# Anthea Polson Art --- ## Pages - [privacy policy](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/privacy-policy/): Anthea Polson Art recognises the importance of your privacy and understands your concerns about the security of your personal information.... - [Terms & conditions](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/terms-conditions/): site terms & conditions of use The terms & conditions of use set forth below (the “Terms”) govern the use... - [Links](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/links/): Listed below are useful links to our Artists’ own web sites. If you find a broken link, please email antheapolsonart. com.... - [Exhibitions Catalogue](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/exhibitions-catalogue/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia. Contemporary art & sculpture catalogue available here. - [Home](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia. Specialising in contemporary Australian art and sculpture. - [Artists](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery Specialises in featuring Australian contemporary artists. Located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia. - [About Us](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/about-us/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery is located in Main Beach on the Gold Coast Australia. Specialising in contemporary art, investment art & sculpture. - [What's New](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/whats-new/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia. Offering Australian Contemporary art & sculpture. - [Exhibitions](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/exhibitions/): Anthea Polson Art Gallery located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia. Contemporary art & sculpture exhibitions all year. - [Contact Us](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/contact-us/): Located in Tedder Ave, Main Beach, Gold Coast Australia, Anthea Polson Art Gallery specialises in contemporary Australian art and sculpture. --- ## Posts - [Wild Grace](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-grace/): Gold Coast-based, Jodie Wells’ 9th solo exhibition with Anthea Polson Art invites the viewer to experience the ‘wild grace’ offered... - [Cultivar](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/cultivar/): The paintings in Melitta Perry’s fourth exhibition with Anthea Polson Art are again enigmatic, beautifully rendered depictions. Perry describes the... - [Mysterious Ways](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/mysterious-ways/): Gold Coast-based Steve Tyerman relays that his art has always involved the depiction of landscape vistas. “I have an innate... - [Paintings From The Island](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-from-the-island/): The works in Melissa Egan’s current exhibition are indeed paintings from the island. They were all painted in Launceston on... - [Martin's World](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-world/): Martin’s world is ever one of positivity and happy times. He aspires to have the viewer come share his outlook... - [Pocket Views](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/pocket-views/): Pocket Views is Lani Westerman’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art. She tells that not only does its title refer... - [Life As A Puzzle](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/life-as-a-puzzle/): In intricate depictions that defy convention and category, Jill Lewis’s paintings communicate her philosophical and compositional musings. The Melbourne-based artist... - [The Shape Of Light](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-shape-of-light/): The Shape of Light is Evie Adasal’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art, its paintings capturing her sensory experiences of... - [Surf 'N' Turf](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/surf-n-turf/): Federal-based Kirsten Chambers describes the exhibition’s paintings as depictions of local areas that she has a visual and environmental affinity... - [Opening The Door On Curiosity](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/opening-the-door-on-curiosity/): Opening The Door On Curiosity is David Green’s third solo exhibition with Anthea Polson Art. Contrary to most artists, Green... - [faded dreams and night blossoms](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/faded-dreams-and-night-blossoms/): Buderim-based Veronica Cay informs that her current paintings and drawings depict an ongoing conversation she is having about the varied... - [From The Bush To The Sea](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/from-the-bush-to-the-sea/): Melbourne-based Nick Howson’s latest body of work depicts his immersive experience of landscape during long distance car journeys to Sydney... - [Immersive Landscapes](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/immersive-landscapes/): Melbourne based Cathy Quinn describes her works as investigations into the fluid relationship between landscape and introspection. “For me, painting... - [MARTIN!](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martin/): The imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work MARTIN! reflects his journeys throughout Queensland that he has embarked upon... - [Subtropic Utopic](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/subtropic-utopic/): The title of this exhibition is fun and colourful like the work. It describes the idyllic surrounds of our subtropical... - [Funny By Accident](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/funny-by-accident/): Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s signature imagery again explores the realms of vulnerable innocence, curiosity, spontaneity and unbounded potentiality which characterises childhood.... - [Vicki Visits Palm Springs](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/vicki-visits-palm-springs/): My passion for painting mid century modernism narratives has, at it’s core, of being born in the 1950’s and a... - [Framed By Flowers](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/framed-by-flowers/): “Understanding... that life – and art – can be framed by flowers” Georgina Reid (Cressida Campbell catalogue essay) The olive... - [More Than Ten Treasures](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/more-than-ten-treasures/): Having recently entered into her ninth decade, Marilyn Peck’s current treasury of watercolour works contains a cornucopia of stories and... - [Memory And Desire](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/memory-and-desire/): Memories both personal and historical, as well as a desire for collaborations that transcend complex cultural dichotomies, imbue internationally recognised... - [Coastal Keepsakes](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/coastal-keepsakes/): I’ve lived on the Gold Coast since the early 80’s. I loved family camping trips exploring the countryside and experiencing... - [Birdsong](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/birdsong/): The renowned art critic Robert Hughes once stated, “an ideal for humanity is to reconcile with the world, not by... - [On The Path That Leads Back To You](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/on-the-path-that-leads-back-to-you/): Instinctual energy permeates Steve Tyerman’s works. Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint they are the outcome... - [Paintings From The Oast House](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-from-the-oast-house/): An oast house one might wonder? Such a building can be described as a storied brick structure designed for drying... - [Hinterland](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/hinterland/): The paintings in Kirsten Chambers’ inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art express her profound delight in the Byron Hinterland’s natural environment. - [Petals, Paws and Plumage Pageant](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/petals-paws-and-plumage-pageant/): The subjects in Jodie Wells’ current exhibition present as a pageantry of the natural world’s offerings. A procession of peonies,... - [Refreshments](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/refreshments/): I like paintings that refuse to make a point. Instead they deliver a mystery, something to be unravelled with input... - [Echoes](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/echoes/): Melitta Perry’s current paintings manifest the reverberation of bygone experiences, their nebulous quality buttressed by the imagination. “Every telling of... - [the bridesmaid's antipasto](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-bridesmaids-antipasto/): Buderim-based Veronica Cay’s current paintings and ceramic sculptures viscerally document her musings on the conundrums of societal expectations. She imparts... - [We Were All Young Once - And Other Things](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/we-were-all-young-once-and-other-things/): Explore "We Were All Young Once" at Anthea Polson Art, featuring nostalgic and thought-provoking artworks. - [Martin's Journey](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-journey/): The imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work reflects the many journeys throughout SE Queensland and interstate he has... - [Femme](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/femme/): The recent works of New Zealand-based Di West have once again been inspired by images of glamorously clad women from... - [Forms In Time](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/forms-in-time/): Brisbane-based Phillip Piperides’ new body of sculptural works is imbued with his abiding interest in Greek mythology and philosophical musings.... - [Snapshots](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/snapshots/): As do photographs, Sophie Gralton’s recent paintings capture significant moments. However, ‘snap shot’ static representations they are not, photographic realism... - [Return To The River](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/return-to-the-river/): press release for Jamie Boyd's solo exhibition titled Return To The River at Anthea Polson Art in April 2023 - [Reflecting](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/reflecting/): As in previous bodies of work, Elaine Green’s new paintings emanate a metaphysical sensibility. Each landscape may be understood as... - [A Pocketful Of Stars](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-pocketful-of-stars/): Official Opening Saturday 25 March 4 – 6 pm Brisbane-based Beth Kennedy’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art ushers the... - [Paradise Lost](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paradise-lost/): Official Opening Saturday March 18, 3 – 5 pm Paradise lost is a small series of paintings of original Gold... - [How The Light Gets In](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/how-the-light-gets-in/): A deeply metaphysical resonance imbues Seabastion Toast’s current works. They communicate a patient seeking of the light amidst the ‘shadowlands’... - [52 Weeks](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/52-weeks/): Join our artistic journey with 52 weeks of creative inspiration at Anthea Polson Art Gallery. - [A World Within A World](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-world-within-a-world/): The imagery in Steve Tyerman’s current body of work again expresses his multi-faceted response to the coastal regions of Southern... - [Menagerie](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/menagerie-2/): Recollections from a happy childhood growing up in country Maryborough inform much of Bowen’s subject matter. - [Wild Coast](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-coast/): Judy Oakenfull’s inaugural exhibition at Anthea Polson Art conveys a deep engagement with the natural world. She describes its coastlines... - [Spring Daze](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/spring-daze/): Springtime is the season when the natural world revives and reinvigorates. It is a time of joy and new beginnings.... - [Home Spun](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/home-spun/): An intense chromatic energy radiates from Vicki Stavrou’s new body of work. She imparts that the exhibition’s title, Home Spun,... - [Windfalls - Exhibition and Book Launch](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/windfalls-exhibition-and-book-launch/): With an international reputation as a significant miniaturist, Marilyn Peck has been winning awards and exhibiting, both overseas and in... - [Everything Is Connected](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/everything-is-connected/): Art has been considered a mirror where glimpses of life’s meaning may be experienced. The intricate depictions in Jill Lewis’... - [Seduced](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/seduced/): ‘Seduction is like an invitation, an embellishment, a doorway that beckons the viewer into more subtle enjoyments and meditations. ’... - [Garden Vista's, Curious Critters, Fancy Rugs And Other Eclectic Things](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/garden-vistas-curious-critters-fancy-rugs-and-other-eclectic-things/): My works aspire to thread together the narrative of life, joy, whimsy, calmness and ultimately, a sense of place and home. - [Hinterland](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/cathy-quinn/): Cathy Quinn grew up in Melbourne, Quinn subsequently spent many years living in London and Hong Kong. - [Weaving The Borderlands](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/weaving-the-borderlands/): Northern Rivers-based Melitta Perry’s new body of work evokes a sense of poignancy and hope. Typical of her visual language,... - [Art Edit Magazine Issue #31](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/art-edit-magazine-issue-31/): FORGING FA M I L I A R I T Y Preserving the innocence of youth has captivated Sophie Gralton... - [Last Time We Were Here](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/last-time-we-were-here/): Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s artwork animates a shift in consciousness to a more intuitive, natural realm that is characterisesd by childhood.... - [The Whisper Of A Tiger's Tale](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-whisper-of-a-tigers-tale/): Recognised as a narrative painter, Sydney-based Tanya Chaitow’s current exhibition is informed by an exploration of the work of the... - [Endless Summer](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/endless-summer-2/): Many of us would acknowledge that we have an old box of memorabilia stored away that we promise ourselves to... - [Hues Of North West Tassie](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/hues-of-north-west-tassie-2/): On the remote North West coast of Tasmania, a small but spectacular peninsula juts out into the expanse of Bass... - [Favourites](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/favourites/): Once upon a time the world seemed younger and magic glimmered in shady bowers or radiated from windswept skies and... - [The Long Road Home](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-long-road-home/): A sense of quietude pervades Robyn Sweaney’s new body of work. The mood is one of introspection and stasis. She... - [Conversations With My Aunt](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/conversations-with-my-aunt/): A conversation may be defined as an exchange of sentiments, observations and ideas. Buderim-based Veronica Cay’s new body of works... - [Weathervanes And A Fish Called Myrtle](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/weathervanes-and-a-fish-called-myrtle/): Two very different creative approaches are evident in David Green’s current exhibition. Large, incredibly intricate, dip-pen and ink drawings, that... - [Vessel And Verse](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/vessel-and-verse/): Working from her studio in the hills behind the small northern NSW town of Mullumbimby, Avital Sheffer creates profoundly beautiful... - [I Found An Old Box Of Paint](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/i-found-an-old-box-of-paint/): Robert Ryan’s new series of works again engages the viewer in a poetic linking of humanity and the natural world.... - [An Island In The Sun](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/an-island-in-the-sun/): The imagery in Steve Tyerman’s new body of work fosters warm, escapist thoughts of a haven beyond everyday concerns. He... - [Art Edit Magazine Issue #28](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/art-edit-magazine-issue-28-2/): Skilfully rendered often-overlooked sites of construction, Peter Smets finds beauty in the stages in-between. - [In The Shadow](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/in-the-shadow/): Peter Smets’ new body of work revisits the construction activities that now define his oeuvre. ‘Construction sites have always intrigued... - [Poetry In Motion](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/poetry-in-motion/): Gold Coast-based Marilyn Peck imparts that the exhibition’s miniature artworks are essentially, ‘poetry in motion’. “My second love, after painting,... - [Images](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/images/): A classical, timeless serenity imbues the sculptures Phillip Piperides creates. ‘More than naturalistic representations, my work is about capturing moments... - [Let's play pretend](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/lets-play-pretend/): Carolyn V Watson’s new body of work, let’s play pretend, extends her ongoing enquiry into how one might “activate the... - [Martin's Adventurtes](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-adventurtes/): Much of the imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work revisits urban landscapes he has previously painted. But each... - [Growing Wild](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/growing-wild/): Once upon a time everything in the natural world was growing wild. Over the eons, certain animals, birds and flowers... - [life@home](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/lifehome/): The physical structures within which we live possess both functional and symbolic qualities, usually an interweaving of both. Home is... - [Golden Daze](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/golden-daze/): Vicki Stavrou understands the communicative power of colour – it functions as a visual language for her. 'I am always... - [Paint By Numbers](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paint-by-numbers/): Sydney-based Sophie Gralton tells that the title for her new body of work, Paint by Numbers, is a ‘tongue in... - [Paintings, drawings and sculpture](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-drawings-and-sculpture/): Charles Blackman is one of Australia's favourite iconic artists. An acute sense of emotional interplay between the viewer, the subject... - [At Tedder Avenue](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/at-tedder-avenue/): As an introduction to the new Tedder Avenue gallery, Anthea Polson Art presents a selection of limited-edition photographic artworks by... - [Sociable Species](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/sociable-species/): Curious hybrid creatures, schematic figures and plant forms advance and submerge amidst linear markings and colourful geometric shapes. They personify... - [Tadpoles And Frogs](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/tadpoles-and-frogs/): Secreted somewhere amidst tangles of filigreed foliage may lie the little tadpole and frog pond that was the inspiration for... - [Where The Ocean Meets The Land](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/where-the-ocean-meets-the-land/): Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint, Steve Tyerman’s works are the outcome of an intimate engagement... - [As Days Go By](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/as-days-go-by/): The title of the exhibition, As Days Go By, subtly references Martin Edge’s time in his Strathpine studio. The walls... - [Life.e.quatic.home](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/life-e-quatic-home/): Gold Coast-based Erica Gray imparts that the current exhibition’s paintings and sculptures further her life. e. quatic series in celebrating... - [From Within](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/from-within/): Melbourne based artist Cathy Quinn is well recognised for her joyful fluid oil paintings. She creates abstracted landscapes taking pictorial... - [The games that play us and dancing on the moon](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-games-that-play-us-and-dancing-on-the-moon/): Discover "The Games That Play Us" and "Dancing on the Moon" at Anthea Polson Art, showcasing vibrant artworks that explore whimsical themes. - [Thoughts Of The Past Seen](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/thoughts-of-the-past-seen/): Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s new body of work aims to evoke a sense of integration between the past and the present... - [Stories](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/stories/): 'Everything has a story,' states Melissa Egan. 