Art Series

Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park

Through The Eyes of Geoffrey Edwards,
Curatorial Advisor

Geoffrey Edwards brings his singular perspective to the role of curatorial advisor to Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park. A prominent Australian art world figure, with past leadership roles at the Geelong Gallery and the National Gallery of Victoria, as well as a long tenure on the curatorial advisory panel of Sculpture by the Sea, he is known for creating innovative and engaging experiences.

Seated in the Pt. Leo Estate wine terrace, with sweeping views of the vineyard and sculptures, Geoffrey shared with us his insights behind the four works that feature in our Spring 2024 campaign.

Michael Le Grand, Tsunami (1997), painted steel

It’s got this gorgeous motion, almost like a drawing in space of all these swirling lines. Leonardo da Vinci’s great drawings of torrents of water with everything swirling over—this is almost that, but in welded steel.
Yet it looks light. It looks lyrical.

Clement Meadmore, Riff (1996), painted steel

‘Riff’ is quite a simple work. It’s this great kind of torsion. A sort of monumental, architectural-sized licorice strip that someone’s just tied a knot in. And yet it’s done with that effortless ease and that fluency. I think it has phenomenal vitality and yet it’s quite a still form in the landscape.

Philip Spelman, Parabola (2008), painted steel

So many of Philip’s works that appear to be abstract compositions, including ‘Parabola’, are in fact stylised still-life forms. You see a gigantic abstracted bottle in this work, there’s a chair, there’s a table. There’s actually a lot you can read into it [but] that’s not primarily what you take away. It’s the composition, the relationship of the forms, the play of light over it. And the lovely rhythm of the parabola, this great swag of stylised petal forms.

Bert Flugelman, Conversation (2007), stainless steel

With Bert Flugelman’s works, you always see yourself walking towards them. But you’re distorted, like one of those crazy fairground mirrors. It’s called ‘Conversation’, and that's the hint, because they’re entirely abstract but these forms talk to each other. They’re not the same form turned around, they’re slightly different. And you can almost hear, you can sense the conversation that takes place.

The Italian novelist, Umberto Eco, used to say that books talk to one another. Well, I think sculptures in the park talk to one another. Geoffrey Edwards

Describing Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park as a “mobile theatre,” Geoffrey emphasises a natural flow when placing each work. “You actually need to think, well, this work is entirely about popular culture. It’s about cartoons, it’s about social media. Whereas the next work might be about classical figuration,” he says. Showcasing both Australian and international art, the 330-acre park is meticulously designed as a cohesive and immersive experience. “There has to be that sense of theatre, and ideas have to unfold in front of you.”

This ongoing narrative makes each visit a fresh encounter with creativity. “What we aim to do is generate excitement, interest and curiosity,” says Geoffrey. “You don’t want to give just one story, one answer to the question, what is that work about? We want the viewer to bring their own ideas.”

Pt. Leo Estate is located on Bunurong Country, Mornington Peninsula
3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks, Victoria