Annette Bezor

Even artists of the calibre and experience of Annette Bezor have had to adapt and evolve in response to the changing face of the commercial gallery scene in Australia. Bezor, in some respects, was given little choice, with the galleries that previously represented her in Melbourne and Sydney both closing down. However she is also making changes to her practice to make her work more accessible. Bezor is broadening her audience with her current exhibition at Aptos Cruz Galleries in Stirling, a space that combines art and design. While Australian Galleries, who now represent her in Sydney and Melbourne, concentrate on her paintings, the current exhibition at Aptos Cruz has given her the opportunity to focus on prints, works on paper and limited editions. “I wanted a bit more freedom to do other things,” Bezor explains. “Sometimes not a lot happens between exhibitions. You have a show and there is a great hoopla and then it goes flat until your next show.” Bezor wanted to fill this gap, and pushing the works on paper seemed the logical way to do this. Her paintings can be very labour intensive, so it also provides an avenue for getting more work out there without compromising on quality. The exhibition includes 12 prints, some of which are prints of paintings, but the majority of which are new images. “That’s the direction I want to go in. Rather than just making prints of paintings which I don’t think is very exciting, I want to make them individual things. I want to make them more accessible and more affordable.” These works continue Bezor’s fascination with women and her exploration of veiling and layering, but she says because of the size of these works (only 80x80cm unframed) they are very intense and full of imagery and information. Along with the prints are a couple of works she has been developing called Art Cushions – a fusion of painting, soft sculpture and furniture. These works are hand-upholstered cushions with Bezor’s imagery on the back and front. The idea is that you can stand them up in the corner of the room like a soft sculpture but they are tough enough so you can sit on them. “It’s a useable piece of fine art,” says Bezor. While the Art Cushions are a bit of an experiment to see how audiences receive them, Bezor is very excited about them. “They are made to order – it will take three weeks and each cushion is a one-off. It’s quite an exclusive little thing that is kind of quirky. They tickle my fancy.” Annette Bezor Aptos Cruz Galleries
 Continues until Sunday, August 31 bezor.com.au aptoscruz.com