'Not just people, but each creature, tree and stone has a history. '... - [Tall tales and true](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/tall-tales-and-true/): At once both intensely personal and universal in implication, Carolyn V Watson’s sculptures and paintings search for a momentary revelation... - [The Shape Of Things](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-shape-of-things/): The most obvious property of a sculpture is its ‘solidity’ and occupation of real space. Just as in the very... - [Fast Mountains, Slow Birds](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/fast-mountains-slow-birds/): The title of Seabastion Toast’s new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present’. Thought provoking, the... - [Changing Moods](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/changing-moods/): Rather than ’framing Nature’, Elaine Green’s work has always resonated the 19th century Romantic notion of elevating landscape painting to... - [Fast Mountains, Slow Birds](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/seabastion-toast/): The title of Seabastion Toast’s new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present’. Thought provoking, the... - [Survey Exhibition 2005 - 2018](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/survey-exhibition-2005-2018/): The exhibition celebrates Melbourne-based Samantha Everton’s 13 years of internationally recognised and multi-awarded photographic art making. The six series of... - [Silent Conversations](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/silent-conversations/): Fanciful, hybrid creatures populate Jill Lewis’s densely textured surfaces. Metaphorical intent imbues the imagery and her ‘silent conversations’. “Painting is... - [The House Of Kindness - Paintings and Sculpture](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-house-of-kindness-paintings-and-sculpture/): Experience "The House of Kindness" at Anthea Polson Art with paintings & sculptures celebrating empathy, and the beauty of human connection. - [Obsolete](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/obsolete/): Peter Smets’ new body of work again accents the consequences of progress and technological change upon the landscape and its... - [Wild And Wonderful](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-and-wonderful/): Jodie’s art makes no attempt to capture flora and fauna as a naturalist painter might do. An intense involvement with... - [Trilogy - Exhibition and Book Launch](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/trilogy-exhibition-and-book-launch/): Sir Gawain and the Perilous Graveyard is the final book in Marilyn Peck’s Sir Gawain Trilogy. It is based on... - [Through Myself And Back Again](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/through-myself-and-back-again/): In cultures dominated by logic, intellect and linear thinking, life can become a problem to be solved rather than a... - [Survey and Retrospective Exhibition - Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/survey-and-retrospective-exhibition-paintings-drawings-sculpture/): The Charles Blackman survey exhibition at the Anthea Polson Art celebrates the ninetieth year of one of Australia’s greatest cultural icons. - [Moving Backwards](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/moving-backwards/): Robert Ryan has always immersed himself in the process of life, his paintings interpreting and distilling experience. His new body... - [Reflections From the Rabbit Hole](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/reflections-from-the-rabbit-hole/): The term 'rabbit hole' is a metaphor for an entry into the unknown. Stemming from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it... - [The World Is My Village](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-world-is-my-village/): Howson's paintings have never been literal representations. Although triangular-roofed houses inform the imagery, they exist as a visual language. His... - [A Day With Martin](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-day-with-martin/): One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin Edge's brightly coloured paintings. It... --- ## Artists - [David Strachan](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/david-strachan/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of David Strachan Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [B.E Minns](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/b-e-minns/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of B.E Minns Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Susan Simonini](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/susan-simonini/): Susan Simonini examines themes of place and belonging, that have been a constant thread in her work. - [Kirsten Chambers](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/kirsten-chambers/): Kirsten Chambers Northern NSW based painter of landscapes still life and figurative work using mixed media on canvas - [Samuel Leighton-Dore](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/samuel-leighton-dore/): Multidisciplinary artist and writer, Samuel Leighton-Dore produces works driven by his special interest in mental health and masculinity. - [Nick Ashby](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/nick-ashby/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Nick Ashby Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Nic Plowman](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/nic-plowman/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Nic Plowman Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Tony Johnson](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/tony-johnson/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Tony Johnson Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [John Coburn](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/john-coburn/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of John Coburn Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Keith Naughton](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/keith-naughton/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Keith Naughton Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Christine Polowyj](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/christine-polowyj/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Christine Polowyj Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Richard Chamerski](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/richard-chamerski/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Richard Chamerski Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Jasper Knight](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/jasper-knight/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Jasper Knight Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Karlee Rawkins](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/karlee-rawkins/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Karlee Rawkins Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Kristin Tennyson](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/kristin-tennyson/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Kristin Tennyson Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Damien Kamholtz](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/damien-kamholtz/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Damien Kamholtz Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Simon Collins](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/simon-collins/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Simon Collins Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Tim Maguire](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/tim-maguire/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Tim Maguire Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Dale Marsh](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/dale-marsh/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Dale Marsh Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Abbey McCulloch](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/abbey-mcculloch/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Abbey McCulloch Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Sir Sidney Nolan](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/sir-sidney-nolan/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Sir Sidney Nolan Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Margaret Olley](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/margaret-olley/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Margaret Olley Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [John Olsen](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/john-olsen/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of John Olsen Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Gloria Petyarre](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/gloria-petyarre/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Gloria Petyarre Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [Geoffrey Proud](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/geoffrey-proud/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Geoffrey Proud Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [David Ralph](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/david-ralph/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of David Ralph Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? (07) 5561 1166. - [William Robinson](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/william-robinson/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of William Robinson Art For Sale. Enquire today. ? 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Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Deborah Halpern](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/deborah-halpern/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Deborah Halpern Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Nick Howson](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/nick-howson/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Nick Howson Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Michael Jeffery](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/michael-jeffery/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Michael Jeffery Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Anwen Keeling](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/anwen-keeling/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Anwen Keeling Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Beth Kennedy](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/beth-kennedy/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Beth Kennedy Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Corinne Lewis](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/corinne-lewis/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Corinne Lewis Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Jill Lewis](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/jill-lewis/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Jill Lewis Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Gaye Lincoln](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/gaye-lincoln/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Gaye Lincoln Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Judy Oakenfull](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/judy-oakenfull/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Judy Oakenfull Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Marilyn Peck](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/marilyn-peck/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Marilyn Peck Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Celia Perceval](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/celia-perceval/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Celia Perceval Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Melitta Perry](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/melitta-perry/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Melitta Perry Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Phillip Piperides](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/phillip-piperides/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Phillip Piperides Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Jennifer Porter](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/jennifer-porter/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Jennifer Porter Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Cathy Quinn](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/cathy-quinn/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Cathy Quinn Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Scott Redford](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/scott-redford/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Scott Redford Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Gordon Richards](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/gordon-richards/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Gordon Richards Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Avital Sheffer](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/avital-sheffer/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Avital Sheffer Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Lawrence Starkey](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/lawrence-starkey/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Lawrence Starkey Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Vicki Stavrou](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/vicki-stavrou/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Vicki Stavrou Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Robyn Sweaney](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/robyn-sweaney/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Robyn Sweaney Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Seabastion Toast](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/seabastion-toast/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Seabastion Toast Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Christabel Blackman](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/christabel-blackman/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Christabel Blackman Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Bertie Blackman](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/bertie-blackman/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Bertie Blackman Art For Sale. Enquire today. ☎ (07) 5561 1166. - [Jamie Boyd](https://antheapolsonart.com.au/artists/jamie-boyd/): Anthea Polson Art stocks an extensive portfolio of Jamie Boyd Art For Sale. 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(07) 5561 1166. --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages - Published: 2022-01-07 - Modified: 2022-01-21 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/privacy-policy/ Anthea Polson Art recognises the importance of your privacy and understands your concerns about the security of your personal information. We are committed to protecting any personal information about you that we hold or that we may receive in the course of you using this web site. Any information that you provide to Anthea Polson Art through this web site will only be used by us so that we can provide you with the services that you have requested. We may also use your personal information to provide you with information about future exhibitions and events in which we are participating. If you would prefer not to receive this information, please let us know and we will respect your request. We will use all reasonable measures to protect any such information from unauthorized access. No information is intentionally passed on to any third parties whatsoever. If you would like to be removed from the Anthea Polson Art mailing list, please click here to unsubscribe or contact Anthea Polson Art direct on +61 07 5561 1166 or click here to email Anthea Polson Art. If you have any further questions or concerns with respect to our Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us. Should there be a material change in our information practices, we will post the policy change in our Privacy Policy on this web site. Please click here if you would like to subscribe to receive email updates from Anthea Polson Art. This privacy policy was updated on 1 January 2022. --- - Published: 2022-01-07 - Modified: 2022-08-23 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/terms-conditions/ site terms & conditions of use The terms & conditions of use set forth below (the “Terms”) govern the use of this web site located at , which belongs to . By using the Anthea Polson Art web site, you agree and are deemed to be bound by these Terms. Anthea Polson Art reserves the right at any time to change or add to this web site at any time, including these Terms, by posting an updated version of these Important Notices. You are responsible to review these Important Notices before each access or use of this web site. Your continued use of this web site shall constitute your consent to such changes that may be made from time to time. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, unlawful, void or otherwise unenforceable, then that provision will be deemed severed from these Terms and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining Terms which will continue in full force and effect. copyright All material on this web site, including (but not limited to) text, images and all data (such as artist profiles and artist works), are subject to copyright. In particular, all images of artist works are protected by international copyright laws and are the property of the artist. This web site is the copyright property of Anthea Polson Art. You may print and reproduce the material on this web site (retaining this notice) for your personal and non-commercial use only, provided any reproduction... --- - Published: 2022-01-07 - Modified: 2024-03-18 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/links/ Listed below are useful links to our Artists' own web sites. If you find a broken link, please email antheapolsonart. com. au. Thank you. artist's own sites Anwen Keeling Avital Sheffer Christabel Blackman Christine Polowyj Erin Flannery Jill Lewis John Cottrell John Giese Melissa Egan Michael Jeffery Nic Plowman Nikky Morgan-Smith Samantha Everton Simon Collins Steve Tyerman Veronica Cay www. anwenkeeling. com www. avitalsheffer. com www. christabelblackman. com www. christinepolowyj. com www. erinart. net www. jilllewisartist. com www. visualartist. info/johncottrell www. johngieseart. com/ www. artegan. com. au www. michaeljeffery. com. au www. nicplowman. com www. nikkymorgansmith. com www. samanthaeverton. com www. simoncollins. com. au www. stevetyerman. com www. veronicacay. com industry resources Sorry there are currently no links available for this category. publications Australian Art Review www. artreview. com. au --- --- ## Posts - Published: 2025-06-26 - Modified: 2025-06-26 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-grace/ - Categories: Media Releases Gold Coast-based, Jodie Wells’ 9th solo exhibition with Anthea Polson Art invites the viewer to experience the ‘wild grace’ offered in the natural world. Expressed through a deep engagement with the plasticity of her oil medium, Jodie’s affable subjects are not consciously invested with any narrative or symbolic import. They quite simply represent a quest for joy and freedom away from the constrictions of everyday concerns. Native Australian birds are once again depicted with gusto. “I find birds are an accessible subject,” Jodie relays. “No matter where you live there is most likely to be birds around. Looking out from my home studio window and seeing a bird is often a source of inspiration. However, a lot of my current bird paintings were inspired during a recent trip back to Tasmania and an adventure out to Bruny Island. Fairy wrens, magpies and seagulls were ever present. ” Another favourite subject are horses that thunder across the canvas as if they would break free from their pictorial confinement. In commenting on her interest in their portrayal, Jodie says, “Horses have always been around me. My mum living in Tasmania had horses in the back paddock. Grandparents, aunties, cousins, friends and in-laws have all owned horses. Because of their size they can appear somewhat intimidating but their intelligence, power, speed and for the most part gentle temperaments, lead to endless painting possibilities. ” Jodie divulges that she binge-watched the television series Yellowstone. “Packed with striking imagery of horses both wild and domesticated,... --- - Published: 2025-05-02 - Modified: 2025-05-02 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/cultivar/ - Categories: Media Releases The paintings in Melitta Perry’s fourth exhibition with Anthea Polson Art are again enigmatic, beautifully rendered depictions. Perry describes the show’s title, Cultivar, as metaphorically relating to the cultivar plant that is a species cultivated to produce desired attributes. “This new body of work explores how we cultivate our surroundings, shaping the natural world to make it more amenable or accord with one’s sense of beauty,” she imparts. “Much of the imagery portrays cultivated elements and yet remnants of natural, untamed spaces remain. ” Living in an area called The Pocket amidst the hills beyond Mt. Chincogan, Perry’s drive over the Burringbar Range to her studio in Murwillumbah gives ample opportunity to observe these aspects. Perry’s artwork illustrates themes relating to environmentalism, species protection, historical land usage and its legacy. She relays that the objects and furniture items within the pictures have remembered significance, both personal and societal. “Memory imbues my creative process and although sketches and journal notes are at hand, the resultant scene is completely imaginative but rooted in reality. I suppose in a sense, the paintings themselves are visual cultivars. ” A first generation Australian, Perry discloses, “In crafting these latest works I have also been mindful of how we create spaces that fit our personal stories. The fact that the etymology of the word cultivar is a derivative of culture and variety, it neatly echoes a multicultural identity. ” Evincing such is The Seed Table painting with its dilapidated, antique desk. The work references Perry’s memory... --- - Published: 2025-04-10 - Modified: 2025-04-29 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/mysterious-ways/ - Categories: Media Releases Gold Coast-based Steve Tyerman relays that his art has always involved the depiction of landscape vistas. “I have an innate curiosity, sense of wonder and awe of nature,” he imparts. “Eventually the coastal scenery experienced during recreational excursions seeped into my psyche and those seaside terrains have been persistent in my work ever since. The ongoing challenge for me is trying to find new compositional solutions and different ways to evoke a familiar landscape in an unconventional way. ” Referencing the title of his current exhibition, Mysterious Ways, Tyerman offers, “The element of mystery is important to my art practice, not only within the image but also the way it’s created. I believe that at least a little bit of mystery is necessary to maintain a viewer’s attention and engagement. I don’t paint in order to make sense of what I’m seeing, I prefer to preserve, embrace or maybe deepen the mystery of things. I think the title gels with my tendency to use pathways and tracks to lead the viewer in and around the picture. I want the paintings and their titles to be more evocative than elucidatory. ” Describing his art process, Tyerman tells that it starts by being present in a landscape observing, sketching and photographing. Elements from various locations are dissembled and reconstructed into an imagined scene. The resultant works communicate a visual experience beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. They are palpable manifestations as considerations of form, space, colour and light are resolved in... --- - Published: 2025-04-01 - Modified: 2025-04-01 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-from-the-island/ - Categories: Media Releases The works in Melissa Egan’s current exhibition are indeed paintings from the island. They were all painted in Launceston on the island of Tasmania where she dwells during the summer months to escape the heat of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Although much of the imagery takes its source of inspiration from encounters with actual localities in Tasmania, the scenarios are imaginative depictions. The viewer is ushered beyond any defined sense of place into enigmatic, fictional realms. After all, an island traditionally symbolises a refuge or mystical ‘other’ region set apart from the civilized noisy world. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an island painting sharing its title with that of an 18th century poem by Coleridge which recounts the travails of an old sailor who has eventually returned from a long sea voyage. The work evolved from Egan’s memory of a quite frightening experience she had endured when taking a small boat tour around Bruny Island off Tasmania’s southeast coast. A gale had been blowing as the vessel manoeuvred under towering cliffs, waves churning amidst the might of the Great Southern Ocean. Cape Bruny Lighthouse, the second oldest surviving in Australia, is referenced albeit out of actual situational context. Animals are ubiquitous in Egan’s paintings, both in natural state or attired with clothes and human personas. The Afternoon Drinks at the Oasthouse work is a good example. A lady and yellow-jacketed rabbit are sitting at a table enjoying an alfresco beverage alongside the central, hops drying oast kiln. A nearby... --- - Published: 2025-02-28 - Modified: 2025-02-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-world/ - Categories: Media Releases Martin’s world is ever one of positivity and happy times. He aspires to have the viewer come share his outlook and escape into his works away from the dire events presented daily in news broadcasts. His now iconic aquatic depictions of Sydney Harbour, Brisbane River, beaches at Bondi, South Bank and the Gold Coast again feature in the exhibition, ever present is a round golden sun. Martin imparts he has always been fascinated in the underwater world as well. There’s a meditative silence and fluidity of movement down below the water’s surface. Martin recalls many snorkelling experiences in quite far off places, including the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The Martin and the Whale Shark image was inspired by an actual encounter some years ago. In it he is swimming amidst multi-coloured reef fish with a reputedly nonaggressive whale shark. Both Martin and the smiling, huge dappled creature are at peace with each other. Snorkel bubbles rise up to the yellow expanse of sunlight permeating the water. One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin’s brightly hued renderings. Since first being represented by APA in 2011, his art has evolved with growing finesse in technique, subject complexities and compositional resolution. Now painted on linen for the first time, the new works have taken many weeks to complete due to detail intricacies and the multiple acrylic layers that bestow the rich depth to his colours. Martin’s signature on the back of... --- - Published: 2025-02-13 - Modified: 2025-02-13 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/pocket-views/ - Categories: Media Releases Pocket Views is Lani Westerman’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art. She tells that not only does its title refer to the very small size of the works but also to “the small ‘pocket views’ that are often depicted within an overall scene. ” The nonfigurative works take as their source of inspiration an encounter with a specific location. However, they transcend classical landscape traditions, notions of perspective and depth are in flux. The imagery is broken down to serve structural design elements - the emphasis is on geometric purity of form and shape. Formal considerations and visual relationships are vitally important. The now Sydney-based artist attributes her appreciation of abstracted interrelationships between a landscape’s natural and constructed elements to early life experience in Canberra, a city that was planned by Walter Burley and Marion Griffin. Westerman’s training and practice as an architect for over a decade has also conferred design acumen. Describing her choice of subject matter, Westerman relays, “The Sydney Harbour and surrounding beaches are beautiful. I love that there is lots of bushland on the harbour foreshore. The spaces where the natural and the man-made environment intersect create interesting juxtapositions. I strive to capture the true essence of a place. ” The Parsley Bay painting is a most interesting rendition with its blue-hued central section. “Parsley Bay is a narrow inlet. I wanted to express this in the composition with two skinny slices of the bushland on each side framing the view of boats and the harbour... --- - Published: 2025-01-23 - Modified: 2025-01-23 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/life-as-a-puzzle/ - Categories: Media Releases In intricate depictions that defy convention and category, Jill Lewis’s paintings communicate her philosophical and compositional musings. The Melbourne-based artist tells that the title of her exhibition, Life As A Puzzle, is partially an analogy of creative procedure. “The painting process is like a puzzle when dividing the picture plane into areas of colour and tone prior to introducing characters and objects. Imagery of life’s confusions, hopes and dreams has somehow to fit together within certain confines. ” Epitomising the conundrum is the They Went About Their Island Life Imagining the World Was Sane work. “The black and white areas are night and day,” Lewis explains. “Placement was designated for dramatic and compositional purposes.  