Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery

I recently went for an impromptu drive up to the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and was very impressed, so thought I'd share some of the highlights of their current exhibitions!

The main attraction at the moment is the retrospective 'Michael Shannon: Australian Romantic Realist,' a touring exhibition by the Art Gallery of Ballarat. To be frank, Michael Shannon wasn't in
my inner repertoire of Australian artists before I visited the show, which probably actually heightened my enjoyment. There are few things as wonderful as becoming newly familiar with an artist through wandering a thorough (though not dauntingly large) retrospective from beginning to end (in this case 1950s to 1980s). I particularly loved Shannon's urban landscapes, those of Melbourne being so very evocative. His everyday scenes of milk bars, railways, and Australian homes from the 1960s and 70s are stunning.

The Milk Bar, 1965, oil on canvas.

The Butcher's Shop, 1965, oil on canvas.

Summer Interior, 1973, pencil & oil on canvas.

My Mabel Waits for Me, 1952, oil on canvas.

Cairns, 1965, oil on canvas.

The other major show on offer is 'At First Sight: Peninsula and bay photographs by J W Twycross 1918-1925,' put together by the MPRG. It's a lovely collection of intimate, aesthetic, and documentary photographs chronicling life in Melbourne and the Port Phillip Bay in the interwar years. A pleasant way to soak up some of the ambiance of the local region.

The Michael Shannon retrospective and At First Sight will be on display at the MPRG until April 9 2012.