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Ornamental/Elemental features works that play with the structure and poetics of ornamentation. Ornamentation and decoration were famously derided as superfluous additions to otherwise pure form by Austrian modernist architect Adolf Loos in his essay ‘Ornament and Crime’ (1913). This essay influenced modernist and minimalist approaches to making art in the 20th century.

This exhibition’s featured artists share an interest in the underlying structure and form of their chosen medium and in their materials’ potential to embellish the surface of their work. From the subtle geometries of Harley MacBeth’s paintings to the embedded pattern of flowers in Narumi Ii’s vessel, the artists demonstrate that the ornamental is elemental.

All displays are selected from Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery – Toowoomba City Collection.

Exhibition on display 10 January – 4 February 2024.

Image: Miles ALLEN / Stacking carrots 2010 / timber, ink and wax / 79 x 65 cm / Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery – Toowoomba City Collection 1845 / © Miles Allen