Here night and day are bizarrely happening in one moment. The sun is shining from the darkness of night. Mountains are sitting atop a patch of ocean. Everything in this image is deliberately designed to be puzzle-like and puzzling. Creatures are incomplete yet conjoined. An eel is awkwardly bent into angles so as to contain another patch of sea. Fish move in opposite directions. ” Appearing up from the base of the painting a girl practices a ballet pose alongside a palm tree. Lewis imparts that for her, the palm tree has always suggested an idyllic island life and that in this work the inhabitants have found facile contentment by just accepting everything as it is.  At the left lower edge is an anthropomorphic bird. Lewis comments that it represents the onlooker, the one who discerns the... --- - Published: 2025-01-07 - Modified: 2025-02-04 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-shape-of-light/ - Categories: Media Releases The Shape of Light is Evie Adasal’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art, its paintings capturing her sensory experiences of the natural world. Sydney-based Adasal tells that the works often begin with a feeling or memory related to her surroundings which she manifests through the bold use of unexpected colour combinations and shapes to create a dynamic visual experience. The shifting moods of light and space are central to her oeuvre. “At the heart of my work is a deep connection to the landscape I inhabit,” Adasal informs. “Over the past 15 months my practice has moved towards a more reductive approach, focusing on the power of colour and the interaction of tones to convey emotion and atmosphere. I move beyond literal representation to deconstruct elements of colour and light. I challenge traditional harmony by juxtaposing unexpected colour combinations to create a visual tension that reflects the contrasts found in nature. This tension allows me to explore how colour and form can alter our perception of depth, space and mood, creating an expansive dialogue between the viewer and the canvas. ” “The current body of work is both a continuation of my exploration of light theory and an invitation to engage with the subtleties of colour in new and surprising ways,” Adasal states. “Through this minimalist abstraction, I aim to evoke a sensory experience of the landscape, inviting the viewer to see beyond the surface and into the underlying complexities of place, time and emotion. ” Evie Adasal was one... --- - Published: 2024-11-22 - Modified: 2024-11-22 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/surf-n-turf/ - Categories: Media Releases Federal-based Kirsten Chambers describes the exhibition’s paintings as depictions of local areas that she has a visual and environmental affinity with. Often presented from an aerial perspective, several works reconfigure vistas observed from hinterland roads. Although the paintings take their source of inspiration from such encounters, they transcend any sense of literal location. The scenes embody aesthetic qualities beyond the classical landscape tradition. Chambers relays that her process for the larger works involves going on site to take photographs and sketch. “I tend to draw until I know the scene by heart so that when I’m actually painting, it is all about the canvas. I think one has to toss aside reference material before the work can take on a life of its own. The rendition must be free flowing as I work. ” The motivation for the Possum Shoot Road painting was the memory of Gallery Director Anthea Polson’s ordeal on the way to visit Chambers’ farm last year. “Her vehicle’s ‘Navman’ sent Anthea up Possum Shoot Road which is scenic but terrifying to drive,” Chambers relays. “The vivid account has remained with me so I decided to translate the event onto canvas. Anthea’s van is just visible up on one of the twisting roads. ” In Chambers’ work a verdant green hill plunges down towards the ocean far below. The road at times disappears from the image as it turns and weaves around the slope. Even the clouds are swooping down in emphasis of the locale’s steepness. A... --- - Published: 2024-11-05 - Modified: 2024-11-05 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/opening-the-door-on-curiosity/ - Categories: Media Releases Opening The Door On Curiosity is David Green’s third solo exhibition with Anthea Polson Art. Contrary to most artists, Green begins each new work with an established title. “Having the title in place gives me a clearer understanding of what I am sensing to achieve, in essence, the journey is clearer,” he discloses. With a touch of humour, Green reveals that the works fall into three distinct but related themes. “I sometimes feel like a juggler keeping multi coloured balls in the air - only in my case a plethora of ideas seeking visual reality. Oh to be an octopus with a pen at the end of each arm and be able to draw eight things simultaneously. A juggling octopus, now there is an image!  I recently described the process of making art as like trying to catch a butterfly with an unhooked fishing rod. ” Upon retirement from Charles Sturt University and conferred the title Emeritus Professor, Visual Arts, Green relocated to Buderim and was again able to immerse himself in his own art practice. He tells that after a lifetime of academe and administration, he found himself looking backwards and it was “logical to go to drawing”. Green’s incredibly intricate large works take months to complete. Many hours are spent every day delineating his musings on paper and archival board with acrylic inks, coloured pencils, gold and copper foil, as well as 23carat gold leaf. In the interaction between medium and meaning all sense of time is suspended... --- - Published: 2024-11-05 - Modified: 2024-11-05 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/faded-dreams-and-night-blossoms/ - Categories: Media Releases Buderim-based Veronica Cay informs that her current paintings and drawings depict an ongoing conversation she is having about the varied roles and experiences of women throughout history.  Her focus is always from a female perspective. Cay’s works embrace the figurative expressionist mode. Both painted surface and human document they have an extraordinary psychological presence. The figures occupy an indeterminate space. Realistic portrayal is not her concern but rather the arousal of a subliminal, emotional response. Cay tells that the genesis for the exhibition came from The Courtesan series she’d loosely started 15 months ago. The painting, eavesdropping on the domestic, was in the Sunshine Coast National Art Prize this year and depicts Cay’s ongoing musings. “This work explores the roles and relationships of courtesans in former times,” she relays. “Sometimes the most gifted and highly educated were held in high regard and provided entertainment with performances for a wide audience. Other times, the women fell into disrepute, the term courtesan becoming a euphemism for a prostitute. However, many courtesans had legal contracts and long-lasting relationships that provided security and independence into old age, similar to a marriage contract. My eavesdropping on the domestic painting is a contemporary view parodying the historical. ” “There are several collaged drawings that explore the theme of 'the courtesan’ in a variety of ways,” Cay continues. “The saints or sinners workdraws on Madonna-type iconography and refers directly to the myth that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute”. Cay refers to a James Carroll transcript from the Smithsonian Magazine,... --- - Published: 2024-09-26 - Modified: 2024-10-15 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/from-the-bush-to-the-sea/ - Categories: Media Releases Melbourne-based Nick Howson’s latest body of work depicts his immersive experience of landscape during long distance car journeys to Sydney and the Blue Mountains last year. Eschewing expressways, the route traversed forests, rural vistas and coastal areas where he often stayed for days at a time to explore and sketch his observations for future paintings. Howson had crafted wooden ‘cigar box lids’ to also depict first-hand encounters during the trip, their small size expedient for storage whist driving. These were painted on site, albeit not entirely en plein air due to the oil medium. Perhaps registering a farewell to mankind’s overtly utilitarian habitation is the Housing Estate painting. The dominant foreground house rises from a symbolically dark band deprived of any vegetation. Behind it rows of virtually identical abodes extend to the horizon, their hard-edged geometric renditions accentuating the absence of the natural world’s cadence, present only in the puffy cloud filled sky above. Howson relays that the title of the exhibition derived from having travelled through National Parks approaching the Victorian and NSW border and arriving at a bay near Eden. He informs that after such a mammoth drive from inner city Richmond it was a wonderful relief, “I remember walking exhausted into the crystal clear sea. ” The tree trunks rising from the base of several paintings and their relatively tiny round tops evoke the perspective as seen from a car window. Howson tells, “They are not botanically correct, it’s more about expressing a feeling of their majestic... --- - Published: 2024-09-04 - Modified: 2024-09-04 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/immersive-landscapes/ - Categories: Media Releases Melbourne based Cathy Quinn describes her works as investigations into the fluid relationship between landscape and introspection. “For me, painting is an escape - a means of transporting oneself into another realm - the state of flow,” she relays. Her art communicates a visual experience beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. The logic of reproducing realistic renditions has been abandoned. Quinn’s paintings are not ‘windows’ into nature but rather immersive expressions of its growth and organic intricacies. Specifics of time and place are dissolved. “I aim to capture the transient beauty of a scene, the natural world’s fleeting moments. ” Animated, spontaneous brushwork infuses scenes depicting essentially pond imagery with a radiance of immersive intimacy. Asked about her inspiration for such Quinn imparted that she visited Monet’s water gardens in Giverny, France before heading to the Venice Art Biennale this year. “The place was incredibly populated by tourists, but I found I could silence the crowds by withdrawing into my sketching and immersing myself within the scenery. These images have stayed with me, the experience imprinted in my mind,” Quinn tells. “The funny thing is, I had not anticipated doing these ‘water garden’ pond paintings. The exhibition was originally intended to be purely imaginative landscapes exemplified by its earlier Azure Horizons and Moonlight Mountain works, each dripping in a fantasy of lushness and intense hues”. As was Monet’s, Quinn’s art is painted impressionistically, evoking the fleeting, ever changing nuances of light, colour and movement. “I aim to express the... --- - Published: 2024-08-06 - Modified: 2024-08-06 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martin/ - Categories: Media Releases The imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work MARTIN! reflects his journeys throughout Queensland that he has embarked upon from his Strathpine home and studio. However, in speaking of the exhibition’s title he states, “My art is about my journey’s and love of the state in which I live! ”Since first being represented by APA in 2011, his art has evolved with growing finesse in technique and subject complexities, as well as imaginative detailing and the need for compositional resolution. One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin’s brightly coloured paintings. An unfailing positivity and sense of humour always accompanies Martin on his journeys through both landscape and creative process. A prime example is Brisbane Afternoon and his love of the Brisbane River and its City Cats. Having been given a commission recently, Martin had been exploring the coastal attractions of Cleveland for inspiration and the wonderful “tongue in cheek” painting of Martin Swimming With The Whale Shark and the superbly colourful The Coral Cod have been the result of this exploration. Many of Martin’s recent paintings depict urban landscapes frequently visited but he says that each encounter “is like seeing the place for the very first time”. The Story Bridge is such. Connecting Brisbane’s northern and southern suburbs, the heritage-listed steel expanse is the longest cantilevered bridge in Australia. In the painting Two City Cats it is rendered as transecting the picture plane. In the past few years Martin has enjoyed... --- - Published: 2024-07-30 - Modified: 2024-07-30 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/subtropic-utopic/ - Categories: Media Releases The title of this exhibition is fun and colourful like the work. It describes the idyllic surrounds of our subtropical area, but it also has a more meaningful side, as it references a rich history of utopian style art. Artists, philosophers and writers have always been in the business of imagining better and brighter worlds. From art in religious traditions, both Eastern and Western, to the whole history of Modernism, which can in itself be described as a Utopian project. These paintings are inspired by the Bundjalung coastline of our region. Several of them began at Cabarita in Northern NSW. There is a mown grassy section between the Halcyon House Hotel, and the coastal bushland next to the beach. You can sit or walk on the grass and look through the coastal bush to see the ocean. I find it a great spot to sit and hang out and draw or paint and my small dog just loves to run around here and roll on the grass. I am interested in the edges between things, and this is a perfectly mown example of an edge, between a cultured grass area and a wild uncultivated bush area. I am mainly painting the wild bit, but the paintings can also include some of the mown grass section. The paintings begin with observational drawing and sometimes el plein air painting. Then they really come to life in the studio, over many weeks and many layers. I feel like this process over time can... --- - Published: 2024-07-09 - Modified: 2024-07-09 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/funny-by-accident/ - Categories: Media Releases Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s signature imagery again explores the realms of vulnerable innocence, curiosity, spontaneity and unbounded potentiality which characterises childhood. The exhibition’s title, Funny By Accident, is a tribute to her daughter Isadora who was an inspirational muse for many years. “She was hands down the funniest kid without meaning to be, ‘funny by accident’ was what we used to call her,” relays Gralton. The imagery in Gralton’s works always contains a child. However, they are not conventional portrayals as the cropping of eyes from the figures and posterior stances connote. Gralton explains that this is not a means of ensuring anonymity. She stresses that there is no need to know whom the subject is - it is ‘every child’. Her paintings seek to evoke a universal resonance that transcends any sense of specific location or personality. “Back by popular demand”, the exhibition features several collaged works where the subject is positioned against a richly patterned, multi-media backdrop. Stencilled and appliqued numerals and letters float atop vintage storybook pages. Figure and ground vacillate. As pets often play a meaningful role in one’s early years, virtually every work depicts such a companion. As in the 17th century Dutch paintings of children that initially inspired her oeuvre, Gralton’s animals are invested with symbolic intent. Throughout history winged creatures have represented mankind’s yearning to break free of gravity and constraints, while the dog has long been associated with loyalty, protectiveness and vigilance. The ‘imaginary ponies’ upon which the braided youngsters sit also signify... --- - Published: 2024-07-02 - Modified: 2024-07-02 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/vicki-visits-palm-springs/ - Categories: Media Releases My passion for painting mid century modernism narratives has, at it’s core, of being born in the 1950’s and a love of swimming pools and exploration. The post WWII optimism and economic boom reflects the playful and futuristic aspects of mid century modern design. Motels with large neon signs attracted travellers and highlighted the great American dream. These motels are now iconic and historic structures. Mid century modernism is renowned for it’s vibrant colours and contrasts, it’s fun loving but functional style, and spacious and integrative architectural designs. A major centre for mid century modernism is Palm Springs, California where most of my narrative paintings are set. My paintings have a sense of fun and innocence focusing on the lifestyle and architecture in the 1950’s with swimming pool scenes incorporating butterfly houses and iconic motels - living in a simpler, more carefree era with colours and tones that reflect this feeling. Retro scenes of Barbie and Ken feature in some of my smaller paintings. --- - Published: 2024-05-10 - Modified: 2024-05-10 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/framed-by-flowers/ - Categories: Media Releases “Understanding... that life - and art - can be framed by flowers” Georgina Reid (Cressida Campbell catalogue essay) The olive greens, greys, muted pinks and big blue skies of Scotland have weaved their way through these paintings and flowed across the canvas. To see such vast beauty was hugely inspiring. Wending our way through York, little English villages like Hathersage and then onto the Cotswolds and Cornwall was pure delight and has fuelled my painting since returning from our trip. That feeling like you’re on the pages of a storybook has reignited my love of fairy tales and beautiful book illustrations like those by Arthur Rackham. Seeing things through the eyes of my daughters (twelve and nine at the time) and enjoying their absorption in the world of Harry Potter as we travelled was also a lovely component of this time.   “The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords. ”  JRR Tolkien With these paintings I continue my obsession with the works of Edouard Vuillard - especially ‘Vaquez Decoration: Library and Desk, and The Salon (The Reader)’ 1896. These works epitomise my love of the flattening of the picture plane and the incorporation of pattern and colour to create densely intricate and beautiful artworks. The works of Cressida Campbell also resonate... --- - Published: 2024-05-04 - Modified: 2024-05-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/more-than-ten-treasures/ - Categories: Media Releases Having recently entered into her ninth decade, Marilyn Peck’s current treasury of watercolour works contains a cornucopia of stories and reminiscences aglow with palladium and gold leaf. The title, More Than Ten Treasures, refers to an early handmade book called Ten Treasures that is ensconced within a handcrafted box. More than this, the exhibition is arrayed with other beautiful, framed miniatures. Marilyn Peck started painting seventy-six years ago when she was sixteen years old. It was the first time she’d been able to afford paints and paint brushes, though she’d been drawing from an early age. Peck subsequently became a commercial artist designing furniture fabrics and wallpaper. A commitment to fine, detailed work has run through all the painting styles she has explored since, most notably in her miniatures using watercolour and precious metal leaf. At ninety-two, Marilyn is still at the top of her game. “My inner realm - my creativity - is my life source,” says Peck. “I pounce on new directions when they flash their flags at me. My young spirit is easily aroused in imagining a new way of doing things because that's when doors and windows open into new realms. I am in the ‘Zone’, body not intruding because I am OUT THERE. ” After many years exhibiting her popular impressionist paintings that depict life around Sydney’s Hawkesbury River region, Peck made the switch to the inventiveness of her imagination. “I found ways to pick up accidental pictorial happenings and turn them into recognizable stories,”... --- - Published: 2024-03-19 - Modified: 2024-03-21 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/memory-and-desire/ - Categories: Media Releases Memories both personal and historical, as well as a desire for collaborations that transcend complex cultural dichotomies, imbue internationally recognised Avital Sheffer’s current exhibition of ceramic vessels. “Memory feeds desire and desires feeds memory,” relays Sheffer. With an aesthetic rooted in millennia-old Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions, the forms manifest a sense of wholeness - a continuity and interconnectedness between the earth, the human body and mankind’s endeavour to record aspects of time, place and esoteric understandings. The Lusitana I vessel has a subtle anthropomorphic ambience. In the semblance of prehistoric fertility figurines it has a cleft base. Rudimentary tiny arm-like handles are positioned at the neck. The stopper could be envisioned as a little top-knotted head, its gold lustre contrasting with the porous tactility of the calligraphy covered body. The vessel’s title refers to the encircling, undulating zigzag appliqué. “Lusitania is the name of ancient Portugal and Lusitano is that which comes from there,” Sheffer explains. “In the black and white stone paved sidewalks of Lisbon and towns this undulating pattern often appears. When touring Iberia, I found the design very seductive and intriguing. I felt I had to adapt it into works. . ” In the Luminaria I and Luminaria III ceramics, rotund arrangements again covered in swirling calligraphy, rise in decreasing size towards an elongated neck which may be thought of as stretching to receive creative sustenance or etheric nourishment for future sharing. The midsections of these vessels have unusual panels leading the eye up to pointed,... --- - Published: 2024-02-27 - Modified: 2024-02-27 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/coastal-keepsakes/ - Categories: Media Releases I’ve lived on the Gold Coast since the early 80’s. I loved family camping trips exploring the countryside and experiencing the sights such as tropical gardens, beaches, estuaries, fields of yellowed sugarcane growing in uniform grids and attractions like the Big Pineapple. The white timbered ‘Queenslanders’ dotting the countryside, often clinging to the hillsides above beaches and rivers, are fixed in my memory of those times. With their white decorative balustrades contrasting against deep shaded porches - lush foliage and azure coastlines filtering through – these iconic houses remain to this day inspirational. Purposely naive in depiction, the Coastal Keepsake works aim to visually evoke my nostalgic childhood musings. The paintings are multi-layered acrylic visions part remembered, part wishful, imagined landscapes. The bright stretches of aqua waters and glowing pink afternoon skies aspire to make the vistas seem magical. My hope is that the calmness of the imagery expresses a sense of reverence and promotes in the viewer a yearning and renewed respect for the precious coastal areas that we are currently so lucky to have at our everyday grasp. Sculptural pieces involving fabrics and yarns have ever been part of my creative practice. The 3D forms in the exhibition are an extension of its theme. While my paintings are nonfigurative, the sculptures seek to portray a more anthropomorphic approach infused with the colours, patterns and forms inherent in tropical seaside locales.   