by Anita Sinclair

Contemporary Art Society of Victoria Inc.

Richmond Library Exhibition Space

April - May 2005

Located at the Richmond Library

415 Church Street, Richmond, Melbourne

Veronica Caven Aldous

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3 Wineglasses by Veronica Caven Aldous

glasses of rose quartz, rose petals

& faux pearls, 25 x 7 x 30 cms, 2004

'Three Parts Me - Feel Peace, Smell Peace, Sea Peace'.

This is the title of one of the items in the display case. I have chosen it to be also the focus of this review of the works.

One of the tasks of a reviewer is to apprehend the place from which an artist is coming; especially if their work is vastly different from one's own, or one's own area of familiarity where the reviewer is not a practising artist.

Veronica Caven Aldous is an artist of prodigious training and experience - in Art, in Education and in her chosen specialisation, Transcendental Meditation. All three focuses are reflected in the items on display.

Ms Aldous invites us to experience with her the emotions, senses, thoughts that these colours and textures arouse in her. Dreadful for a sensualist like me not to be able to touch the materials! What could I do but intellectualise? These works belong outside glass walls.

Without doubt the framed textures and colours are beautiful and are presented superbly. They are thoughtfully placed in respect to each other; though for me their impact was weakened, not improved, by the inclusion of the two small canvasses.

The display of works such as these of Ms Aldous' in the Richmond Library Case brings unusual art to an audience that might otherwise never see it. So that, even though I would much prefer to experience it out in the open, bravo for putting it here!

- Anita Sinclair

(Extracted from the Contemporary Art Society Newsletter May - June 2005)