Robert Ryan’s new series of works again engages the viewer in a poetic linking of humanity and the natural world. Picture surfaces pulse with linear activity and an astounding array of biomorphic shapes. Sociological and ecological implications are ever present. The exhibition’s title, I Found an Old Box of Paint, may seem curious but Ryan imparts that it has both a metaphorical and quite literal relevance.
‘I opened an old carton of oil paints that I had discovered during the packing up of my print studio below the Barebones Gallery in Bangalow,’ he explains. ‘Long forgotten, it had been stored away when I was preparing to go overseas in the early 2000’s. Some of the tubes would have been from the mid 90’s… a lot of memories in that box!’
The imagery in Steve Tyerman’s new body of work fosters warm, escapist thoughts of a haven beyond everyday concerns. He tells that the title of the exhibition, An Island in the Sun, refers to the special relationship Australians have with coastal regions. ‘There is something magical about being on the edge of this huge island and looking out to the vastness of the ocean and what lies beyond – and beneath. Despite the ocean’s enormous life-force and the hustle of holiday makers along its beaches, the shoreline has a strangely calming effect.’
Peter Smets’ new body of work revisits the construction activities that now define his oeuvre. ‘Construction sites have always intrigued me,’ he imparts. ‘One day there is nothing and the next a large building!’ The Gold Coast-based artist tells that what happens during the various stages of construction is fascinating and provides copious inspiration. Enclosed behind high barriers, the men and machinery that raise a building from rubble metaphorically exist ‘in the shadow’. For Smets however, they are the ‘making of works of art in themselves’ and worthy of ‘spotlight’ exposure.
A classical, timeless serenity imbues the sculptures Phillip Piperides creates. ‘More than naturalistic representations, my work is about capturing moments which occupy a space in time,’ he imparts. The title of the exhibition, Images, refers to musings and perceptions personified into 3D form. Understanding the unclothed figure as a ‘landscape’ of soft undulations, Piperides searches for a nuance in a live model’s pose that will evoke the essence of his subject.
Gold Coast-based Marilyn Peck imparts that the exhibition’s miniature artworks are essentially, ‘poetry in motion’. “My second love, after painting, is the writing of poetry,” Marilyn professes. “I approach both the same way. A word or two will set me off and a poem arises with its own rhythm. Similarly, I love the accidental happenings on the picture plane when I drop colour onto wet, hot-pressed Arches paper. These are gifts that ferment the imaginative process.”
Carolyn V Watson’s new body of work, let’s play pretend, extends her ongoing enquiry into how one might “activate the audience’s curiosity by inverting the familiar and thereby offer new readings of the known”. Beyond a childhood game connotation, the exhibition’s title embodies a deeper signification. It arose from her research into the philosophy of the Russian writer, Viktor Shklovsky. His 1917 treatise, Art as Devise, expounds the notion of ‘defamiliarisation’ in the creation and presentation of art forms. Shklovsky asserted that objects deliberately made ‘unfamiliar’ or strange removed the viewer’s “automatism of perception” so that the ‘commonplace’ might be seen as if for the first time. “Art exists so that one may recover the sensation of life,” he declared.
Much of the imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work revisits urban landscapes he has previously painted. But each time Martin ventures forth from his Strathpine studio he says “it’s like seeing places for the very first time”. An unfailing positivity and sense of humour always accompanies Martin on his adventures. The omnipresent depiction of city cats and ferries signify the process of being ‘out and about’. Awareness of historical features and keen observational skills direct his course and subsequent renderings. Vibratory colours and schematic representations of sites encountered translate his joyful, immersive experiences.
Once upon a time everything in the natural world was growing wild. Over the eons, certain animals, birds and flowers became domesticated or cultivated by humans for practical or aesthetic purposes. Jodie Wells’ new body of work expresses a desire for a more natural state of being; a return to tactility and away from an electronic, virtual reality. The paintings’ surfaces are palpable. We encounter nature in all its wild, textural vividness through the gestural freedom of her palette knife markings. Rather than realist depictions of flora and fauna, her works aim to convey the ‘spirit and energy’ of her subjects.
The physical structures within which we live possess both functional and symbolic qualities, usually an interweaving of both. Home is thought of as a sanctuary – a place to retreat from the world and be oneself. Erica Gray’s current paintings reflect a quest for such. Although the figure is absent from her interiors, a mood of warm intimacy resides amidst the sensuous forces of colour and pattern.
Vicki Stavrou understands the communicative power of colour – it functions as a visual language for her. ‘I am always immersed in thinking about colour. My main goal in painting is to find the most exciting and beautiful combinations that really sing,’ Stavrou declares. In speaking about the exhibition’s title, Golden Daze, she relates that many of her paintings exude an affirmative, golden hue. ‘And sometimes I do feel ‘heady’ being so absorbed in the intensity of my colour choices. Working full-time as an artist is living my dream and that too equates to golden days: Golden Daze.’ Incidentally, the brand of the paint medium Stavrou always uses is called Golden Acrylics.
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