Formal has been curated by Paul Snell as part of Mona Foma.

The show is a celebration of contemporary abstractions, from artists working across paint-on-canvas, sculpture, photography, and other mediums. 

Snell said the works ranged from “abstraction’s really formal, geometric lineage, to the more robust, impressionistic kind of works.”

It’s an exploration of the possibilities of the genre. 

“It’s a good opportunity to showcase non-representative, non-narrative based works; and a really broad range of ways in which artists can approach abstraction,” he said. 

“I like works that don’t tell a story, works that are self-referential – the works are what they are.

“For me, putting this show together gave me an opportunity to look at lots of different ways that people are dealing with abstraction in a contemporary sense.”

Formal includes the works of 14 artists from five states, as well as one from Spain: Gaston Bertin, Louise Blyton, Steven Carson, Danica Chappell, Anton Hart, Brent Hallard, David Hawley, Emma Langridge, Susie Leahy Raleigh, David Marsden, Lisa Sharp, Paul Snell, Ryllton Viney, and Paul Zika. 

Formal will be opened on January 17 at 5pm by arts educator Paul Bishop, who is travelling from Melbourne to open the show, and runs until January 20 from 10am – 4pm.