Gallery Details
Castlemaine Art Museum (CAM)
14 Lyttleton St
Castlemaine VIC 3450
Telephone: 03 5472 2292
E: info@castlemaineartmuseum.org.au
W: Visit website
Opening Hours
Thursday-Saturday
11am–4pm
Sunday
12pm–4pm
Sir Leslie Thornton: Castlemaine Art Museum's First Blockbuster
Sir Leslie Thornton: Castlemaine Art Museum's First Blockbuster
22 Mar 2025 – 27 Jul 2025
Imaginative, humorous and subversive, the art of Les Thornton knows many forms. His carefully painted works have a surrealist humour but are also often poignant and unsettling.
This exhibition of paintings, works on paper, and sculpture celebrates one of Castlemaine's most loved artists. Thornton subjects are drawn from the world around him, from his boyhood home in Brisbane to the streets and buildings of Central Victoria. Much of his work involves manipulating objects or documents to surprise and enchant the viewer. Thornton's paintings are meticulously painted and notable for their vivid sense of design and colour. He has an eye for the vernacular in architecture, patterns of brickwork, signage, unlikely angles and arresting juxtapositions. An outstanding feature of the exhibition is a dense wall of images of Castlemaine and district painted over the decades since he arrived in 1972. The exhibition will be accompanied by an exciting range of public programs.
Exhibition supported by an Anonymous Donor.
Image: Leslie Thornton, CAM Director's Rooftop Pleasure Garden, 2015, acrylic on canvas. Private Collection.
The Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the lands where our office is located, and all Traditional Owners of country throughout Victoria and Australia. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples enduring traditions and continuing creative cultures. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
We are an LGBTQIA+ friendly organisation that celebrates diversity. We are committed to providing safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive services for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.
