Peter Gardiner, HUBBARD, (detail) 2024. Oil on board, 158 x 120cm. Courtesy: the artist and Nanda\Hobbs, Sydney.

The Indulgences is a powerful exhibition that draws from history aesthetically and morally. Peter Gardner explores what it is to be on the edge, inspired by humanity’s eternal search for a sense of faith, and our perpetual ability to corrupt. The artist is engaged in conversation with historical narratives – constantly questioning what we proport to be the moral path forward. The uniqueness of his work lies his ability to present ideas as one thing, yet at the same time reveal a beautifully subversive undercurrent.

The exhibition is predominantly centred around investigations into still life – a tradition born from the 17th Century Dutch Golden age of painting — the trappings of influence and wealth manifested in evocative paintings that discreetly moralise. A visual thesis — The Indulgences is powerful in its intent and beautiful in its meticulous rendering. It draws us to the inevitable conclusion that that the fragility of the natural and human world is inextricably linked – a cautionary that we ignore at our peril.

Opening Event: Thursday 2 May, 6 – 8pm.

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