The QUT show, Savvy: New Australian Art showcases the work of 6 local artists that all share one thing in common: none of them paint. Perhaps that is too broad a statement, perhaps some of them do paint, but they definitely didn't show any paintings here. This is not to be taken as a bad thing, simply a statement of fact. It is however, interesting to note that in an exhibition of new Australian art, there is no painting to be found. Whether this is indicative of a wider artistic trend or merely coincidental, it does raise the question of whether contemporary artists see painting as a valid mode of expression anymore. The QUT show contains video, computer and audio work from Christopher Bennie (complete with fantasy couplings of seventies vinyl stars), luscious woven garments and objects by Beata Batorowicz against the paternalistic constrictions of the history of modernism (and all art history). Lionel Bawden's amorphous pencil structures must be 'encountered' to be fully appreciated, much like Nicola Brown's intimate pencil drawings that place her in various militaristic scenarios. Sangeeta Sandrasegar's wall-relief paper constructions enter into a political dialogue with the other that is echoed in Mandana Mapar's photographic explorations of identity. Mapar also shows three cloud formations that come as close to a 'painterly' aesthetic as anything in the show, and despite the site-specificity of their capture (as told in a didactic panel), they really could be anywhere. There is a strong focus on the international in the work, which can be tied to the multicultural origins of some of the artists, the history of the tradition they have inherited, both artistically and personally, and to the media saturated world in which we live. The show is a refreshing taste of the flavour available in Australian art now, wherever it comes from, and the fact that painting has been left off the menu has not affected the quality of the aesthetic smorgasboard. Enjoy ...