Janenne Eaton: Lines of Sight – Frame and Horizon
There are artists whose work seems to grow more relevant over time, as the world adjusts itself to their themes, but it’s not entirely a happy process. When those themes include the plight of refugees, the growth of a surveillance culture, Aboriginal dispossession and the degradation of the climate, even if we admire the artist’s work we have to give a black mark to the planet.
This is the case with Janenne Eaton (b. 1950), subject of an impressive survey at Geelong Art Gallery, curated by the freshly appointed director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Jason Smith.
In Janenne Eaton: Lines of Sight – Frame and Horizon, we trace 40 years of work that combines elements of Pop and Conceptual Art with various forms of abstraction. Although almost everything Eaton has produced suggests some form of political engagement, she doesn’t deal in heavy-handed messages. The main interest in this show lies in the oblique and even playful manner, in which she frames her responses to contemporary life.