Coastal Blooms was created as a positive acknowledgement of life’s cycles and seasons. Covered in flower heads made... --- - Published: 2024-01-18 - Modified: 2024-02-01 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/birdsong/ - Categories: Media Releases The renowned art critic Robert Hughes once stated, “an ideal for humanity is to reconcile with the world, not by protest or irony, but by the ecstatic contemplation of nature. ” Melbourne-based Zoe Ellenberg’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art offers the viewer a realization of such. Ellenberg tells that the title Birdsong represents “all the sounds and movement of song that can’t be seen. ” She furthers, “The song of nature always provokes a sense of calm, warmth and nostalgia for me. ” Her affinity with the natural world began very early in life. “I fell in love with the rainforest as a young child when my parents took us to live for a year in Queensland. I also have a deep connection to Bali where I lived for six months doing an artist’s residency after completing university. I have since travelled consistently throughout Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Give me a beach, waterfall or tropical canopy and I find happiness! ” “My paintings are Abstract Expressionism. I don’t think they are purely abstract in the formal sense. I find form with the linear, accidental splashes that can produce birds, glimpses of dragonflies and insects scattering across one’s perspective. A hint of a butterfly wing, various plants and clouds passing that become recognisable shapes may be discerned. The emerging imagery is a birdsong dancing across the paper. ” Describing her process, Ellenberg relays, “I really love working with paper, I enjoy its very tactile quality. Rough, cold press, hot... --- - Published: 2023-12-05 - Modified: 2024-01-09 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/on-the-path-that-leads-back-to-you/ - Categories: Media Releases Instinctual energy permeates Steve Tyerman’s works. Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint they are the outcome of an intimate engagement with the environment. However, his art communicates a visual experience well beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. “The works are always a reflection of myself and my life experiences made palpable on the canvas surface,” he relays. In speaking of the title for his current body of work, Tyerman quotes the 19th century French artist Pierre Bonnard, “It is not a matter of painting life, it’s a matter of giving life to a painting. Nature provides the inspiration or stimulus but it is the ‘inner life’ that remains the ultimate reference. ” The artistic path leads you back to yourself. The title of the exhibition also refers to the fact that most of his works have paths, tracks or roads in them. Tyerman explains there are several reasons for this, “They have metaphorical associations - life’s journey, the options we have and the decisions we make. The path is also such a handy pictorial device, it’s an obvious way to create the illusion of depth and direct the eye in and around the picture. As soon as our eyes find a pathway they want to follow it. There are literal connotations too. Roads and pathways are our way of accessing the landscape. They are symbolic markers of human presence and our interaction with nature. ” Tyerman is noted for his impasto renditions that express his... --- - Published: 2023-11-15 - Modified: 2023-11-15 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-from-the-oast-house/ - Categories: Media Releases An oast house one might wonder? Such a building can be described as a storied brick structure designed for drying produce, especially hops to flavour the brewing of beer. Apart from allegorical associations, some of Melissa Egan’s current works were in fact painted in an oust house! Her Launceston summertime residence was once an 1840’s Tasmanian colonial garrison that boasted its own oast house. Today, the still intact building is covered with climbing roses. The ambience of this historic milieu fosters flights of the imagination into other realms where specifics of time and place have dissolved. Egan’s ensuing visual narratives are fused in a radiance of subtle grandeur and humour. Not far from Egan’s Tasmanian abode is her friends’ 19th century heritage listed house, Clairville, situated in a 13 acre rural property. Its beautiful gardens, hawthorn hedges and deciduous trees from which regular starling murmuration's can be witnessed inspired the setting for the Garden Party painting. Apart from the literal venue, any notion of objective reality has been blithely suspended within this picture. Very formally attired rabbits assuming human persona are gathering for a social occasion. Perhaps some have already overly imbibed preliminary refreshments, given posture and antics. One rabbit is supine amidst the domical flowering shrubbery. Another has climbed via rope to sit atop an enormous, centrally placed Grecian-like urn. The birds fluttering about up there are incongruously depicted very much larger than him. Certain flowers are also enormous in size – a device Egan says is to accentuate... --- > The paintings in Kirsten Chambers’ inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art express her profound delight in the Byron Hinterland’s natural environment. - Published: 2023-10-17 - Modified: 2023-10-24 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/hinterland/ - Categories: Media Releases The paintings in Kirsten Chambers’ inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art express her profound delight in the Byron Hinterland’s natural environment. Originally from Adelaide, the now Federal-based artist describes her landscapes as mud maps of areas she has a particular connection with. “It is the feeling of place I am trying to capture - how I experience the landscape when driving, walking or cycling through this area”. Presented from an aerial perspective, the works reconfigure vistas seen from hinterland roads winding through the corridors of trees. Occasionally, the iconic Byron lighthouse can be glimpsed in the far distance. Although the paintings take their source of inspiration from such encounters, they transcend any sense of literal location. The depictions embody aesthetic qualities beyond the classical landscape tradition. Chambers’ training and subsequent experience in the design industry is readily apparent in the portrayals. Created through a process of abstracting her perceptions into compositional elements, the shapes, placement and directions integrate with remarkable precision. As is her aspiration, inner and outer experiences coalesce. The Climb From Mullum oil on panel is a visually intriguing piece. The picture plane is permeated in white curving lines and interspersed with schematic trees. Absence of a horizon abets the abstract, deep green configuration. “There is a mysterious depth to the hinterland,” Chambers imparts, “and when travelling through it you wonder what might exist amidst those very dark, wet spaces. ” Contrasting in hue, a pale green square appears in the left foreground. With astute compositional balance, the... --- - Published: 2023-09-30 - Modified: 2023-10-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/petals-paws-and-plumage-pageant/ - Categories: Media Releases The subjects in Jodie Wells’ current exhibition present as a pageantry of the natural world’s offerings. A procession of peonies, orchids, sunflowers, magpies, kookaburras, wrens, cockatoos and cavorting dogs greet the viewer in an orchestration of shape, hue and tactile surface. Unconcerned with symbolic import, Jodie’s paintings simply express a visual poetic linking with her environment. Based in the northern Gold Coast, she tells that her studio is in her house, “Working from home I have found inspiration from those things that are near to me. Often just looking out a window is a creative stimulus. My main desire is to keep my subjects everyday and relatable. ” Often Jodie’s depictions of flowers are those picked from her garden. Whether in vases or filling the picture plane, ‘still lifes' they are not! Jodie eschews any notion that her works attempt to capture flora as a naturalist painter might do. An intense involvement with the materiality of her medium lifts the imagery beyond mere representation. Employing an instinctive, direct technique her palette knife interprets and amplifies form in thick slabs of oil. Jodie’s rendering of Australian native birds perched on branches has the same visceral impact. “I find birds a very accessible subject,” she imparts. “No matter where you live there is most likely to be feathered creatures around. About my home there are heaps of birds, including a family of superb blue fairy wrens. Nearby we have galahs and various cockatoo species. They all appear to display a distinctive personality.... --- - Published: 2023-09-20 - Modified: 2023-09-20 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/refreshments/ - Categories: Media Releases I like paintings that refuse to make a point. Instead they deliver a mystery, something to be unravelled with input from the viewer. They leave room for personal history to become a player, to ignite a thread that will take its own turns and outcomes and ultimately deliver an emotion and feeling that finds its own conclusion. As I move further and further through my career, I am trying to distil the paintings down to the core elements, pointedly pushing the composition front and centre, to focus attention to the key areas to reinforce the experience. Craig Handley 2023 --- - Published: 2023-08-01 - Modified: 2023-08-22 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/echoes/ - Categories: Media Releases Melitta Perry’s current paintings manifest the reverberation of bygone experiences, their nebulous quality buttressed by the imagination. “Every telling of a story is an echo,” she imparts. “We are all the sum of our capricious memories and this new body of work explores the way memory distorts and enhances the past, informs the present and projects a way of seeing the world into the future. ” Perry relays that her imagery is layered in meaning much like a collage or palimpsest. “Snippets of literature, folklore music and art are torn from their context and relocated into surreal landscapes. The resulting works have a waking-dream quality where extraordinary images and objects emerge from the backdrop of the Australian, bush which is a sort of anchor that tethers us to a more familiar present. ” The Echo in the Half-light painting is a wonderful example of Perry’s depiction of interlacing worlds. “This work captures the momentary space between sleep and waking. The mist of the subconscious evaporates, exposing echo fragments of a vivid dream now stranded in consciousness,” she informs. A vacant antique bed draped with diaphanous canopy stands before a hazy forest setting. Barely discernable in the background are the shadowy forms of horse and rider returning from their nocturnal journey. Further visual intrigue is generated by the presence of a great number of objects that are imbued with allegorical context. Perry elaborates, “A fob watch keeps tenuous track of time while a dingo sleeps nearby, perhaps guarding the space. Symbolising... --- - Published: 2023-06-27 - Modified: 2023-07-08 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-bridesmaids-antipasto/ - Categories: Media Releases Buderim-based Veronica Cay’s current paintings and ceramic sculptures viscerally document her musings on the conundrums of societal expectations. She imparts that, as always, her focus is from a female perspective. Certain currently accepted rituals seem quite inane to her, given their roots way back in archaic times. The antipasto analogy in the exhibition’s title relates to a preliminary tasting of what’s to come - in this case not a culinary event but a wedding! Cay understands that whilst weddings are considered to be occasions of great celebration, the hectic behind the scenes preparations for such are generally unacknowledged. The bridesmaids are required to be mindful of so many factors, including the expected adherence to outmoded traditions. the bridesmaid's antipasto works became a vehicle to explore the multi-faceted nuances of emotions and human behaviours that surround a marriage,” tells Cay. “Historically, in many cultures, marriage was about a union between families or factions to help revive economies and strengthen securities. Matchmakers were employed to find suitable partners, and daughters were raised to become good wives and mothers. This series barely scratches the surface of the huge gamut of narratives that could be explored! ” Cay’s renditions on canvas and paper embrace the figurative expressionist mode. The painted and collaged surfaces have an extraordinary psychological presence. Realistic portrayal is not her concern but rather the arousal of a subliminal, emotional response. Direct brushwork and the distortion of form create pictorial tension, while intense hues and size relationships heighten the drama. “The paintings... --- > Explore "We Were All Young Once" at Anthea Polson Art, featuring nostalgic and thought-provoking artworks. - Published: 2023-06-27 - Modified: 2024-07-29 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/we-were-all-young-once-and-other-things/ - Categories: Media Releases Conferred the title Emeritus Professor, Visual Arts upon retirement from Charles Sturt University, David Green relocated to Buderim to immerse himself in his own art practice. Green’s subject matter has ever evolved from reminiscences of earlier life experiences tinged with academic nuances. Speaking of the inception for his current exhibition he discloses, “A random something had brought to mind a brief conversation between my mother and a professor during a lunch gathering, post my graduation from London’s Royal College of Art in 1964. ” Green goes on to tell that his mother was not particularly impressed with the platitudes being proffered at this occasion. The memory of that long ago incident furnished inspirational impetus. “With these new works I wanted to rekindle the relationship subtleties between child and mother. I wished to capture that point in time when a child offers a project or perhaps an artwork for her estimation,” informs Green. “She might respond, ‘it’s lovely dear, go and fill the coal bucket please’. Praise and practical demand can sometimes have unforeseen consequences. ” “I have created cameos not founded on historical accuracy but are reliant on grossly inaccurate interpretation of extant artworks,” Green imparts. “This is my pretend world. ” His extraordinarily intricate creations compel close perusal, both in the rendering and the envisaged scenarios that allude to several very famous artists. Green beckons the viewer to partake in his imaginative journeying. Sandcastles With Flags and Angels Wings depicts a potential childhood episode between the Spanish architect Antoni... --- - Published: 2023-06-09 - Modified: 2023-06-17 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-journey/ - Categories: Media Releases The imagery in Martin Edge’s new body of work reflects the many journeys throughout SE Queensland and interstate he has embarked upon from his Strathpine home and studio. However, in speaking of the exhibition’s title he states, “Art is the journey! ” Since first being represented by APA in 2011, his art has evolved with growing finesse in technique and subject complexities, as well as imaginative detailing and the need for compositional resolution. One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin’s brightly coloured paintings. An unfailing positivity and sense of humour always accompanies Martin on his journeys through both landscape and creative process. A prime example is Martin And Winston On An Adventure. He relays that the work is a tribute to the last outing he made with his 11 years old Labrador. Having been given a commission, Martin had been exploring the coastal attractions of Cleveland for inspiration. Despite it being a grey drizzly day, the scene is portrayed with yellow sun and clouds puffs amidst a deep orange sky. Martin is attired in a top of that same colour - his favourite - as is Winston’s collar. Golden-hued companion bears a big grin to be sharing in this adventure. Many of Martin’s recent paintings depict urban landscapes frequently visited but he tells that each encounter “is like seeing the place for the very first time”. The Story Bridge locale is such. Connecting Brisbane’s northern and southern suburbs, the heritage-listed steel expanse... --- - Published: 2023-06-03 - Modified: 2023-06-17 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/femme/ - Categories: Media Releases The recent works of New Zealand-based Di West have once again been inspired by images of glamorously clad women from the late 40’s and 50’s Post-War era. “The timelessness of classic fashion and the elegance and grace of certain attire instantly pulls one back into those times,” West imparts. “I grew up watching old Black & White movies and loved them. They became a significant influence on my art making. For me, fashion and art have always been intertwined. ” In online research into ‘fashionista’ depictions from that epoch, the covers of prominent fashion magazines, particularly Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, attracted West’s attention. Their vibrant photographs of swim-suited models, where strong design aesthetics and the principle of ‘less is more’ prevailed, became an influence in her own portrayals. With the pruning of non-essential environment features, the femmes in West’s paintings are also ‘centre stage’. Her understanding of compositional factors is evident in their poses and garb detailing. The Snood image is a pertinent example of such. Hands on hips, legs nonchalantly crossed and head turned to the side to better display her snood, the female depicted has a confident demeanour. West tells of her interest in such headdresses, “A lot of the old movies I viewed as a kid had fabulous women like Esther Williams, Ginger Rogers and Carol Lombard wearing snoods to contain their flowing locks. ” Design considerations are evinced in the primary colours and alignments in this painting. Sky and water are blue, sand, beach chair and... --- - Published: 2023-05-17 - Modified: 2023-05-17 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/forms-in-time/ - Categories: Media Releases Brisbane-based Phillip Piperides’ new body of sculptural works is imbued with his abiding interest in Greek mythology and philosophical musings. A career spanning four decades has fostered ruminations upon the passage of time and how to render such into tangible presence. The exhibition displays a number of the graceful female forms for which Piperides is renowned. Described as dreamlike personifications, they emanate a serenity in essence and pose. The Ariadne, Danya and Joanna bronzes all bear a pensive demeanour. Hands gently crossed by cheek and eyes closed, the subject in Spring 2 is in the process of stepping blithely out into the unknown. In contrast to such works where light caresses form and lustrous burnished surfaces, there is a series of textured male figures portrayed in various stages of movement. Inspired by the mythical Icarus, these small effigies signify a capturing of time’s momentum. Despite the upright depiction, the Marcus bronze pays homage to the model for these Icarus pieces and his ‘contortionist’ aptitude when posing for them. Gleaming with highly polished patina, the Reflections maquette is described by Piperides as a meditative double bust representing the vacillating thoughts attending any decision or commitment. The sculptures each sit upon tall white plinths to produce a sensory evocation of forms afloat in time and space. Enormous skill is required in the lengthy and painstaking processes involved in bringing mute, raw materials into a life-suffused, physical reality. Piperides meticulously presides over every stage. Initially, a clay maquette is formed, the tactile medium... --- - Published: 2023-04-20 - Modified: 2023-04-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/snapshots/ - Categories: Media Releases As do photographs, Sophie Gralton’s recent paintings capture significant moments. However, ‘snap shot’ static representations they are not, photographic realism is totally eschewed. Sydney-based Gralton’s focus lies in the interaction between image and medium. She wants us to respond not solely to the subject matter but also to the aesthetic and metaphoric signals a painting communicates. Past memories, present observations and future possibilities are given tangible form upon canvases alive with tactile surfaces. The 2nd Day of Autumn work resonates the innate, undeterred vitality of youthful times. We enter into the picture along with the child who is eagerly advancing towards the ocean, tangled curls bouncing in the cool breeze and striped towel clutched about. Equally enthusiastic, the companion pooch is caught mid leap, its form reflected in the gleaming wet sand. The warm hue of the primer undercoat is left apparent in certain areas to amplify the verve. A similar mood of utter elation pervades Somebody’s Boy III as it captures the subject running with gusto towards the beckoning waves. In the painting, The Boys, an expanse of seawater without horizon fills the canvas. The youngsters here seem just a tad more reticent in their approach. An altogether different nuance imbues The Thinkers work. Sitting at the ocean’s edge, a girl looks out into the distance, perhaps pondering what the future may hold rather than wanting to plunge into the seascape stretching before her. Dalmatian comrade, its game of chasing the ball apparently abandoned, dutifully surrenders to her meditative... --- > press release for Jamie Boyd's solo exhibition titled Return To The River at Anthea Polson Art in April 2023 - Published: 2023-04-04 - Modified: 2023-04-04 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/return-to-the-river/ - Categories: Media Releases Jamie Boyd’s present works communicate a thoroughly immersive engagement with the landscape. Although now based in London, he regularly returns to the Shoalhaven River area in SE New South Wales. It was here that his father Arthur acquired the Riverdale and Bundanon properties in the 1970s. They were subsequently gifted to the Australian people for Artist Residencies and creative projects in 1993. The exhibition’s title, Return to the River, alludes to Boyd’s visit last year to the riverbank below the famed Pulpit Rock rising from a bend in the Shoalhaven just across from the Bundanon Trust land. He tells of the locale’s inspiration for him; “The topography resonates because it is uncomplicated and there is little evidence of human presence – just rocks, water, trees and sky... but all in a wonderfully proportioned scale, as if made for painting. ” Bearing the same title as the exhibition, the Return to the River work has an arid quality in its pale, earthy-hued rock strewn escarpment and stick-like trees devoid of verdant foliage. Vibrant blue stretches across the picture plane in the overhead, cloudless sky. The same colour is repeated in the foreground river flow. Interrupted only by the scattering of ill-defined trees, the composition’s horizontality promotes a sense of pervasive stillness. Other smaller works on copper panels evince a similar quietude. The occasional river craft is always a rowboat so as not to disturb the tranquil ambience. Tiny figures on the shores signify the ‘diminutiveness’ of mankind in comparison to the... --- - Published: 2023-03-28 - Modified: 2023-05-17 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/reflecting/ - Categories: Media Releases As in previous bodies of work, Elaine Green’s new paintings emanate a metaphysical sensibility. Each landscape may be understood as the extension of an inner sense of being, or place where Nature and Self are fused. The imagery projects a profound quietude that encourages a state of reflection. “My interest lies