Painting Itself

Painting Itself / 绘画本身 brings together the work of five painters, Jon Chan, Un Cheng, Chris Huen Sin-Kan, Noor Mahnun and Tang Dixin. The work of these painters may feel new to Australian audiences, yet it also feels persuasive, potent and entirely relevant to the present. In their complex practices, we find a ‘horizontal culture’, where ideas of contemporary painting are revitalised by actions, traditions and histories that are both interwoven and divergent from our own. In her insightful introductory essay, Melanie Pocock, begins by addressing the question, why painting? Why are artists still choosing to paint? What is it that makes painting compelling? And how are we to calibrate new threads that come into view? In her search, she acknowledges painting’s singular nature while celebrating this moment in which painting’s own image can be better understood through its variety and shifting horizon.Through a series of artist interviews and a discussion with writer Quentin Sprague, Jonathan Nichols seeks to return the artist’s voice to its rightful place as primary source. Across these texts, the question of painting is taken further, alongside the artists’ own questions and concerns. Nichols’ searching, forming approach to each interview is enlightening rather than declarative.This publication accompanies the exhibition Painting Itself / 绘画本身, curated by Jonathan Nichols, at the Perth Institute ofContemporary Arts, 6 February – 29 March and the ANU School of Art and Design Gallery, 22 May – 28 June 2026.
ISBN 9781764053839. Drill Hall Publishing. pb. 128 pages. Full colour throughout. 23.5 x 16.5 cm.
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