Davida Allen: The Autobiography of Vicki Myers – Close to the Bone

31 January to 8 March 2020

The Autobiography of Vicki Myers: Close to the Bone exhibition features 14 original lithographs and 10 original etchings, made in parallel to Allen’s 1991 novel, a semi-autobiographical book of the same name.

The book and exhibition tell the story of a woman’s struggle to balance her artistic passions with the daily demands of domestic responsibility and caring for children. In the novel the main character Vicki Meyers declares:

“When my fingers hold a paintbrush, they desperately want to assort the various pieces of my domestic life into some sort of clear resolution. The agony of being an artist hand having another me, a domestic me, watching me be an artist…”

Known for her strongly gestural painting style that uses heavy brushstrokes Davida Allen uses a bold colour palette to explore life as an artist, mother, wife and grandmother, domestic life, family and the human condition. Her works often portray the tension between creative energy and domestic responsibilities.

Davida Allen: The Autobiography of Vicky Myers – Close to the Bone is from The McCrea Collection.