Woollahra Council has unveiled a major new work, One Bright Pearl, by leading Australian artist Lindy Lee for the Blackburn Gardens of Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
“One Bright Pearl is inspired by the ancient Chinese story of the Dragon’s Ball, which is a symbol of universal wholeness, well-being, wisdom and spiritual power. During the day, the sculpture’s surface, with its mirror brightness, absorbs and reflects the fleeting and ever-changing pageantry of the surrounding world: the movements of people, sky, landscape, and birds. At night, the work will be internally lit to allow light to flow back out into the world. The sculpture’s different changing daytime and night-time qualities embody the cyclical nature of time,” says Lee.
Blackburn Gardens offers a peaceful and beautiful site for Lee’s work, overlooking Sydney Harbour and Redleaf Beach and adjacent to the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
Through her artworks, Lee explores her Australian heritage and Chinese ancestry of Taoism and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism – philosophies that see humanity and nature as inextricably linked. She employs chance and spontaneity to produce a galaxy of images that hold the intimate connections between human existence and the cosmos.
“We are thrilled to be adding Lindy Lee’s striking sculpture One Bright Pearl to our public art collection. With so many people visiting Woollahra Gallery, Murray Rose Pool and Blackburn Gardens, we hope this sculpture will be enjoyed by all. We are so grateful to our Principal Donor, The Carla Zampatti Foundation and all the artwork commission donors who have helped fund the work and who share our commitment to enhancing our public spaces through art,” says Cr Susan Wynne, Mayor of Woollahra.
The work was selected by Woollahra Council’s Public Art Panel comprising the Mayor of Woollahra Cr Susan Wynne, former Mayor Cr Toni Zeltzer, Director of Art Gallery New South Wales Michael Brand, Jillian Broadbent AC, David Gonski AC, Scott Perkins with the guidance of curator Holly Williams.
One Bright Pearl forms one in a series of five works by Lee, with the first in this edition installed in Norfolk, Virginia, US.
Lee has exhibited widely in Australia and throughout the world and has been acquired by all Australia’s major institutions and many regional galleries of note. She has also been collected extensively by major collections both here and around the world.
Lee is represented by Sullivan + Strumpf, and Sutton galleries.
Woollahra Municipal Council
woollahra.nsw.gov.au
Lindly Lee
lindylee.net
Sullivan+Strumpf
sullivanstrumpf.com
Sutton Gallery
suttongallery.com.au
Photography by Steven Siewert
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