Antarctica 1964

Sidney Nolan’s ‘Antarctica’ is made with strokes of oil paint that feel both turbulent and expansive. It's got this brooding palette of blues and blacks. I can imagine Nolan must have been totally immersed, wrestling with the canvas to capture something so vast. I wonder if he started with the sky? Those blues are brushed on so freely. The brush almost seems to dance as the sky meets the mountain range. It's like he’s trying to catch the light as it hits the snow. Look at how he’s layered the paint to give a sense of depth. He coaxes texture and form from a seemingly limited tonal range. And the movement! You get a sense of the wildness of the Antarctic landscape, that very particular drama. Nolan's paintings are always in conversation with other artists too, you know? He takes cues from those who came before him, adding his own voice to the mix. What a treat it is when an artist's vision invites us to see and feel the world anew.