in the fleeting nature of the elements, perceiving a certain moment and then attempting to capture its essence,” she relays. The ephemeral nature of clouds and flowing water has always captured my attention,” Green continues. “On the one hand they remind me of the passing of time and on the other, they keep me fixed in the ‘here and now’, savouring the moment. Clouds and water stretches are like layers of paint; like layers of the soul. I think my works are more about those feelings I get from experiencing a scene rather than actual representations of it. ” Clouds span the mist-enshrouded scene depicted in On the Banks of the Macquarie River. A focal tree seems to coalesce with the shrubs and reflections at the river’s reedy edge. The Macquarie River flows through the historic convict-built village of Ross in the Midlands of Tasmania. It is a place Green now often visits, staying solitary days at a time to absorb and translate its tranquillity into precursory art works. She tells that compared to the North West coastal town of Stanley where she lives, there is hardly even a breeze in the Ross area and so here is able... --- - Published: 2023-02-04 - Modified: 2023-02-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-pocketful-of-stars/ - Categories: Media Releases Official Opening Saturday 25 March 4 - 6 pm Brisbane-based Beth Kennedy’s inaugural exhibition with Anthea Polson Art ushers the viewer into a light-hearted, aesthetic realm beyond extraneous concerns. She tells the title for this body of work, A Pocket Full of Stars, evolved during the isolation and contemplative atmosphere that are prerequisite for the creative process. “The stars refer to moments of illumination and the little jewel-like memories that we carry close with us as if in our pockets. Recalled precious moments in time are akin to accumulated tiny pinpricks of light that can generate our very own stars. The paintings are a celebration of life, family and love. ” Initially a figurative artist, Beth abandoned such depictions quite a while ago, feeling they were becoming too personal. She currently prefers to create more “universally appealing” subjects. Pattern, colour and compositional factors now unite in abstracted, botanical shapes hovering over the picture plane. Preliminary sketches on paper assemble flora and foliage details into fanciful bouquets and informal arrangements. Transferred to canvases, the designs mutate in response to larger format considerations and intuitive musings. Gentle visual narratives arise amidst layers of diverse media. “I need to keep pushing what I’m doing, trying new ideas and techniques,” she relays. “So far, I’ve added aerosol, oil stick, acrylic-gouache and pastel pencils to my watercolour washes and inks. The element of play and having fun, as well as letting the works embrace ‘happy accidents’, is really important to me. ” There is also... --- - Published: 2023-02-03 - Modified: 2023-02-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paradise-lost/ - Categories: Media Releases Official Opening Saturday March 18, 3 - 5 pmParadise lost is a small series of paintings of original Gold Coast houses, some are gone(demolished), and some still exist... . maybe? These types of houses were once a common feature of the streets and suburbs along the southernQueensland coast, each are unique and evoke a past era of relaxed beachside living. Some are simple beach shacks and others a little more stylish with echoes of the influence of themodernist movement particularly from the post war era. Sloped skillion and ‘butterfly’ roofs, stripedawnings, stone feature walls and chimneys and decorative panels, iron or brick work. Artist StatementThe Gold Coast, the traditional land of the Yugambeh language people, like many other coastaltowns and cities across Australia began as a holiday destination for people from nearby cities andsurrounding areas wanting a break from a working life. Initially buildings were constructed that catered to short term accommodation needs. Some of thefirst types of housing were boarding houses, small motels, flats, bungalows and then fibro shacks(when the government-imposed restrictions on the size and materials that could be used forbuildings during the war years). During the post (second world war) era with increasing optimism and growth and as people gainedmore disposable income, affluence and style, architects were engaged that were inspired by theinternational modernist movement and contemporary building design that had begun in Europe andthen America, including Florida and Palm Springs in California. From the late 1960s and 70’s with improvements in concrete construction, increased plane traveland... --- - Published: 2023-01-06 - Modified: 2023-02-15 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/how-the-light-gets-in/ - Categories: Media Releases A deeply metaphysical resonance imbues Seabastion Toast’s current works. They communicate a patient seeking of the light amidst the ‘shadowlands’ of emotional and painterly challenges. There is an understanding that life’s cycles will in due course bring a return to the colours of joy. The exhibition’s title, How the Light Gets In, is derived from a Leonard Cohen song that had resonated with her personal experiences. “The images are essentially collages of everyday moments,” Seabastion tells. “My goal is to create paintings that reveal themselves slowly. Initially, the works were an investigation into how light shapes a form and changes it. The way pattern could be used to flatten or deepen the depiction of 3D space was also a major consideration. I had been looking for the marriage of figuration and abstraction. By concerning myself with these formal elements, the meaning and metaphor developed alongside but not dependant on the work. ” “Making pictures is a mesmerizing activity for me,” Seabastion continues. “Placing patches of color next to each other and watching with incredulity as an image emerges is one of the most thrilling things that I do - carving light! ” There is not a fixed, preconceived narrative to the figurative works. For Seabastion the subject is entirely secondary. The components of her settings are abstracted in vivid hues to suggest the movement of light across the canvas. The viewer is obliged to ponder what the personages obscured amidst these kaleidoscopic arrays might symbolise and conceive a story for... --- > Join our artistic journey with 52 weeks of creative inspiration at Anthea Polson Art Gallery. - Published: 2022-12-06 - Modified: 2023-09-05 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/52-weeks/ - Categories: Media Releases The underlying theme in Robert Ryan’s paintings has essentially always been about a relationship to one’s surroundings and situation. In mid 2018, he made the decision to leave the now ever bustling, upmarket Byron environ and relocate to Tasmania’s relatively isolated northeast coast. Its remoteness subsequently proved a boon when pandemic circumstances mandated isolation Australia wide. Explaining the title for his new body of work Ryan informs, “As 2021 drew to a close I was wondering what the coming year might bring. Like everyone else, I’d been cooped up for a couple of years, albeit to an artist who had produced two exhibitions during the interim, that wasn’t unusual. I had the desire to travel somewhere again but at the same time, leaving my safe little haven was a bit daunting. Offer of another show resolved the conundrum. ” The exhibition’s title, 52 Weeks, relates to Ryan’s commitment to now produce paintings for yet another year. The ensuing works once more encapsulate his wayfaring through landscapes of place, time and consciousness. Increasingly however, there is a sense of total immersion in the melding of inner and outer worlds. Understanding that the natural realm is fundamentally made up of vibratory connective energy, he has released his imagery from traditional perspectives. The paintings induce the kind of reverie that one might experience when wholly encompassed by nature. Exemplifying this is the Estuary work where a figure lies recumbent absorbing the bounty. “Estuary is a literal reference to the Scamander Rivermouth below my... --- - Published: 2022-11-12 - Modified: 2022-11-12 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-world-within-a-world/ - Categories: Media Releases The imagery in Steve Tyerman’s current body of work again expresses his multi-faceted response to the coastal regions of Southern Queensland and Northern NSW. He understands the appeal of being at a seaside locale has, for not only most ‘Aussies’, but humankind in general. “A feeling of connection and sense of release occurs when sitting at the ocean’s edge,” he muses. “There is a calming effect in the ocean’s constant movement, it’s the great vastness and the thought of what lies beyond, and within, that is mesmerizing. ” Rather than site-specific seascape renditions, Tyerman’s paintings aspire to give an immersive experience of place. “I titled the exhibition, A World Within a World, because that’s how it is for me when observing nature. You can see the big picture, the overall scene laid out before you but when looking closer, there is a whole world of life and activity happening within. I want my pictures to reflect this in some way, whether it is through the birds, insects, flower buds or simply the life that the trowelled paint itself creates upon the canvas. I think my works end up the way they do - colourful and energetic - because I’m combining my awe and fascination of the subject matter with the passion I have for paint. ”  “The show’s title also alludes to the very basis of art – observing! ” Tyerman continues. “There is a recognised difference between looking and seeing, or more specifically, observing. Observation suggests looking with the... --- > Recollections from a happy childhood growing up in country Maryborough inform much of Bowen’s subject matter. - Published: 2022-10-28 - Modified: 2023-01-09 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/menagerie-2/ - Categories: Media Releases Describing the imagery that populates his current solo show with Anthea Polson Art, Dean Bowen imparts, “The feathered characters in my avian theatre have players who engage and interact with them. Ladybird armies seem to make regular appearances - are they friends or perhaps dinner for their feathered companions? Echidnas (another of my favorite totems) inhabit this exhibition alongside wombats, owls, kookaburras and other creatures. They are all performers in a wondrous menagerie. ” As in early cultures where imagination and reality intertwined, Bowen’s art expresses a sense of kinship between the animal, human and natural worlds. Deceptively simple in rendition, the works have subtle underlying implications. Although referencing ecological concerns, a quiet optimism pervades. A prime example of this is the oil on linen painting, Echidna Path. Here, attempting to find the pathway leading to a sustainable future, a multitude of usually solitary echidnas are on the march. “It’s an environmental comment in a way,” says Bowen. “Their home is now a barren landscape, perhaps caused by mankind and habitat degradation. None the less, there are many echidnas, which is a good sign! I am hoping that one day the countryside will become full of non-endangered echidnas. Despite the conservational message, there is also a humour that will hopefully provide amusement for the viewer. ” Recollections from a happy childhood growing up in country Maryborough inform much of Bowen’s subject matter. He tells that the antics of birds have always been a source of inspiration. “Birds started appearing in my... --- - Published: 2022-09-01 - Modified: 2022-09-01 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-coast/ - Categories: Media Releases Judy Oakenfull’s inaugural exhibition at Anthea Polson Art conveys a deep engagement with the natural world. She describes its coastlines and native flora as the ‘protagonists’ in her paintings. “There seems to be something within that draws us towards the ‘untamed’ coast,” Oakenfull imparts. “My work explores this yearning and aims to capture something of the calming, grounded feeling we derive from being at the ocean’s edge. ” The Murwillumbah-based artist relates that the Wild Coast paintings evolved from an earlier series of botanical works depicting various species of Australian banksia plants and flowers. “Following an exhibition of them at the Tweed Regional Gallery in 2019, I began to focus on the banksia varieties local to Northern NSW and South East Queensland. As these plants are generally found in coastal regimes, it became a logical step to include their surrounds in my current paintings,” Oakenfull explains. “Initially, this took the form of ocean glimpses though banksia leaves, but then expanded to portray the seascape beyond. Other types of coastal foliage were introduced and the ocean itself became a main component. ” Layers of oil paint across the canvases express Oakenfull’s experience of seaside environs. “I appreciate the meditative essence of this medium,” she muses. “Painting allows the time and space to grow a type of intimacy with the subject. It is a meeting of observed components and one’s inner self. ” Oakenfull tells that visual interconnections developed between the ocean and the flora she was depicting. “The blue of the... --- - Published: 2022-08-23 - Modified: 2022-08-23 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/spring-daze/ - Categories: Media Releases Springtime is the season when the natural world revives and reinvigorates. It is a time of joy and new beginnings. Aptly opening in spring, Jodie Wells’ exhibition celebrates the regenerative power of nature and its contribution to a much-needed positivity in our own lives. Jodie’s works express a return to tactility; her luscious markings radiate a direct, sensory appeal. We encounter nature in all its textural vividness through the gestural freedom of her palette knife’s passage. Much of the imagery was kindled during stops on a long, recent road trip from her northern Gold Coast home to visit family in Tasmania. Those stops were somewhat frequent given she and husband were driving an electric car. “A lot of my paintings are inspired from the flora and fauna we saw on that journey,” relays Jodie.  “When walking through Tasmania’s beautiful Freycinet National Park I photographed so many birds, eucalyptus leaves, banksia nuts, tea tree and wattle flowers. ” “The birds in my works are all Australian natives. I saw galahs, cockatoos, magpies, butcherbirds and kookaburras everywhere, there's no avoiding them!  I realised there were multiple facets to a creature’s moods and actions that could be visually explored. Whether wild birds or even birds in captivity - like the finches, they all appear to display a distinctive personality. ” Jodie has endeavored to depict her perceptions in small paintings with earthy monochrome backdrops. Titles such as Impertinent Zebra Finch and Dreamy Chestnut Breasted Mannikin denote the subjects’ dispositions. Gumtree Cockatoo and Gumtree... --- - Published: 2022-08-09 - Modified: 2022-08-09 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/home-spun/ - Categories: Media Releases An intense chromatic energy radiates from Vicki Stavrou’s new body of work. She imparts that the exhibition’s title, Home Spun, is a play on words. Although the imagery has been ‘spun’ from considerations about a home’s exterior and interior design elements, several of her canvas and linen surfaces are now embroidered with spun tapestry thread. It may seem curious for an artist based in the Byron Hinterland to be painting mid-century Californian abodes, complete with palm trees and prominent swimming pools. Stavrou explains that her inspiration for the subject was fermented when visiting a favourite shop in nearby Brunswick Heads. Called Resould, it specialises in ‘retro’ furniture but also sells magazines from the USA featuring Palm Springs homes from the 50’s era. “When I saw these magazines I just fell in love with the style and lines of butterfly houses, their striking roof directions and the rich 'anything goes' colours of the interiors,” Stavrou enthuses.  “Wonderful backyard pools - which I think everyone had in the desert - cacti and palm trees everywhere, mountains rising in the distance.  I love hot places and this era to me was ‘paradise’ in its 'tupperware party' innocence and simplicity. ” Several ensuing paintings have a David Hockney semblance and Stavrou acknowledges an admiration of his works, especially the Californian Paper Pool series. Her depictions however, transcend specific locale in the remarkable organisation of visual relationships and compositional fulfilment. Hazy, cloudless skies and the arrangement of flat, geometric planes promote an atmosphere of stasis... --- - Published: 2022-07-19 - Modified: 2022-07-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/windfalls-exhibition-and-book-launch/ - Categories: Media Releases With an international reputation as a significant miniaturist, Marilyn Peck has been winning awards and exhibiting, both overseas and in Australia, since 1970. In honour of this venerable artist’s 90th birthday, Anthea Polson Art presents a survey of her work.  The exhibition also features Peck’s recent paintings and launches her latest poetry collection which shares the title Windfalls. Like all found objects, ‘windfalls’ can be treasure or trash depending on who’s doing the fossicking. Peck has been sorting through found images in her paintings and poetry for decades, turning ‘happy accidents’ into the beauties and beasts that cavort in her imagination. “I discovered that painting in both negative and positive spaces worked well for miniaturisation,” Peck imparts. “Depending on which way I look at an image as it emerges on the picture plane, various stories unfold in my mind.  Subsequently, my brush brings these imaginings to life. ” Akin to Margaret Olley, Peck has vowed to keep painting every day ‘until the end’. “At ninety and beyond I will continue to paint small landscapes where the fine detail of my miniature period is no longer necessary. I now paint from photographs given to me by friends and family. My shaky hands may not be able take a focused photograph, but my paint brush still translates the beauty of a landscape and that is enough for me. ” Decades of work are suffused with the numinous. “I try only to be influenced by beauty,” muses Peck. “I love accidental happenings in the picture plane. These are windfalls... --- - Published: 2022-06-28 - Modified: 2022-08-26 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/everything-is-connected/ - Categories: Media Releases Art has been considered a mirror where glimpses of life’s meaning may be experienced. The intricate depictions in Jill Lewis’ paintings reflect her deeply philosophical musings. Imbued with a rich texture of otherness, symbolism and imagination, the works defy convention and category. Interior and exterior, visible and invisible, ancient and new, meld together in a lyricism that evokes the power of possibility. Everything is connected! Melbourne-based Lewis describes the work, Pegasus Has Landed, as “about the connections between stories, reality and mythology”. The imagery rendered within is also analogous to her creative process. It concerns a fabled winged horse that was credited with the ability to bring forth springs of water wherever its hoof struck the ground. “In my painting, Pegasus has returned from soaring flights of freedom and fantasy,” Jill imparts. “He has landed but there are two concurrent results issuing from his striking of terra firma. One is the idea of releasing a spring of inspiration, the other is a ‘come back down to earth’ reality check. ” She tells that the various beings, objects and patterns surrounding the mythic creature move in a clockwise direction. “Starting with the artist portrayal at lower right, my thoughts are moving towards the teapot I use as symbol of practical reality, however, it could also be a receptacle patiently waiting to be filled with inspiration. Similar connotations are attributed to the bowl hovering above. Attention is then directed upward by way of the pointed fish to the little man sitting in contemplation. Creative... --- - Published: 2022-05-25 - Modified: 2022-05-25 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/seduced/ - Categories: Media Releases ‘Seduction is like an invitation, an embellishment, a doorway that beckons the viewer into more subtle enjoyments and meditations. ’ Bruce Metcalf Corinne Lewis’s exhibition works embody this notion both in imagery and painterly prowess. Speaking about her subject matter’s inspiration, Corinne alludes to the book, Seduction – a celebration of sensual style. It chronologically explores the evolution of seductress raiment from 18th century courtesans through to modern-day manifestations. Mention is also made therein of how dress and ‘accessory arts’ have contributed to a female’s ability to overcome the passive, objectified status conferred in a patriarchal realm. The femme fatales gracing Corinne’s current works reflect a contemporary milieu in their attire and settings. Lavish accoutrements extend the concept of seduction to a lust for expensive material objects. Featured in The Man with the Golden Gun painting isthe interior of an Aston Martin. Although the picture’s title references a James Bond film, it carries an implication of the seductive power that considerable wealth can wield. Describing the scenario in Seduced by Chanel, Corinne imparts, “The model here is a good friend of mine. She loves designer labels, Chanel, Valentino – the works! When we did the shoot, I accessed her wardrobe and it was a girl’s dream of sequins, frills, florals, chiffon, velvet and designer shoes. I was seduced. The idea of incorporating ‘beautiful things’ that our eyes can’t resist developed from those contents. ” Corinne arranged the model’s pose to suggest the woman is on a ‘high’ from dancing all... --- > My works aspire to thread together the narrative of life, joy, whimsy, calmness and ultimately, a sense of place and home. - Published: 2022-05-10 - Modified: 2022-06-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/garden-vistas-curious-critters-fancy-rugs-and-other-eclectic-things/ - Categories: Media Releases The canvases in the exhibition explore my daydreams of home and garden. Exotic wildlife visitors are set amidst both tranquil garden vistas and the incongruity of soft furnishings, lavish wallpapers and parquetry floors that furbish domestic spaces. For a long time, our Gold Coast house was just a place to inhabit and produce work but with the advent of the pandemic it became a secluded bolt-hole tucked away from external worldly woes. Fortunately for me, escapism transpired in the form of imaginary realms and the activity of art-making. Looking out to my garden with its brightly coloured flowering shrubs, I have now come to realise that these outdoor spaces intrinsically interplay with and positively enhance my perception of a comfort zone. The Garden, the Patio and the natural world’s Creatures have inspired a re-evaluation of the notion of Home, from inside out and from outside in. Over the past years, given the seeming permanence of being confined to one’s house, I have worked hard at visually creating more uplifting interior habitats. Dark furnishings were painted a lighter shade, hard-toned upholstery converted to soft and the outdoors embraced by including tropical animals and birds into the depicted scenarios. Merely utilitarian spaces of ‘existence’ were transformed into harmonious ‘living’ areas - places of relaxation and calm, peppered throughout with my real and imagined eclectic treasures. Our actual Garden is a mess - an unkept jungle of sorts with a lot of happy inhabitants. It has good bones; an orange Tulip Tree, red... --- > Cathy Quinn grew up in Melbourne, Quinn subsequently spent many years living in London and Hong Kong. - Published: 2022-04-22 - Modified: 2023-10-24 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/cathy-quinn/ - Categories: Media Releases “Turn with your back to the beauty of the water and the lure of the verdant, undulating landscape lies ahead. There’s a mystery as to what is hidden beyond the curving corners of the tracks and roads,” imparts Melbourne-based Cathy Quinn. The title of her current body of work, Hinterland, not only references actual places she once visited but also vistas the mind can kindle – “the possibilities of what lies beyond the mountains. ” “These recent works are memory paintings,” says Quinn. “They are expressions of how I felt in certain places and times. ” She tells of managing to escape between the many Victorian lockdowns to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, “leaving the dark, cold days of Melbourne for the warm life I had been dreaming