Adam Nudelman

Anything Just to Belong

10 February — 26 February 2016

Born 1967
Lives and works in Victoria

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Represented by nanda\hobbs

For artist Adam Nudelman, the landscape acts as a refuge for his ever-enquiring quest to understand his place in this world. The grandson of Polish Jewish immigrants, Nudelman’s connection to his homeland was shrouded in secrecy and the unspoken—of people who suffered cataclysmic trauma. As his heritage began to unfold, his path to express his sense of belonging manifested itself through paint.  

Nudelman’s personal connection to European painting techniques and aesthetics has become of paramount importance. His understanding of the way pictures are crafted has marked him one of the prodigious talents in contemporary Australian painting. In this exhibition titled Anything Just to Belong, Nudelman's deep empathy for the plight of the displaced is subtly woven into the fabric of eternally hopeful, yet slightly melancholic landscape. A broken fence line in the Australian bush, the Claudian beauty of the highlands of Tasmania and ferny glades of South Gippsland all point to deeper meaning. The paintings are constructs of the mind but reference the real—with visual clues gleaned from his travels in the geographically related landscapes. 

​As always, Nudelman alludes to multiple meanings in his work. A passing glance will only deliver so much—the story is exposed only after you give yourself to the picture.  The dense forests suggest uncertainty and secrecy while distant, thin, misty light offers some hope but is not to be relied upon—it doesn’t illuminate the deep corners and can’t always provide clarity or assurance. 

​​His closed forests works are seductive in their referencing of Eugene von Guerard, the colonial painter who imaged brooding fern tree-clad hills around Melbourne with sublime antipodean intrigue. The same country would be investigated nearly a century later by the seminal Fred Williams. Now, Adam Nudelman has painted himself into the same landscape with all the fervour of an artist eager to explore and create human metaphors from natural beauty.  ​

Signs and symbols are the great markers of our community—they are the artefacts of our society.  But what happens when those symbols exist beyond the constructs of creating and keeping order? History can attach sinister or dark associations to the otherwise harmless or banal signs that are used in our society.  Borders in the form of fences, gates, towers, wire, detention—all serve to exclude “others” and to protect our privilege while we wage wars that tear countries to pieces and drive people to cross borders. 

Australia is a nation of immigrants; our cultural heritage is informed and enriched from those from other places. Nudelman's work allows us to reconnect with our heritage so that we may travel into our collective future in a more informed and sympathetic way. ​

Listen to Adam Nudelman and Ralph Hobbs talk about this exhibition with Alex McCulloch on The Art Show on 9 February 2016.

\ Exhibition featured works

Adam Nudelman

After All I Still Believe It

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 152.5x125cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

Every Point of Refuge 1

2016 \ mixed media sculpture (wood, clay, metal and paint) \ (h)38x(w)22x(d)22cm

Adam Nudelman

Every Point of Refuge II

2016 \ Mixed media sculpture (wood, clay, metal and paint) \ (h)39x(w)22x(d)22cm

Adam Nudelman

Every Point of Refuge III

2016 \ Mixed media sculpture (wood, clay, metal and paint) \ (h)37x(w)22x(d)22cm

Adam Nudelman

Every Point of Refuge IV

2016 \ Mixed media sculpture (wood, clay, metal and paint \ (h)50x(w)22x(d)22cm

Adam Nudelman

How Quick the Fall Can Be

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 91.5x122cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

If It All Should Fail Tomorrow

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 120x96.5cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

It Leaves by the Light of Day

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 71x60.5cm

Adam Nudelman

It's a Denial Who Would Refuse

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 141x250cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

Last to Know

2015 \ Oil on panel \ 27.5x22.8cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

No Paradise Found

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 120x91.5cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

The Air That I Breathe

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 71x60.5cm

Adam Nudelman

The Darkness Only Lasts a Nighttime (triptych)

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 152.5x122 each panel (triptych)

Adam Nudelman

Without Warning

2015 \ Acrylic and oil on linen \ 63.5x53.5cm

SOLD

Adam Nudelman

when all the worl

2015 \ Oil on linen \ 112x168cm

SOLD

\ Other exhibitions

Jun Chen

RED LAND

24 September — 19 October 2024

OTHER WORLDS

Group Exhibition

3 September — 21 September 2024

Suzanne Archer

Winds of change and sands of time

12 August — 31 August 2024

Contact Us

to find out more about Anything Just to Belong.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)