Melbourne born Lesley Dumbrell studied painting at RMIT from 1959 to 1962. As with other young artists of her generation she became entranced with the possibilities of hard edged geometric abstraction and the relationship of colour and line to imply form. One significant influence on her early work was the British artist Bridget Riley. In the 1960s women artists were not so well known.
Gender was certainly a factor in her work being overlooked by John Stringer and Brian Finemore when they looked for young abstract painters to define younger generation artists in The Field in 1968.
However she did attract the attention of Bronwyn Thomas and in 1969 held her first solo exhibition at Sydney’s prestigious Bonython Galleries. This was followed the next year by an exhibition at Strines in Melbourne and in 1973 at the prestigious Powell Street Gallery. She recently noted that no works sold from these three exhibitions.
- Writers:
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- Date written:
- 2022
- Last updated:
- 2022