of. ” The paintings depict her visual encounters when driving inland to Pomona’s Mount Cooroora and Yandina’s Mount Eerwah, both striking volcanic plugs towering above the landscape. “There was a particular lookout point where I stopped and soaked in the view and sketched until I wore out the patience of my travel companion,” she recalls. “Back on the coast I had experienced extraordinary colour-saturated sunsets and gentle sunrises. White sandy beaches looked out to the blue, blue waters of paradise, yet it is those mountains rising up like termite mounds that continue to capture my imagination. ” For Quinn painting is a means of shifting consciousness from the troubles of the outside world. In the studio she awaits the moment when the fleeting recollections of... --- - Published: 2022-03-16 - Modified: 2022-03-25 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/weaving-the-borderlands/ - Categories: Media Releases Northern Rivers-based Melitta Perry’s new body of work evokes a sense of poignancy and hope. Typical of her visual language, sunburnt landscapes stretch to distant ranges under cloudless skies. Abandoned houses and old buildings stand mute in dry grassy fields but native creatures are active, "seemingly exempt from the constraints of time and borders. " Perry imparts that the imagery reflects the vistas she experienced when driving the backroads of the NSW and Queensland borderlands with no particular plan other than to see where they led. Albeit she adds, much of her field-tripping was curtailed by enforced border restrictions. With a deeply poetic sensibility, Perry elucidates the exhibition’s title; "I like the metaphorical idea of weaving through the landscape and creating from threads. The landscape becomes the warp and its stories the weft. The temporal interweaves with the cognisant, the mundane with the extraordinary. The glorious disconnect of memory colours the threads of imagination with myth. " "The works are about being absorbed by the stories of the places encountered. There was always an atmosphere - a soulfulness, perhaps an echo, that defied description and was as fleeting and unreliable as memory," Perry furthers. "Weaving stories, real or imagined, into the landscape engenders an interpretation of place. " Perry describes the Feather Fall painting as largely imaginative and representative of passing scenes that triggered a powerful emotional response. "A narrative is born from truly wondering about the lives of people," she tells. Beyond the foreground’s tall waving grasses a small farmhouse is depicted... --- - Published: 2022-02-12 - Modified: 2022-02-12 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/last-time-we-were-here/ - Categories: Media Releases Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s artwork animates a shift in consciousness to a more intuitive, natural realm that is characterisesd by childhood. Fleeting memories and thoughts are revisited and given tangible form on canvases alive with tactile surfaces. Transcending specific locations or personalities, the paintings aim to evoke a sense of integration between days long past, the present and what might lie ahead. Largely self-referential but with universal relevance, the images of a lone child embody the recollections, desires and feelings of a time when the everyday world was interlaced with fantasy and imaginative possibilities. Although these works are based on the poses of actual children, they are not conventional portraits. Gralton explains that the cropping of eyes from the figures and the posterior stances are not a means of ensuring anonymity. Rather than the traditional reliance on the gaze to convey the sitter’s essence, Gralton steers the viewer into a different reading of the subject - one where nuance is captured in the posture and background vitality. Pets often play a meaningful role in one’s early years and so virtually every work depicts such a companion. Invested with symbolic intent, a tame bird is present in each of the interiors where the child is positioned against a richly patterned backdrop. Stencilled numerals float atop vintage storybook pages. Unlike the children’s self-absorption, the birds are vigilant. They seemingly collude in a need for independence and a yearning to fly free from restriction. Other works also reflect childhood ponderings but in an outdoor... --- - Published: 2022-02-05 - Modified: 2022-02-05 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-whisper-of-a-tigers-tale/ - Categories: Media Releases Recognised as a narrative painter, Sydney-based Tanya Chaitow’s current exhibition is informed by an exploration of the work of the Old Masters, particularly the European paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries where the upper classes are portrayed in bucolic landscapes. Her interest in this era stemmed from a time when she was working directly from the paintings of Francesco Goya in the Prado Museum, Madrid. ‘Art is a cultural reflection of a civilisation,’ Chaitow imparts. ‘The history of art is an infinite source of inspiration and I am attracted to the way art describes the zeitgeist of its time. My present body of work questions the traditional canons of beauty and identity and the way women have been objectified. I am enjoying turning classical portraiture upside down and disturbing the veneers of gentility. Historical genre paintings are re-imagined and the female forms have been transposed from their place of origin into chimerical landscapes. Through decontextualization and the masking the faces, I build a new narrative – an alternative, fantastic portrayal of women who in turn are part autobiographical, part historical, part hybrid dream-creatures. The imagery speaks to both the past and present. ’ A love for animals and nature and the interconnectedness of all living things is evident in Chaitow’s paintings. ‘As in previous bodies of works, the relationships between humans, their environment and their animal neighbours are integral to my sense of being,’ Chaitow continues. ‘Anthropomorphised characters populate the paintings. They contain personal traits that represent parts of my own... --- - Published: 2022-01-29 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/endless-summer-2/ - Categories: Media Releases Many of us would acknowledge that we have an old box of memorabilia stored away that we promise ourselves to sort through one of these days. Di West’s current body of works has been inspired by doing just that. Five years ago, she packed up and relocated from Brisbane to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Her family had moved from that country to Queensland when she was three years old and became the publicans of the heritage-listed Plough Inn Hotel in Southbank. Her grandfather was licensee of the now demolished Currumbin Hotel, all her school holidays were spent in that locale. Many of us would acknowledge that we have an old box of memorabilia stored away that we promise ourselves to sort through one of these days. Di West's current body of works has been inspired by doing just that. Five years ago, she packed up and relocated from Brisbane to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Her family had moved from that country to Queensland when she was three years old and became the publicans of the heritage-listed Plough Inn Hotel in Southbank. Her grandfather was licensee of the now demolished Currumbin Hotel, all her school holidays were spent in that locale. West relays that it was ‘lockdown' restrictions that gave her the impetus to finally organise a collection of old family photographs. ‘I came across several pics of my dear mother as a young woman attired in swimsuits. She was always very glamorous and although it would be too emotional for me to ever paint her, those snapshots did inspire me to research images from that era - the glamour fifties! It was a time of such elegance, grace and style. I felt a real need to capture its moments. ' During her online investigations, two fashion photographers in particular attracted West's attention: George Hoyingen-Huene with his black and white images and Elena Iv-Skaya's vibrant, colour-saturated studies. West imparts that she was essentially drawn to the strong design aesthetics evident in their photographs of swim-suited models, where the principle of ‘less is more' prevailed. It was a talent that... --- - Published: 2022-01-29 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/hues-of-north-west-tassie-2/ - Categories: Media Releases On the remote North West coast of Tasmania, a small but spectacular peninsula juts out into the expanse of Bass Strait. Here lies the historic township of Stanley that Elaine Green now calls home. Visiting the area a few years ago she’d had an epiphany. ‘While on a holiday exploring Tassie, we’d stopped in Stanley for a couple of days. Strolling along the beach there one morning I suddenly wanted to stay forever!’ Elaine’s current body of work depicts that immersive experience of place. Akin to 19th century Romanticism, her concern is with the intangible qualities; conditions of sky, light and atmosphere – the ever-changing drama of wind, water and clouds, the sweeping forces of nature. On the remote North West coast of Tasmania, a small but spectacular peninsula juts out into the expanse of Bass Strait. Here lies the historic township of Stanley that Elaine Green now calls home. Visiting the area a few years ago she'd had an epiphany. ‘While on a holiday exploring Tassie, we'd stopped in Stanley for a couple of days. Strolling along the beach there one morning I suddenly wanted to stay forever! ' Elaine's current body of work depicts that immersive experience of place. Akin to 19th century Romanticism, her concern is with the intangible qualities; conditions of sky, light and atmosphere - the ever-changing drama of wind, water and clouds, the sweeping forces of nature. ‘There is a familiarity along this coast, a feeling that I belong,' Elaine muses. ‘Birds and wildlife are in abundance. Seagulls frolic freely in the sky above our garden, at night rabbits and wallabies roam the streets and little penguins march from the sea into the shelter of their burrows. ' Depending on the tides and weather, each morning Elaine walks her two dogs along the nearby Godfrey's Beach. It is very same beach that had motivated her relocation from the northern NSW region. ‘I have the view of Green Hills in one direction and the steep, rocky cliffs of The Nut in the other. Stanley is famous for The Nut which is actually a volcanic plug,' she continues. ‘Even though The Nut is iconic, I really have an affinity for Green Hills,... --- - Published: 2021-12-11 - Modified: 2022-02-11 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/favourites/ - Categories: Media Releases Once upon a time the world seemed younger and magic glimmered in shady bowers or radiated from windswept skies and seas ablaze with vivid hues. The art of Melissa Egan reopens a portal into storylands where all gravity has been cancelled and anything is possible. The titles of the exhibition and many of the works therein, indicate a ‘Sound of Music’ inspiration. Delightful, humour-tinged scenarios dance from the tip of Egan’s brush and we, like the von Trapp children accompanying Maria, follow her into the boundless realms of imagination to discover ‘a few of her favourite things’. Once upon a time the world seemed younger and magic glimmered in shady bowers or radiated from windswept skies and seas ablaze with vivid hues. The art of Melissa Egan reopens a portal into storylands where all gravity has been cancelled and anything is possible. The titles of the exhibition and many of the works therein, indicate a ‘Sound of Music' inspiration. Delightful, humour-tinged scenarios dance from the tip of Egan's brush and we, like the von Trapp children accompanying Maria, follow her into the boundless realms of imagination to discover ‘a few of her favourite things'. The protagonists in Egan's depictions are, for the most part, rabbits! She explains that aside from folkloric trickster associations, these creatures enable more entertaining personas. As befitting a portrayed epoch, their costuming is exceptionally formal. Egan illuminates that such attire also provides intricate detailing opportunities. In the work High on a Hill with a Lonely Goat Herd a yellow-skirted, white rabbit trumpets across a river to an elaborately uniformed, brown rabbit. Sitting on a rock, arms folded, he faces her. Piano abandoned and music sheets scattering in the breeze, his attitude is indeterminate. The herd of goats however, seems impervious to her clamorous efforts, their attention is drawn to something beyond the panoramic picture plane - perhaps the sound of yodelling? Maintaining a positive outlook regardless of formidable circumstances is certainly exemplified in the Follow Every Dream painting. Through stormy skies a shaft of light illuminates a tiny rocky isle encircled by tumultuous waves. Atop its lush... --- - Published: 2021-11-20 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-long-road-home/ - Categories: Media Releases A sense of quietude pervades Robyn Sweaney’s new body of work. The mood is one of introspection and stasis. She explains that her current paintings were created amidst ‘a year of uncertainty and the complexities of a world where our collective experience of multiple lockdowns, orders to ‘stay at home’ and be ‘alone together’ have become the new normal’. The exhibition’s title, Long Road Home, references memories of pre-2020 excursions from Mullumbimby to visit family and the Victorian landscapes of childhood, as well as a 2012 residency in Broken Hill. ‘The vistas and dwellings I had encountered along the way were quite literally, a long way from home!’ remarks Sweaney. ‘More than just reflections on my travels, the imagery embodies the larger issues we’ve all faced. It is about distance, but also love, longing and hope.’ A sense of quietude pervades Robyn Sweaney's new body of work. The mood is one of introspection and stasis. She explains that her current paintings were created amidst ‘a year of uncertainty and the complexities of a world where our collective experience of multiple lockdowns, orders to ‘stay at home' and be ‘alone together' have become the new normal'. The exhibition's title, Long Road Home, references memories of pre-2020 excursions from Mullumbimby to visit family and the Victorian landscapes of childhood, as well as a 2012 residency in Broken Hill. ‘The vistas and dwellings I had encountered along the way were quite literally, a long way from home! ' remarks Sweaney. ‘More than just reflections on my travels, the imagery embodies the larger issues we've all faced. It is about distance, but also love, longing and hope. ' Sweaney is nationally recognised for her depiction of the modest houses that were constructed during an era of post-war optimism. The facades may have been unremarkable but having one's very own plot of land augmented the prevailing sense of liberation. Multiple decades have since elapsed. ‘A home can symbolise many things. They can represent security and safety but that illusion can be tenuous,' says Sweaney. ‘The simple houses I have painted are frozen in time and float in empty space like a mirage on multiple horizon lines, unsure of what is going to happen next,' she imparts. ‘Collectively, they are a part of our history, a reminder of time passing, that things both... --- - Published: 2021-10-16 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/conversations-with-my-aunt/ - Categories: Media Releases A conversation may be defined as an exchange of sentiments, observations and ideas. Buderim-based Veronica Cay’s new body of works reflects a ruminative dialogue with her materials and subject depiction, as well as certain historical art pieces. The drawings, canvases and ceramic figures portray the imaginary conversations that she’d loved to have shared with an adventurous aunt but lacked the opportunity. The aunt had led quite an extraordinary life. In 1936, at the age of 15, she left a very conservative family in Toowoomba to attend Sydney’s National Art School never to return home. A conversation may be defined as an exchange of sentiments, observations and ideas. Buderim-based Veronica Cay's new body of works reflects a ruminative dialogue with her materials and subject depiction, as well as certain historical art pieces. The drawings, canvases and ceramic figures portray the imaginary conversations that she'd loved to have shared with an adventurous aunt but lacked the opportunity. The aunt had led quite an extraordinary life. In 1936, at the age of 15, she left a very conservative family in Toowoomba to attend Sydney's National Art School never to return home. ‘The characters that populate my work all commence during weekly life drawing sessions,' Cay divulges. ‘Life drawing is a very physical process for me, it is where I seek connections, test my resilience and acknowledge my own frailties. I am not particularly interested in an academic transcription,' she continues. ‘I employ a range of tools to help evoke a response or excite the imagination. In the last six months I have switched to almost exclusively using a brush attached to a metre-long stick that is dipped into acrylic paint. It definitely ensures a more expressive, less controlled outcome. ' Cay typically draws multiple poses onto a sheet of Snowdon cartridge paper, continuously layering and reworking the surface. ‘The resultant marks are endowed with a mutable and powerful presence that belies their passive beginnings,' she explains. The works my goose to your gander and standing close standing tall are both prime examples of this gestural approach. Amid dense markings, dual figures... --- - Published: 2021-10-16 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/weathervanes-and-a-fish-called-myrtle/ - Categories: Media Releases Two very different creative approaches are evident in David Green’s current exhibition. Large, incredibly intricate, dip-pen and ink drawings, that take months to complete, are juxtaposed alongside small, gestural and collaged evocations. ‘When I finish a big drawing, I need to clear my head, so I’ll spend a period of time just having fun,’ Green remarks. ‘My work has always fluctuated between fine line and broad brushstrokes; between drawing, drawing/embroideries and painting,’ he furthers. Green relays that this is in all probability a consequence of working as a freelance textile designer in his early days. A constant changing of styles was required to meet the various companies’ niche markets. Two very different creative approaches are evident in David Green's current exhibition. Large, incredibly intricate, dip-pen and ink drawings, that take months to complete, are juxtaposed alongside small, gestural and collaged evocations. ‘When I finish a big drawing, I need to clear my head, so I'll spend a period of time just having fun,' Green remarks. ‘My work has always fluctuated between fine line and broad brushstrokes; between drawing, drawing/embroideries and painting,' he furthers. Green relays that this is in all probability a consequence of working as a freelance textile designer in his early days. A constant changing of styles was required to meet the various companies' niche markets. The exhibition's twofold title, Weathervanes and A Fish Called Myrtle, cryptically acknowledges the dichotomy. Stylistically, the large and small works display a distinct variance, but both derive inspiration from childhood recollections. Fading, wavering memories are reimagined and reinvented to assume a new life on paper. ‘The older I get the more I am apt to reminisce on the rhymes and lore that were part and parcel of growing up in post-war England; rites which bound together scruffy kids who daily, weekly and seasonally marked the passage of time through games. ' Conferred the title Emeritus Professor, Visual Arts, upon retirement from Charles Sturt University, Green relocated to Buderim to immerse himself in his own art practice. He tells that after a lifetime of academe and administration, he found himself looking backwards and it was ‘logical to go to drawing'. Contrary to most... --- - Published: 2021-09-25 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/vessel-and-verse/ - Categories: Media Releases Working from her studio in the hills behind the small northern NSW town of Mullumbimby, Avital Sheffer creates profoundly beautiful vessels that have attracted international recognition. An exhibition of Sheffer’s hand-built ceramic art resonates the atmosphere of a sacred space. The forms may be thought of as portals between realms past and future, temporal and spiritual. Sheffer tells that the title for her current body of work ‘refers to the capacity of vessels to tell stories, to store knowledge, to keep records of place and time. There is inherent poetry in such intimate, yet collective memory. I perceive material and spirit as inseparable.’ Working from her studio in the hills behind the small northern NSW town of Mullumbimby, Avital Sheffer creates profoundly beautiful vessels that have attracted international recognition. An exhibition of Sheffer's hand-built ceramic art resonates the atmosphere of a sacred space. The forms may be thought of as portals between realms past and future, temporal and spiritual. Sheffer tells that the title for her current body of work ‘refers to the capacity of vessels to tell stories, to store knowledge, to keep records of place and time. There is inherent poetry in such intimate, yet collective memory. I perceive material and spirit as inseparable. ' Sheffer's practice articulates a long, historic continuum. In the tradition of ancient ceramics, she builds her ware with coils of clay. From a predetermined base each vessel develops gradually and intuitively to assume its idiosyncratic character. When the form has been resolved, attention is focused on the surface of the raw clay. Textural enhancement is created with decorative incisions and appliquéd pieces. ‘I'm curious about the way the light will fall on the work,' Sheffer imparts. ‘All the while I am searching for lines that complement or challenge the form. ' Engobes and dry glazes are subsequently applied. Following several firings, the surface is clad with calligraphic imagery and ancient text extracts that have been chosen for visual integration rather than any instructive purpose. The vessel is once again fired, permanently embedding the silkscreened artwork into its skin. In shape and decorative features, Sheffer's Frasco vessels personify the... --- - Published: 2021-08-28 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/i-found-an-old-box-of-paint/ - Categories: Media Releases 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!’ 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! ' Ryan's early paintings were ablaze with those colours, however in recent times his penchant has been for an increasingly monochromatic palette. Relocating to Tasmania's relatively isolated north-east coast engendered a deeply contemplative attitude. Sole, constant companion is his dog, Kandi. The absence of colour in his paintings expressed the quietude, the moods of estrangement and acceptance. Finding that box with its many-hued contents, some oils still usable, proved serendipitous and affirmed Ryan's resolve to reintroduce colour and vibrancy into his artwork. ‘Because everything is so bleak in the present-day world, I'm attempting to play a small part in lifting spirits,' he offers. The tiny, reworked paintings New Growth and Undertow mark the transition. In New Growth, the solitary figure sitting under a tree symbolises... --- - Published: 2021-07-31 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/an-island-in-the-sun/ - Categories: Media Releases 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.’ 