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    Noel McKenna Boy’s Room, Brisbane 1967, 2004. Private collection, Melbourne

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    Noel McKenna Woman Writing, 1999. Image courtesy of the artist.

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    Noel McKenna House, 1990. Image courtesy of the artist.

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    Noel McKenna Appliance Heaven, 2005. Image courtesy of the artist.

Noel McKenna—Sheltered Life

10 July - 18 September 2005 in the Entire Gallery
Australian Noel McKenna's Sheltered Life includes, alongside a suite of paintings, sculptural and ceramic work. The exhibition is a visual essay exploring various notions of home: 'home town', 'home away from home', 'homelessness', the 'homing' impulse. McKenna's approach is characteristically detached, at times laconic. If the artist is a teller of 'home' truths, he is also a purveyor mysteries. His intriguing narrative paintings have been exhibited widely throughout Australia in recent years and his work has been included in many group shows, including the aptly titled National Gallery of Australia exhibition, Home Sweet Home; works from the Peter Fay Collection, which is currently touring Australia and New Zealand.

Born in Queensland in 1956, Noel McKenna has lived in Sydney since the late 1970s. A genuinely trans-Tasman artist, McKenna has, over the past decade, maintained strong ties with New Zealand. He has held three solo exhibitions in Wellington and a work of his was included in the Parihaka exhibition at City Gallery Wellington in 2000.