Review of Fragments of Memory

Peter Kreet's exhibition was opened by Lindsay Broughton, Tasmanian artist and educator noted for his large scale drawings and his fascination with fragments of Classical architecture.

Peter has brought together the modern and the ancient in his series of 18 works arising from a visit to Portugal. The medieval towns and cities - in particular the buildings and walls had a profound impact which Peter has explored in a very contemporary way.

The large format works are heavily textured, redolent of exotic spices in the heat of the summer sun. Richly coloured walls and fragmented facades are scarred and scratched, layered with broken tiles, crumbling stucco and both modern and ancient graffiti; they tell the tales of ages past, a brief glimpse of history alongside the everyday truths of modern city life.

The glimpses of ancient surfaces overlaid and balanced by the scrawled tags of modernity create a dynamic tension while making it clear that both have an equal and valid place in the pageant of history.

The simplicity of composition in the works enhances the monumental presence of the works granting the viewer a sense of solidity and great weight while ensuring that the scale is ambiguous. It is only the addition of a silhouetted figure in one work that gives the view of a sense of scale for the works on display

This exhibition is a feast for the senses; sensual and tactile, ancient and modern, intimate and monumental - a wonderful evocation of time and place.

Lynn Hasenkam
Artist