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. ' Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint, Tyerman's art communicates an essence beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. ‘I want to create pictures that make my visual and emotional experiences palpable on the canvas,' he imparts. ‘To this end, I'm always conscious of balancing two main aspects; the powerful, or poignant, evocation of the subject that inspired the work, and the need for the matrix of paint to be vital and alive. My aim is to create a compelling visual image in and of itself - one that exists independently of the subject. ' Tyerman describes his process as ‘quite intuitive and haphazard'. ‘You never quite know what is going to happen when trowelling thick slabs of oil paint. If the work is looking too illustrative, I will disrupt it with more paint. I'm after an abstract effect that feels like the subject from up close and engenders a sense of realism when... --- - Published: 2021-06-26 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/in-the-shadow/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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 meticulous technician, Smets' gives us representational forms in naturalistic space. Beyond mere imitation of appearance, his superbly crafted paintings also manifest a quest for consummate composition and geometric purity. Significant, observed facts are presented as aesthetic phenomena in a palette that is essentially one of primary colours. The predominantly blue tones are vibrantly contrasted with constrained areas of red and yellow. Diminutive depictions of workmen bestow a human dimension and provide narrative context but ultimately, each painting is a vehicle for the expression of abstract principles. The painting Reflection presents as a dynamic equilibrium of angular shapes and oblique trajectories. Smets' mastery of perspective and his rendition of the reflective properties of glass are astounding, yet even so, design energies depose the subject. Similar geometric considerations are again at play in the Lift You Up work where multiple cherry pickers extend out to the heavens. Massive, vertical blocks of almost featureless, flat oil pigment rise from the narrow foregrounds in the Earthmoving and Excavation paintings.... --- - Published: 2021-05-29 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/poetry-in-motion/ - Categories: Media Releases 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.” 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. ' Marilyn explains that her paintings embody an essence akin to Japanese haiku poetry which expresses moments of heightened awareness, usually in just three lines. Consequently, these poems are allusive and require the reader to contemplate the meaning and significance. Much like a haiku poem, Marilyn's miniatures are not preconceived illustrations of a story but rather, aim to trigger unexpected insights for the viewer. The miniscule scale of the works necessitates a close engagement. Amidst jewel-like drifts of watercolour and gold leaf embellishment, her subjects depict both memories and an affinity with the natural world. In many cultures, butterflies represent the cycle of life. The sighting of a blue butterfly is thought to bestow good luck, serenity and harmony. Marilyn's Ulysses Butterflies painting, with its hovering blue butterflies, exemplifies this. A female figure seems to be merging into the shimmering landscape, her dissolving body assuming a wing-shaped semblance. Amplifying the scenario is a surround of glowing gold leaf inscribed with fine linework. The fond memory of a special frock Marilyn's mother had sewn for her as... --- - Published: 2021-05-29 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/images/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. One gazes in wonder at the finesse of the variously posed figures. The outstretching Spring is a masterpiece of suspended animation. Arms folded and cantilevered from one foot, it is as if she is catapulting into the future, eyes resolutely focused for what might lie ahead. With eyes contemplatively closed, the Images 1 bronze head is surmounted by a cluster of Monarch butterflies. Piperides explains that this configuration represents one's personal thoughts about change and transformation. The metamorphic life cycle of butterflies has conferred these creatures a symbolic significance in many world cultures. Hands gently resting on crossed ankles, the Dayna marble is an embodiment of grace. A plaster cast had been shipped to a studio in the Italian town of Pietrasanto where it was faithfully replicated in a block of Carrara marble. Each year in November, prior to COVID, Piperides journeyed to work in this international sculptors' hub that is near the famous Carrara quarry once frequented by Michelangelo. Piperides meticulously presides over every stage in transposing a feeling or mood into life-suffused, physical reality. Enormous skill and patience are required in the creation of... --- - Published: 2021-05-01 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/lets-play-pretend/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. Watson tells that her works also impart an undercurrent of 'good old make-believe', where feelings of self-doubt and fear may be allayed by adopting an 'intensified' persona. 'Elaborate costuming and masks have a two-fold objective - they bestow courage to the wearer and arouse curiosity in the onlooker,' Watson relates. 'Here a dualism exists; what appears to be one thing can also be quite another'. Her enigmatic characters are ‘playing pretend' much as an actor on stage inhabits a role. The creation of Watson's extraordinary panel paintings was a slow and complex process. She tells that all the pieces were worked on simultaneously to maintain a continuity in which each image immediately informed the other. Her challenge is ever to find that place where the familiar is rendered unfamiliar. 'All... --- - Published: 2021-04-17 - Modified: 2022-01-18 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/martins-adventurtes/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. Dappled in puffy little clouds, skies of yellow, deep orange and pink vault several of his cityscapes. Martin imparts that those colours suggest different moods or times of the day. Cloud contours have always fascinated him, as have water expanses and the bridges that span them. A number of works portray the Story Bridge that connects Brisbane's northern and southern suburbs. The longest cantilevered bridge in Australia, it ‘hosts' the spectacular firework displays that culminate the annual Brisbane Festival of the Arts. Martin's painting titled Story Bridge is a fine example of his tendency to depict places and features not as they actually are, but as they once were. In this work the Story Bridge's now metres-high safety wall has been omitted and the foreground's chained fencing is no more. The black markings on the footpath represent Martin's memories of seeing the strong shadows cast by the chain linkage on a sunny day. Sydney is Martin's second... --- - Published: 2021-03-27 - Modified: 2022-01-18 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/growing-wild/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. Based in the northern Gold Coast, Jodie's locale is one teeming with all manner of wild life. She delights in depicting the antics of birds observed from the windows of her home studio. Their colours, warbling songs and the ability to soar into the sky away from the constrictions of everyday concerns are an inspiration. Apart from streaking owls, her birds are usually portrayed as perched upon a branch in an inquisitive attitude. 'Whether they are wild birds, or even birds in captivity, they all appear to display a distinctive personality,' says Jodie. Standing Strong Magpie and Questioning Barn Owl are prime examples of such. Jodie's robust fillies are in marked contrast to the diminutive bearing of her feathered creatures. 'I have always enjoyed painting horses. Because of their size they can appear somewhat intimidating but their intelligence, power, speed and for the most part, gentle temperaments, lead to endless painting possibilities,'... --- - Published: 2021-02-27 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/lifehome/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. Erica's new works evolved from the making of her previous series where sea creatures were conjured into the domestic spaces of mandatory isolation. There had been so much time to contemplate life at home. 'I'd buried myself in my art practice within a house cramped with collections of period furniture and bric-a-brac, as well as huge quantities of painting and sculpture-making materials,' Erica divulges. 'In a way it was like living in a storage museum. ' Her architect partner's ‘tools of trade' contributed to the somewhat chaotic milieu. 'Home had become merely a work zone! My interiors now aim to evoke an alternative reality of stillness and calm. ' 'Upon entering the front door after being away all day, I relish the hushed stillness before the keys hit the bench,' continues the Gold Coast-based artist. 'One can take in the moment and absorb the details of objects, the shadows and patterns not normally noticed. ' Erica describes her paintings as renditions of living spaces that are part fanciful, part real, into which she has incorporated some of her furniture items and personal ‘treasures'.... --- - Published: 2021-01-23 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/golden-daze/ - Categories: Media Releases 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. 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. Although based in the Byron hinterland, Stavrou regularly visits the coastal regions. She describes how Wategos Beach in Byron Bay is the perfect place to experience the ocean's many moods and immerse oneself in nature. 'I love to paint Wategos. It is such a rich warm beach with wonderful rock formations and an incredible vista out to Julian Rocks. ' Suffused in a pink radiance, Wategos Afterglow and Wategos Sunrise are beautiful works depicting this area. However, these paintings take us beyond a defined sense of place in her distillation of the observed. Traditional notions of perspective and light are in flux. An almost surrealistic serenity permeates the imagery. The same compelling quality of stillness pervades Yellow Rain at Wategos. 'I wanted to try out a new colour palette for this scene,' Stavrou informs. 'The sky is an eerie yellow/grey. Falling from the white... --- - Published: 2020-12-05 - Modified: 2022-01-20 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paint-by-numbers/ - Categories: Media Releases Sydney-based Sophie Gralton tells that the title for her new body of work, Paint by Numbers, is a ‘tongue in cheek’ jest as to just how opposite her painterly oeuvre is. The antithesis of predetermined, fastidiously rendered illustrations, her concern is the relationship she has with paint: ‘the excitement of the mark, the loss and gains encountered when creating a new work is my impetus.’ Gralton wants us to respond not solely to the subject matter but also to the aesthetic signals the painting communicates. In this quest she employs a direct technique, the loaded brush spontaneously eliciting form and engendering a visceral reaction. Sydney-based Sophie Gralton tells that the title for her new body of work, Paint by Numbers, is a ‘tongue in cheek' jest as to just how opposite her painterly oeuvre is. The antithesis of predetermined, fastidiously rendered illustrations, her concern is the relationship she has with paint: ‘the excitement of the mark, the loss and gains encountered when creating a new work is my impetus. ' Gralton wants us to respond not solely to the subject matter but also to the aesthetic signals the painting communicates. In this quest she employs a direct technique, the loaded brush spontaneously eliciting form and engendering a visceral reaction. The exhibition title is also a nod to the paintings in which stencilled numerals are afloat over collaged, Dr Seuss storybook pages. Positioned against these richly patterned backdrops is a girl in vintage costume. Both her yellow canary companion and the Dr Seuss tales connote flights from stricture into the unbounded realms of imagination. Although these works are based on the poses of actual children, they are not conventional portraits. She explains that the cropping of eyes from the figures was not a means of ensuring anonymity. Rather than the traditional reliance on the gaze to convey the sitter's essence, Gralton steers the viewer into a different reading of the subject - one where nuance is captured in the theatricality of the pose and the vitality of brush markings. Figure and ground vacillate. Other works also reflect childhood delights and ponderings but in an outdoor setting.... --- - Published: 2020-11-14 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/paintings-drawings-and-sculpture/ - Categories: Media Releases Charles Blackman is one of Australia's favourite iconic artists. An acute sense of emotional interplay between the viewer, the subject and the artist is at the center of his artworks. He is particularly renowned for his rendition of feelings and the feminine, showing up and focusing on particularities of the most tender and complex emotions that are difficult to express in any other way. Charles Blackman is one of Australia's favourite iconic artists. An acute sense of emotional interplay between the viewer, the subject and the artist is at the centre of his artworks. He is particularly renowned for his rendition of feelings and the feminine, showing up and focusing on particularities of the most tender and complex emotions that are difficult to express in any other way. The silence and strength of love shows through these pictures, his windows into intimate reflections or dream like moments. Obviously the artist loved women and especially his daughter Christabel who became a wonderful companion for him in his studio. From a very early age she was model, assistant and apprentice. She would sit for hours posing on a wicker chair, zealously clean his paint brushes or take in his lessons about colour application. During a lifetime together, Christabel was given some of his artworks, which were treasured. She is sharing some of these at the Anthea Polson Art Gallery as a celebration of Art, Love and Collections. Charles Blackman was a master of many mediums including oil painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and etching. This exhibition lets us glimpse into his extraordinary ability as an artist to express himself in so many diverse ways. A seemingly limitless capacity to create new images from a bountiful vocabulary of ideas was his forte. During his ninety years, he worked relentlessly and poured so much of his own self into his pictures. He said "Art is five percent talent and... --- - Published: 2020-10-17 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/at-tedder-avenue/ - Categories: Media Releases As an introduction to the new Tedder Avenue gallery, Anthea Polson Art presents a selection of limited-edition photographic artworks by the multi-awarded Samantha Everton. The unerring integrity of her photographic processes and an innate ability to access the subliminal in sumptuous visual narratives has won significant international acclaim for the Melbourne-based artist. Numerous series of works spanning 13 years have visually explored subjects “straddling dual worlds” in a quest for self-identity and transcendence amidst cultural variances. As an introduction to the new Tedder Avenue gallery, Anthea Polson Art presents a selection of limited-edition photographic artworks by the multi-awarded Samantha Everton. The unerring integrity of her photographic processes and an innate ability to access the subliminal in sumptuous visual narratives has won significant international acclaim for the Melbourne-based artist. Numerous series of works spanning 13 years have visually explored subjects 'straddling dual worlds' in a quest for self-identity and transcendence amidst cultural variances. The 2005 Catharsis series marks the beginning of elaborate photographic productions that evoke what Everton refers to as ‘magic realism'. 'The creation of the sets and lighting considerations were to the degree of making a small film in their complexity,' she recalls. Staged in barely illuminated, regally furnished rooms, the narratives reveal a rather frosty, cross-cultural interplay between an oriental and occidental woman. The Unreachable work features the women's arms positioned either side of a plush, throne-like chair. The opposite colours of their red and green gowns emphasise an underlying enmity. Delving into aspects of the subconscious, the 2007 Childhood Fears series considers the vicissitudes of adolescence. 'The imagery is my interpretation of those places where our innermost childhood thoughts, emotions and fears are played out,' Everton imparts. In the Holding On image, a barefooted teenage girl sits, head bowed and alone, at her birthday party table. The ‘retro' interior is suffused in a greenish, aqueous light that intensifies the pathos. The natural world beyond lies obscured behind a filmy curtain. The antithesis of Everton's characteristic, highly choreographed works is the 2008 Utopia series.... --- - Published: 2020-09-26 - Modified: 2022-01-20 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/sociable-species/ - Categories: Media Releases Curious hybrid creatures, schematic figures and plant forms advance and submerge amidst linear markings and colourful geometric shapes. They personify Jill Lewis’s musings about the worlds within and around her. Akin to the intent and pictorial techniques employed by primitive and ancient cultures, the scenarios are invested with symbolism. “As in Egyptian frescoes, the size and position of the characters can be representative of their significance in my own imagined stories,” she imparts. Curious hybrid creatures, schematic figures and plant forms advance and submerge amidst linear markings and colourful geometric shapes. They personify Jill Lewis's musings about the worlds within and around her. Akin to the intent and pictorial techniques employed by primitive and ancient cultures, the scenarios are invested with symbolism. 'As in Egyptian frescoes, the size and position of the characters can be representative of their significance in my own imagined stories,' she imparts. The totemic-like personages and the narratives they inhabit are never the result of a preconceived idea. Instead, they arise intuitively from a canvas filled with random gestural markings and colours. 'It is not unlike looking at clouds in the sky or at a Rorschach ink blot," says Jill. Once figures have been discerned, they are accentuated by removing superfluous areas around the forms. Attention is given to their associations and compositional factors. Defining features are added and the final stage is the embellishment of the work with intricate, decorative devises. Jill tells that the exhibition's title, Sociable Species, is 'all about us needing each other, communicating, caring and working together for a common good. It also relates to my ongoing personal relationship with the natural world at large. ' Secluded in her Mount Eliza studio at the edge of a natural reserve, Jill has a keen awareness of and empathy for the creatures who call from its treetops and dwell in the creek gullies below. It is not unusual for magpie friends to calmly hop in through the open... --- - Published: 2020-08-15 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/tadpoles-and-frogs/ - Categories: Media Releases Secreted somewhere amidst tangles of filigreed foliage may lie the little tadpole and frog pond that was the inspiration for Robert Ryan’s intended new body of works. The pond and its creatures had been a chance discovery he’d made as a child during a brief roadside stop on a long journey. The rebuff of his plea to come see its wonders was his first inkling that he possessed an innate awareness of the ‘other’ shared by very few – the artist’s perspective! Secreted somewhere amidst tangles of filigreed foliage may lie the little tadpole and frog pond that was the inspiration for Robert Ryan's intended new body of works. The pond and its creatures had been a chance discovery he'd made as a child during a brief roadside stop on a long journey. The rebuff of his plea to come see its wonders was his first inkling that he possessed an innate awareness of the ‘other' shared by very few - the artist's perspective! The underlying theme in Robert's paintings has essentially always been about a relationship to one's surroundings and situation. As he was preparing to begin the first works for his upcoming exhibition, news of the unfolding health crises overseas assailed his creative musings. Its title remains but now assumes a metamorphic relevance. With Robert's initial intensions 'hijacked by circumstance', he embarked on works with a more contemporaneous, sociological context. Overpass was the first of them and it relates to television coverage disclosing the flagrant behaviour of Bondi beachgoers in March. 'I was embarrassed by this conduct as the very real threat of global pandemic was arriving on our shores,' Robert remarks. 'I wanted to see how it felt to paint a crowd scene at a time when to be in a crowd was illegal... strange days! ' The paintings Social Distancing and Community in Lockdown ensued. The Black Lives Matter protests across the globe were being aired when Robert was painting both the Newly Weds and Creek Beds and the Creeks and Ponds works. He tells that they... --- - Published: 2020-07-18 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/where-the-ocean-meets-the-land/ - Categories: Media Releases Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint, Steve Tyerman’s works are the outcome of an intimate engagement with the environment. His art however, communicates a visual experience beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. Form, space, colour and light become simultaneously resolved in the immediacy of the palette knife gesture. Characterised by an intense involvement in the materiality of paint, Steve Tyerman's works are the outcome of an intimate engagement with the environment. His art however, communicates a visual experience beyond the strictures of traditional landscape painting. Form, space, colour and light become simultaneously resolved in the immediacy of the palette knife gesture. ‘I think the more you know a place, the more it gives up to you creatively,' Steve imparts. Although his recent paintings have been inspired by times spent in the northern NSW coastal region, he stresses that they are not just references to beach scenes. The title of the exhibition, Where the Ocean Meets the Land, may signify a ‘coastal' area but it also alludes to a poetic linking of land and sea. Steve's paintings encourage the viewer to extend perception beyond manifested form and discover a ‘oneness' within the ebb and flow of nature's rhythms. ‘For a long while my work has really been about trying to get closer to how I see the world around me and to express something of the depths of my experiences,' reveals Steve. ‘We have become excessively accustomed to discerning life through digital images. They are so prolific and prevalent that they inform notions of what reality is, but, digital imagery is the furthest thing from reality! We don't in fact comprehend the world from the single-point perspective of a cropped snapshot, frozen in time. Surrounded by space we move through the world, looking up and down, adjusting focus for near... --- - Published: 2020-06-27 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/as-days-go-by/ - Categories: Media Releases The title of the exhibition, As Days Go By, subtly references Martin Edge’s time in his Strathpine studio. The walls are aglow in a bright orange hue - his favourite colour since childhood - and bedecked in photos and clippings. An impressive collection of antique curios provides quiet company. Commenting on his experience of the recent lockdown he says, “It sometimes felt like I was stopped forever at a red traffic light and waiting for it to turn green! But my sense of humour is still going strong, painting makes me happy.” Martin’s vibrant works resonate with his sense of joie de vivre and optimism. The title of the exhibition, As Days Go By, subtly references Martin Edge's time in his Strathpine studio. The walls are aglow in a bright orange hue - his favourite colour since childhood - and bedecked in photos and clippings. An impressive collection of antique curios provides quiet company. Commenting on his experience of the recent lockdown he says, 'It sometimes felt like I was stopped forever at a red traffic light and waiting for it to turn green! But my sense of humour is still going strong, painting makes me happy. ' Martin's vibrant works resonate with his sense of joie de vivre and optimism. A self-confessed naïve painter, his art has nevertheless evolved with ever greater finesse in technique and subject complexities over the years. Although referring to photographs he had at some time snapped, much of the imagery is augmented by imagination and the need for compositional resolution. Each work takes many weeks to complete due to the intricate detailing and the multiple layers of acrylic paint that impart the rich depth to his colours. The current works feature heritage-listed bridges that span the meandering Brisbane River. As an archetypal symbol of transition, a bridge not only crosses physical expanses of water but may also represent a means by which memories of days gone by can be ushered on into hopes for the future. Martin is keenly aware of the interesting historical background to Indooroopilly's Walter Taylor Bridge. Gold was reputedly found when digging to build its first... --- - Published: 2020-06-27 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/life-e-quatic-home/ - Categories: Media Releases Gold Coast-based Erica Gray imparts that the current exhibition’s paintings and sculptures further her life.e.quatic series in celebrating the vivid colours, intricate patterning and structural complexities observed in a variety of marine creatures, coral formations particularly. Known as the ‘rainforests of the sea’, coral reefs have long been venerated by ancient civilizations for their alchemical, curative and ornamental properties. Gold Coast-based Erica Gray imparts that the current exhibition's paintings and sculptures further her life. e. quatic series in celebrating the vivid colours, intricate patterning and structural complexities observed in a variety of marine creatures, coral formations particularly. Known as the ‘rainforests of the sea', coral reefs have long been venerated by ancient civilizations for their alchemical, curative and ornamental properties. Erica's fascination with aquatic entities began at an early age. 