Peter Sharp: Will To Form

A major survey of work produced over two decades by Sydney based artist Peter Sharp whose work explores nature, its microcosms and macrocosms.

Drawing from his surroundings, whether the ocean, the desert or the bush, Peter Sharp methodically deconstructs the real world to create an abstract language of line, colour and form.

Influenced by indigenous ways of seeing, Sharp’s work can be seen as a way of visualising the interconnectedness of things in the world, adding to the discourse about black and white culture in this country. Sharp’s work was first nationally recognised in the award-winning documentary Two Thirds Sky, Artists in Desert Country.

Will to Form was constructed around groups that include narratives such as whales, spiders and the desert. Even though the subject matter may be different, the connecting link is the drawings that Sharp meticulously renders and abstracts from nature. From there the artist critiques and rebuilds the structures into other permutations of the original theme, bringing the viewer closer to the original subject.

The survey included drawing, painting, sculpture and print-making and new work created specifically for Hazelhurst.