MASTERSTROKE // margo lewers

Margo Lewers ‘Broken Circles’, c1968 (synthetic polymer paint on composition board)

Margo Lewers ‘Composition in Orange’, c1952 (oil on canvas on cardboard), ‘Orange Shapes (torso)’, c1956 (oil on hardboard)

Margo Lewers ‘Green on Brown’, ‘Red (1)’, ‘Red (2)’, ‘Orange with White’, c1971 (perspex)

Margo Lewers ‘Interior (Centre) (diptych)’, c1965 (synthetic polymer paint on composition board)

Margo Lewers ‘Marine Composition No.1’, no date (oil on masonite), 'Scene Change’, c1951 (oil on masonite)

I managed to catch the exhibition Emu Island: Modernism in Place before it closed and I was glad I did. It celebrated the significance of Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest as well as it's importance to Modernism. You can read more about the history of the space on my previous post here. Featuring works by founders Margo and Gerald Lewers along with luminaries of the Sydney art scene such as Frank and Margel Hinder, Judy Cassab, John Olsen, Tony Tuckson, Carl Plate and Robert Klippel. The works span four decades when the Lewers' resided on the property from 1942-1978.

The standout for me was Margo Lewers' work which celebrated bold colours, shapes and experimentation with materials. She was an inspirational woman who lived in a time when there were limitations for females but she shone. They were living in a changing world when those formative years of feminism and attitudes were evolving. Margo and her husband created a holistic way of living, working and entertaining their friends and art contemporaries in the new modern age. It would have been amazing to be a part of that energy and creativity.