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In contrast to this, Art Gallery of W.A. just round the corner from the Institute is definitely worth visiting. In addition to a vast collection of older Australian art, you may find also pieces by European classical artists and a large collection of contemporary art made by native Australians. I must note that this is not in style of an anthropological collection including bows and arrows, it is a completely autonomous and, in the context of contemporary art, sound works which work and are absolute adequate juxtaposed to works by, say, Gerhard Richter who is represented here by two paintings from the ’90s. Except for wooden statues and paintings on eucalyptus bark (which are quite far from our context and have an exotic feeling), works shown here include „classic“ paintings on canvas and two installations. The paintings are mostly abstract, completely covered by a consistent grid of points, circles and lines, the colors are quite sober (ocre, red, black and white). The pieces look especially good in large formats; with their increasing size, their gravity gets stronger, we are pulled into a wild dance, melting in a psychedelic rhythm of colorful stains. Speaking of gravity is not such a far off metaphor as some of the paintings actually look like maps. Plus it is amazing how similar Australian inland viewed from a plane reminds of them; when looked at from above, this dry waste-land turns into a brightly colored image, a never-ending network of circles, points and lines, interwoven with long, straight roads.
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