Trusttum and Chang works on show at Milbank

Bill Milbank with some of the Chang and Trusttum works on show in his Whanganui gallery. Photo/Stuart Munro

Canterbury artist Philip Trusttum is well known for his large expressionist canvasses, so his current works on show at Whanganui's Milbank Gallery are a bit of a surprise.

The works are characteristically big and bold but closer inspection reveals that they are patchworks of smaller pictures rendered with felt markers on paper.

When Bill Milbank visited Trusttum in 2013, he discovered Trusttum's post-earthquake works produced on the kitchen table after the artist's home had been destroyed.

"His painting life had been turned upside down by the February 2011 earthquake.

"The family's two-storey Edwardian home was demolished and they had converted Hamish's skyline studio into a two-bedroom apartment."

Trusttum says the works in this exhibition were produced on paper from books purchased at Trade Aid and the images were inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's painting The Garden of Delights.

During the visit Milbank was introduced to Taiwanese artist Jimmy Chang, who had completed his fine arts degree at Canterbury University.

The two artists had exhibited together before and Milbank said the contrast of Trusttum's bold expressionism alongside Chang's minimalism works beautifully in his gallery.

Chang says he is influenced by minimalism, post-minimalism and the Japanese artform Mono-ha, which explores encounters between natural and industrial materials.

His cream-painted canvasses with irregular lengths of framing are arranged in groupings that seem to invite the viewer to enter the next room or go upstairs.

His artist statement explains that he explores not only the relationships between the components of his works but the wall they will hang on.

The works also have musical connotations and relate to The Art of Fugue - an incomplete work written by Johann Sebastian Bach which is said to have been the culmination of his experimentation with monothematic instrumental works.

Jimmy Chang and Philip Trusttum, Milbank Gallery, 1b Bell St, noon-5pm, Wed-Sun or by appointment. Ph 027 6286877