SHARING WITH ME

After many years of talking about it, I was finally going to visit Villers-Bretonneux. Nicole was to take me with a friend of hers who has a car. Nicole was born there and had visited the sister town in Victoria, Robinvale.  I wonder how many people know about Villers-Bretonneux or understand what is behind it. My brother certainly does and some other Australians I have talked to are aware of it. It defines a chapter in our history. Like other countries of the British Empire, Australia immediately came to the support of the "mother country" at the outbreak of war in August 1914. Together with their neighbours, the New Zealanders, they created the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Their first offensive was at Gallipoli in Turkey on 25th April 1915. Their first action on the Somme took place on 23rd July 1916 at Pozières and later in April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux. This was a very significant battle for the Australian troops who stopped the German push at V

Will it ever stop ? I ask myself and the immediate reply, is « I hope not ». The name Helen Frankenthaler, an American (1928-2011) meant nothing to me but the picture I saw in one of my many art magazines told me I must go along and discover.  First Creatures - 1959 Which I did at the Gagosian gallery - empty - waiting for me. At least there was one point in my favour. There had not been a retrospective of her work in France for 50 years or more. Her career spanned six decades and in the States she is recognised as one of the great American artists of the 20th century. I thought I knew the most prominent artists belonging to the Abstract Expressionism and Colour Field painting. Apparently not despite my rushing around trying to see so many of the American artists I like so much. Pollock, De Kooning - will I go on? The list is long. Both the mentioned artists influenced her work. A technique which I knew about, soak-stain - but I did not know that Helen had developed it. Rather t