Talking With Painters

After months of disruption and pessimism wreaked by the global pandemic, seeing Jude Rae's exhibition '424-428' at The Commercial in Sydney was as uplifting as the paintings themselves. The towering concrete walls of the gallery would ordinarily overpower an exhibition of five paintings but the exquisite works easily took command of the space. Viewing the exhibition will be an experience I'll never forget. The genre of still life has a rich tradition in the history of painting; from those Cézannian apples and Margaret Preston's flowers to the skulls of the Dutch painters reminding us that one day we’re all going to die. They say so much more than mere objects on a table. The subjects of Jude Rae's still life paintings, however, aren’t flowers or fruit. They range from gas cylinders and milk crates to plastic buckets, bottles and spaghetti jars. She's attracted to these objects not necessarily because of any intrinsic beauty but because of the potential they present to her as a painter. 'They giv