With careers spanning four decades, Col Jordan, Peter Pinson and Emanuel Raft have remained at the forefront of Australian art. Rising to prominence as geometric abstractionists, they have each forged a unique path in their artistic careers, whilst remaining close friends and continuing to inspire and challenge each other in their artistic pursuits. Passionate advocates for art-education, all three have taught at the University of New South Wales’ College of Fine Arts, where they have helped shape a younger generation of artists.

COL JORDAN

In a contemporary culture which continually bombards us with visual stimuli, yet pays little attention to what we might call a ‘critical visual literacy’, Col Jordan’s works are as relevant and important today as they were when he began exhibiting them in 1966. Born in Sydney in 1935, Jordan is one of Australia’s foremost abstract artists. In the mid-1960s, he was one of a small group of pioneering artists who introduced hard-edge optical abstraction to Australia, and in 1968 he was included in the seminal exhibition The Field which launched the National Gallery of Victoria’s St Kilda Road campus. in Jordan’s words his work “explores and celebrates the infinite variability and unpredictability of the human condition.” This exhibition will be Jordan’s third at Mossenson Galleries, following highly successful solo exhibitions in Melbourne in 2007 and Perth in 2008. His works are held in most of the major public collections across Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

PETER PINSON

Of the paintings of Peter Pinson, Col Jordan has observed that “nothing is what it seems and that paradox is the only reality.” Pinson’s recent paintings deal with the strangeness of relationships between objects. Curious flowering plants and other still life items seem to be engaged in enigmatic rituals, mutual interrogations, or courtships. Inspired by Pinson’s 2005 residency at the Cité International de Arts in Paris, these works reflect the décor and patterning of Parisian cafes and deco posters. Pinson exploits the genre's flatness, sonorous colour and exaggerated perspectives to create a light-flooded universe free of human presence. Peter Pinson studied at the National Art School in Sydney and at the Sydney Teachers College. After winning the New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship in 1968, he travelled to Europe, where he completed postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art in London. A distinguished writer, he has written extensively on Jordan and Raft, along with monographs on Elwyn Lynn, Rodney Milgate and Bert Flugelman. In 2007 he was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia. His works are held in numerous significant collections, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank and the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery.

EMANUEL RAFT

Like Col Jordan, Emanuel Raft was included in The Field exhibition, where he exhibited a series of ‘Monoliths’ that offset the austerity of minimalist sculpture with joyful bands of vivid colour. Since then he has dedicated himself to achieving what Peter Pinson terms a “delicate balance between feeling and reason, between passion and proportional poise.” Raft’s most recent works achieve this by combining the crisp geometries of minimalism with a sensuous painterly quality that gives them a gentle but powerful lyricism. Raft was born in Egypt of Greek and Italian background. He came to Australia in 1955, aged 17. By the mid-1960s he was one of Australia’s most accomplished young artists, working across the mediums of painting, sculpture and jewellery. An erudite and travelled artist, Raft studied at the Bissietta Art School in Sydney before travelling to Europe to study at the Berea Academy in Milan. He has exhibited widely throughout Australia, as well as in Europe and North America. His works are held in most of the major public collections across Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Despite their shared beginnings as geometric abstractionists, Col Jordan, Peter Pinson and Emanuel Raft have developed divergent art practices. They are unified at the cutting edge of contemporary painting and sculpture. Mossenson Galleries is proud to present this new exhibition from three artists of national significance.