The Two of Us

13 March to 11 April 2010

It is with great pleasure that the Cowra Regional Art Gallery presents the work of celebrated artist Judy Cassab and John Seed her sculptor son. Judy Cassab was born in Vienna in 1920 and came to Australia from post-war Hungary with her young family in 1950. From the 1960’s to the present she has developed an international reputation for her portraits, and was the second woman (Nora Heyson was the first) to win the Archibald Prize, which she won twice.

The exhibition brings together a wonderful selection of Judy Cassab’s colourful art works including portraits and still life paintings, landscape paintings and mixed media works inspired by trips to Central Australia and Fraser Island, as well as, several figurative drawings and prints. The works in the exhibition by John Seed have been selected from a new series he began in 2009. These consist of abstract welded forms influenced by star-borne objects and intricate mandalas constructed from galvanised steel off-cuts he collects from scrap yards.

The Cowra Regional Art Gallery is extremely grateful to Judy Cassab and John Seed for their support of the exhibition and the unique opportunity to exhibit their work in association with the 2010 Cowra Festival of International Understanding. I would also like to acknowledge Robert Maconachie from Eva Breuer Gallery for his splendid catalogue essay.

Finally, the genesis of this project began when I discussed the exhibition with the Ambassador of Hungary Gábor Csaba in 2009. I would like to acknowledge his support and the generous support of the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary.

Brian Langer – Director, Cowra Regional Art Gallery.

_{Image: John Seed, Crab Nebula, 2009, welded steel. Courtesy the artist.}