Judy Cassab solo exhibition opens in Brussels

Rainbow Valley - the spirit of the place

An exhibition by Australian-Hungarian artist Judy Cassab

Charlemagne Building, Brussels, Belgium

15 - 26 March 2004

A solo exhibition by acclaimed Australian-Hungarian painter Judy Cassab opened in Brussels, Belgium on 16 March. On display at the European Commission's Charlemagne Building in the heart of Brussels' European quarter, the exhibition is jointly presented by the Australian Mission to the European Union (EU) and the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU to mark Hungary's accession to the EU in May 2004.

Judy Cassab is one of Australia's most celebrated portrait painters. Austrian-born and of Hungarian parents, Judy Cassab emigrated to Australia in 1951 after surviving the horrors of World War II. In Australia, she found a rich source of inspiration in both the land and its peoples. She quickly gained a reputation for her distinctive expressionist technique and abilities as a portraitist, and over her long career has won many major art prizes and awards, including the prestigious Archibald Prize (1961 and 1968) and the Rubinstein Portrait Prize (1964 and 1965). Judy Cassab's paintings are held in collections of institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.

Rainbow Valley - the spirit of the place presents a cross-section of Judy Cassab's work, displaying a selection of both her striking portraits and her evocative paintings of the Australian desert. The exhibition was opened in Brussels by Ms Margot Wallström, European Union Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Péter Balázs, Head of the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU, and Mr Peter Grey, Australian Ambassador to the EU.

This is the fourth venue of the exhibition's European tour, which has included the Varsarely Museum in Budapest, the Australian Embassy in Berlin and the Australian High Commission in Dublin.

For further information:

Website: www.users.bigpond.net.au/jcassab/

Brussels, Australian Mission to the European Union: Rowena MacDonald, Public Affairs Manager, rowena.macdonald@dfat.gov.au or +32 2 286 0511.