding On When Everything Flys Apart [sic] (2006)
What Are You Talking About (2005)
Tea For Two (2005)
Granny And Me And The Dog Makes Three (2005)
I Have To Tell You This (2006)
Exhibition Text
Gennie de Lange’s exhibition The Song Within Ourselves “celebrates [the] everyday pleasures” of life lived to the fullest (1). De Lange skilfully draws animated figures onto ceramic tiles exploring the emotional relationships between people and animals alike. “What makes these works fresh is de Lange’s mastery of her medium. Rather than merely imitating painterly effects, she recruits the characteristics of ceramic glazes to texture the surface…” (2)
There is a sense of the Mediterranean in de Lange works. Utilizing intense hues of burnt orange and cerulean blue she captures instants of summer holiday heat and cool shade. “Rich glaze effects, luminous, transparent and glowing colours with simple forms underpin her work. The landscape and architecture are minimised to stripes and blocks and are enlivened by shadows of people who seem to tell a story.” (3)
Influenced by Australian tribal art, de Lange often depicts her figures in a primitive form where outlines are simplified to gestural lines and in many paintings animal heads replace those of the human forms. “People turn into animals, cavort, strut and dance on the stage of life, seizing the moment.” (4)
De Lange engages the viewer in common and often-celebratory experiences shared with loved ones. Like "turning the pages of a photograph album” de Lange evokes moods and memories; weddings, parties, a walk on the beach with a grandchild or a quality chat with friends over a cup of tea are transformed into extraordinary and valued events. (5) “These works try to capture moments of contemplation, gossip and mood. They are wry observations of the way we teeter through life, sometimes giddy with joie de vivre and at others wondering. We are like animals and often rush about for the sheer delight of having fun and at other times we follow our instincts and noses but try to be there for the ones we love." (6)
1. Richard Dingwall, “Impressions,” Otago Daily Times, July 22, 2004.
2. Richard Dingwall, “Art Seen,” Otago Daily Times, August 2, 2001.
3. Dobson Bashford Gallery, 2000.
4. Gennie de Lange, Artist statement, July 2004.
5. Gennie de Lange, Artist statement, April 2006.
6. Ibid.
There is a sense of the Mediterranean in de Lange works. Utilizing intense hues of burnt orange and cerulean blue she captures instants of summer holiday heat and cool shade. “Rich glaze effects, luminous, transparent and glowing colours with simple forms underpin her work. The landscape and architecture are minimised to stripes and blocks and are enlivened by shadows of people who seem to tell a story.” (3)
Influenced by Australian tribal art, de Lange often depicts her figures in a primitive form where outlines are simplified to gestural lines and in many paintings animal heads replace those of the human forms. “People turn into animals, cavort, strut and dance on the stage of life, seizing the moment.” (4)
De Lange engages the viewer in common and often-celebratory experiences shared with loved ones. Like "turning the pages of a photograph album” de Lange evokes moods and memories; weddings, parties, a walk on the beach with a grandchild or a quality chat with friends over a cup of tea are transformed into extraordinary and valued events. (5) “These works try to capture moments of contemplation, gossip and mood. They are wry observations of the way we teeter through life, sometimes giddy with joie de vivre and at others wondering. We are like animals and often rush about for the sheer delight of having fun and at other times we follow our instincts and noses but try to be there for the ones we love." (6)
1. Richard Dingwall, “Impressions,” Otago Daily Times, July 22, 2004.
2. Richard Dingwall, “Art Seen,” Otago Daily Times, August 2, 2001.
3. Dobson Bashford Gallery, 2000.
4. Gennie de Lange, Artist statement, July 2004.
5. Gennie de Lange, Artist statement, April 2006.
6. Ibid.
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