'As a child growing up in New Zealand, I experienced the sea as a beachcomber and spent times living on a working fishing vessel during school holidays. Subsequently I have viewed coral formations firsthand when snorkelling at Magnetic and Great Keppel Islands and abroad in Fiji - all inspiring and amazing experiences. I use my art to capture some of those memories both past and present. ' Recent months of mandatory isolation have fostered new approaches to the rendering of her marine subject matter. Erica's abode took on an ambience akin to being submerged beneath the waves. The enclosed environment offered both cognition of and immunity from the dire situation occurring in the world beyond. 'Social seclusion was a big motivation,' she reflects. 'I came to have a greater appreciation of my home and reimagined it within an aquatic realm. ' The quietude synonymous with watery depths permeates Erica's paintings. Luminous sea creatures are conjured into domestic spaces now adrift in dream-like pastel hues. Living coral has appeared amidst breakfast leftovers, dishes and cutlery on a kitchen sink. Bedroom décor evinces... --- - Published: 2020-05-02 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/from-within/ - Categories: Media Releases Melbourne based artist Cathy Quinn is well recognised for her joyful fluid oil paintings. She creates abstracted landscapes taking pictorial cues from places visited. The artists outdoor scenes are grounded in familiar terrain, yet they are a combination of memories of place melded together to create her own world. She speaks about mood being an important aspect of these works and that time and place evoke the feeling and direction of the painting. Melbourne-based artist Cathy Quinn is well recognised for her joyously fluid oil paintings. Her colourful abstracted landscapes take pictorial cues from the various locations she has visited over the years. Although the outdoor scenes are grounded in familiar terrain, they constitute a melding of such to create a personal vision. Quinn relates that mood is an important aspect in these works; experience of time and place evoke the feeling and direction of her painting. Quinn's latest body of work, From Within is an exploration of the artist's distinctive process and an investigation into observations and perceptions. Quinn tells that the act of painting constantly surprises her. 'Memories of place and time bubble to the surface and the outcome will reveal itself not when I am ready but when ‘It' is ready. ' 'The start a painting is like the beginning of a journey,' Quinn continues. 'I choose a path but there are so many forks in the road and choices have to be made. Things curiously unfold during this process. ' Her starting point is a mapping out of intentions followed with intuitive brushwork that leads her into an interiority that conjures imagined landscapes from stored memories. 'There is a definite shift in my mind and I've learnt that I can't force it, I just need to wait until I get into the zone! The resultant ‘reveal' presents as a melding of layers of luminous colour which push and pull until they settle on a path which delivers me to my destination.... --- > Discover "The Games That Play Us" and "Dancing on the Moon" at Anthea Polson Art, showcasing vibrant artworks that explore whimsical themes. - Published: 2020-03-21 - Modified: 2024-07-29 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-games-that-play-us-and-dancing-on-the-moon/ - Categories: Media Releases Art expression is a way of attempting to fathom the myriad chaotic inputs entering our consciousness from the everyday world and beyond. Perception, memory and experience may entwine in subsequent scenarios that defy a wholly logical explanation. Veronica Cay describes her collage works and ceramic sculptures as abstract vehicles to encourage reflection upon the human condition. Elucidating the title of her current exhibition, 'the games that play us and dancing on the moon', she tells how the altering of a familiar phrase ‘the games we play’ to ‘the games that play us’ connotes the powerful effect words can have on our viewing of a situation: ‘Currently it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate for the truth of what is happening around us. Given the endless white noise bombarding the senses from so many sources, we may as well be dancing on the moon!’ Art expression is a way of attempting to fathom the myriad chaotic inputs entering our consciousness from the everyday world and beyond. Perception, memory and experience may entwine in subsequent scenarios that defy a wholly logical explanation. Veronica Cay describes her collage works and ceramic sculptures as abstract vehicles to encourage reflection upon the human condition. Elucidating the title of her current exhibition, 'the games that play us and dancing on the moon', she tells how the altering of a familiar phrase ‘the games we play' to ‘the games that play us' connotes the powerful effect words can have on our viewing of a situation: ‘Currently it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate for the truth of what is happening around us. Given the endless white noise bombarding the senses from so many sources, we may as well be dancing on the moon! ' Of the canvas sharing the same title, Veronica imparts, ‘This piece had so many iterations along the way but it was always two figures engaged in some kind of ambiguous relationship. The figure on the left could be dancing on the moon, a hybrid survivor form, or perhaps just a person with a mask on the back of his head - the joker of the pack? The other figure looks lost, as if watching the more active participant and waiting for direction. ' The dominance of this character is emphasised by its appearance in three-dimensional space as a ceramic sculpture. The canvas family heirlooms - suspend belief,... --- - Published: 2020-01-18 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/thoughts-of-the-past-seen/ - Categories: Media Releases Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s new body of work aims to evoke a sense of integration between the past and the present and promote an awareness of the ever-evolving process towards individuation. Her signature imagery of an ‘isolated’ child is largely self-referential but intends a universal relevance. Gralton recounts that the initial inspiration for her oeuvre arose during a trip to Paris in 2007. There she became intrigued with Dutch 17th century portraits of children which were rendered as mini-adults and had hidden layers of meaning encoded in certain symbols and gestures. Sydney-based Sophie Gralton's new body of work aims to evoke a sense of integration between the past and the present and promote an awareness of the ever-evolving process towards individuation. Her signature imagery of an ‘isolated' child is largely self-referential but intends a universal relevance. Gralton recounts that the initial inspiration for her oeuvre arose during a trip to Paris in 2007. There she became intrigued with Dutch 17th century portraits of children which were rendered as mini-adults and had hidden layers of meaning encoded in certain symbols and gestures. However, Gralton stresses that the focus of her art-making lies in the quality of interaction between medium and meaning. Gralton wants the viewer to respond not solely to the subject matter but also the aesthetic and emotive signals the paintings communicate. Visual accuracy is not a primary concern, it is the seduction of tactile surfaces and the relationship she has with paint: 'the excitement of the mark, the loss and gains encountered when creating a new work is my impetus. ' Her direct brushwork technique elicits form against richly patterned, multi-media backdrops. Stencilled numerals float atop vintage storybook pages and areas of appliqued manila tags. Figure and ground vacillate in a fusion of concealment and revelation. Although Gralton's works are based on the poses of actual children, they are not conventional portraits. She explains that the cropping of eyes from the figures was not just a means of disguising the subject's identity. In most portraiture it is the gaze we... --- - Published: 2019-11-30 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/stories/ - Categories: Media Releases 'Everything has a story,' states Melissa Egan. 'Not just people, but each creature, tree and stone has a history.' She understands that the art of story-telling was highly valued in times gone by for it was the means by which a culture’s traditions were kept alive. Melissa’s enchanting visual tales however have a somewhat contrary intent. They transport the viewer far from the everyday and into another world where gravity has been cancelled and specifics of time and place have long since dissolved. In the words of the late Robert Hughes, we are 'offered a glimpse of a universe into which we can move without strain. It is not the world as it is, but as our starved senses desire it to be.' 'Everything has a story,' states Melissa Egan. 'Not just people, but each creature, tree and stone has a history. ' She understands that the art of story-telling was highly valued in times gone by for it was the means by which a culture's traditions were kept alive. Melissa's enchanting visual tales however have a somewhat contrary intent. They transport the viewer far from the everyday and into another world where gravity has been cancelled and specifics of time and place have long since dissolved. In the words of the late Robert Hughes, we are 'offered a glimpse of a universe into which we can move without strain. It is not the world as it is, but as our starved senses desire it to be. ' Ever fascinated with the stories that surround historical figures and famous artists, Melissa describes her paintings as referencing a ‘sliding door' notion where alternative realities might exist. Humorous, improbable juxtapositions help cast a warm, comforting glow that counteracts the prevalence of today's more sombre concerns. Reminiscent of 19th century Arcadian idylls steeped in pleasurable pursuits and conviviality, her scenarios often depict a gathering of characters enjoying themselves amid pastoral vistas. The painting, Happy Birthday Henry, exemplifies aspects of a 'parallel universe'. Seated at a white-clothed table laden with a sumptuous spread, the English king is indifferent to the Australian brush turkey and kangaroo attendant at the celebration. Here Henry VIII has no particular symbolic intent. Melissa comments she was just inspired by Holbein's portrait of the... --- - Published: 2019-11-09 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/tall-tales-and-true/ - Categories: Media Releases At once both intensely personal and universal in implication, Carolyn V Watson’s sculptures and paintings search for a momentary revelation of the inexplicable. There are questions to be asked, riddles to solve. She describes the exhibition as “a playful experiment in expectation”. “I want to activate the audience’s curiosity by inverting the familiar and thereby offer new readings of the known.” The show’s title alludes to the cryptic clues embedded in exaggeration and fables that can unlock a door into another awareness. At once both intensely personal and universal in implication, Carolyn V Watson's sculptures and paintings search for a momentary revelation of the inexplicable. There are questions to be asked, riddles to solve. She describes the exhibition as 'a playful experiment in expectation. I want to activate the audience's curiosity by inverting the familiar and thereby offer new readings of the known. ' The show's title alludes to the cryptic clues embedded in exaggeration and fables that can unlock a door into another awareness. 'Tales are open to interpretation, as are my works,' says Carolyn. 'In them are states of grey ‘in-betweenness' making further investigation necessary. It's about aporia - internal contradiction, incongruousness, variance and paradox. The less you know about something the more power it retains. ' Quoting William Kentridge she nevertheless counsels, 'I'm responsible for the suggestion, not the answer. ' Deliberately ambiguous and manifesting a characteristic ‘strangeness', Carolyn's work propels the viewer into a visceral engagement. The experience is akin to entering a display of reassembled fragments unearthed from a paleontological dig. Seven most curious sculptures manifest a confluence of organism and artefact, species and symbol. Inescapably compelling in their occupation of real space, the bodies have been created from a conglomerate of materials including epoxy clay, taxidermy forms, egg-like porcelain spheres, light refracting tiny glass beads, handmade ceramic cocoons, as well as ornamental mat impressions and appliques. Only one of the creatures is readily identifiable, that of a rabbit in the sculpture enigmatically titled follow (actaccordingly). 'The rabbit is an... --- - Published: 2019-10-19 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-shape-of-things/ - Categories: Media Releases The most obvious property of a sculpture is its ‘solidity’ and occupation of real space. Just as in the very earliest shamanistic precursors, sculptures not only describe the shape of things observed but also intuited. The forms may emanate metaphysical and philosophical dimensions that transcend their physical matter. In this exhibition eight artists employing a diverse range of processes and media translate personal understandings of The Shape of Things. The most obvious property of a sculpture is its ‘solidity' and occupation of real space. Just as in the very earliest shamanistic precursors, sculptures not only describe the shape of things observed but also intuited. The forms may emanate metaphysical and philosophical dimensions that transcend their physical matter. In this exhibition eight artists employing a diverse range of processes and media translate personal understandings of The Shape of Things. DEAN BOWEN Dean Bowen describes his works as evocations of optimism where inquiry, joy, play and imagination intertwine. 'I love the handmade, the outsider, children's art, naïve art, modernist and primitive art of all kinds,' the Melbourne artist discloses. His search is to create something profoundly human but with elements of humour that will counteract the prevalence of today's more sombre concerns. 'The bronze sculpture, Bird Lover, is a comment on mankind living in harmony with nature and is one of my favourite pieces,' says Dean. 'It is a portrait of a man supporting birds and wildlife. The birds rest peacefully on his outstretched arms and are free to fly off at will. ' He explains the process of its making is quite complex, there being actually seven sculptures worked together into one. The man and the different birds were individually modelled in wax and then silicon rubber moulds were made of them. Reworking and refining ensued before the casting in bronze employing the ‘lost wax technique'. Finally the bronze sculpture was patinated in various colours and also painted with thin glazes... --- - Published: 2019-09-21 - Modified: 2022-06-28 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/fast-mountains-slow-birds/ - Categories: Media Releases The title of Seabastion Toast’s new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present’. Thought provoking, the apparent contradiction in its conjunction of words serves to liberate the imagination from the confines of convention and a linear reality. “I have a long standing interest in the tension and spaces between dichotomies,” she remarks. “It’s to do with perception. I like the enigmatic title of the show because it speaks of the subjective nature of time; the impermanence of things, the briefly wondrous.” The title of Seabastion Toast's new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present'. Thought provoking, the apparent contradiction in its conjunction of words serves to liberate the imagination from the confines of convention and a linear reality. 'I have a long standing interest in the tension and spaces between dichotomies,' she remarks. 'It's to do with perception. I like the enigmatic title of the show because it speaks of the subjective nature of time; the impermanence of things, the briefly wondrous. ' Seabastion has travelled widely throughout Australia and to countries as remote as Iceland and Norway. She has also trekked the wildernesses of Nepal, Indonesia and Japan absorbing their ancient cultural heritages. Experiences encountered resonated with her innate understandings and responses to life and art where the world is discerned as a series of processes rather than a collection of entities. Seabastion's recent paintings however have been inspired by the landscapes she now daily sees when running and surfing. An amalgam of physical topography and a state of mind and being, Seabastion's art conveys no sense of alienation. Form, space, colour and light become simultaneously resolved in an immediacy of gesture. 'I love starting a painting, there is so much energy and no expectation,' she declares. 'Beginnings are fresh and pregnant with possibilities. Finishing them is more demanding and the critical eye can step in and destroy things. ' Seabastion tells that she works on several paintings at once in an attempt to retain some... --- - Published: 2019-09-21 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/changing-moods/ - Categories: Media Releases Rather than ’framing Nature’, Elaine Green’s work has always resonated the 19th century Romantic notion of elevating landscape painting to a metaphysical level. It is seen as the extension of an inner sense of being, a place where Nature and Self are fused. The difference between the observer and the observed is subsumed in a boundless luminosity. 'Like all artists I am constantly seeking the light,' she reflects. 'The troposphere, constantly in motion, provides never-ending inspiration and challenges to capture that light and the changing moods of the environment.' Rather than 'framing Nature', Elaine Green's work has always resonated the 19th century Romantic notion of elevating landscape painting to a metaphysical level. It is seen as the extension of an inner sense of being, a place where Nature and Self are fused. The difference between the observer and the observed is subsumed in a boundless luminosity. 'Like all artists I am constantly seeking the light,' she reflects. 'The troposphere, constantly in motion, provides never-ending inspiration and challenges to capture that light and the changing moods of the environment. ' Only very recently Elaine moved her abode away from the northern NSW region with its early morning vistas of mist-enshrouded forests and peaks. She now lives in Stanley, a little fishing village on the North West coast of Tasmania. Elaine divulges that the relocation to Stanley was partly prompted by the cooler clime, neither she nor her husband being fans of heat and humidity. 'We'd had a couple of days holidaying there while exploring Tassie. I'd walked to the beach one morning and suddenly wanted to stay forever! ' 'The landscape I now see from my studio is simplified and the sky vast. Cloud-filled skyscapes are increasingly becoming the focus of my painting. It is the fleeting, ephemeral nature of the clouds that capture my attention,' she offers. 'On the one hand they remind me of the passing of time and on the other they keep me fixed in the ‘here and now', savoring the moment. When I was a... --- - Published: 2019-09-21 - Modified: 2022-01-20 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/seabastion-toast/ - Categories: Media Releases The title of Seabastion Toast’s new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present’. Thought provoking, the apparent contradiction in its conjunction of words serves to liberate the imagination from the confines of convention and a linear reality. “I have a long standing interest in the tension and spaces between dichotomies,” she remarks. “It’s to do with perception. I like the enigmatic title of the show because it speaks of the subjective nature of time; the impermanence of things, the briefly wondrous.” The title of Seabastion Toast's new body of work embodies the notion of a fleeting, intangible ‘present'. Thought provoking, the apparent contradiction in its conjunction of words serves to liberate the imagination from the confines of convention and a linear reality. 'I have a long standing interest in the tension and spaces between dichotomies,' she remarks. 'It's to do with perception. I like the enigmatic title of the show because it speaks of the subjective nature of time; the impermanence of things, the briefly wondrous. ' Seabastion has travelled widely throughout Australia and to countries as remote as Iceland and Norway. She has also trekked the wildernesses of Nepal, Indonesia and Japan absorbing their ancient cultural heritages. Experiences encountered resonated with her innate understandings and responses to life and art where the world is discerned as a series of processes rather than a collection of entities. Seabastion's recent paintings however have been inspired by the landscapes she now daily sees when running and surfing. An amalgam of physical topography and a state of mind and being, Seabastion's art conveys no sense of alienation. Form, space, colour and light become simultaneously resolved in an immediacy of gesture. 'I love starting a painting, there is so much energy and no expectation,' she declares. 'Beginnings are fresh and pregnant with possibilities. Finishing them is more demanding and the critical eye can step in and destroy things. ' Seabastion tells that she works on several paintings at once in an attempt to retain some... --- - Published: 2019-07-27 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/survey-exhibition-2005-2018/ - Categories: Media Releases The exhibition celebrates Melbourne-based Samantha Everton’s 13 years of internationally recognised and multi-awarded photographic art making. The six series of works each visually explores the ‘straddling of dual worlds’ in a quest for self-identity and transcendence amidst cultural variances. Everton divulges she only subsequently realised that the scenarios and the characters inhabiting them had ‘grown up’ or evolved over the years, finding culmination and resolution in her most recent series, Indochine. The exhibition celebrates Melbourne-based Samantha Everton's 13 years of internationally recognised and multi-awarded photographic art making. The six series of works each visually explores the ‘straddling of dual worlds' in a quest for self-identity and transcendence amidst cultural variances. Everton divulges she only subsequently realised that the scenarios and the characters inhabiting them had ‘grown up' or evolved over the years, finding culmination and resolution in her most recent series, Indochine. With socio-historical relevance, Indochine presents as a series of portraits depicting an oriental woman caught between the cultural values and expectations of her particular time and a personal struggle towards individuation. She is variously posed against flat but sumptuously decorated backdrops. Their ornamental intricacies offer clues to the underlying stories. The costumes too, are integral emblematic factors imparting Everton's observations of how fashion throughout history has been a signifier of female identity. Abounding in anomalies, the Alabaster image epitomises this notion. Strict codes of dress denoting social stature governed the 16th century Elizabethan era. Despite the constricting neck ruff and flamboyant coiffure, the subject is the antithesis of Elizabethan mores. An albino-like vision in diaphanous white, she appears quite indifferent to her exposed nakedness. Symbolic of purity and loyalty, the strand of pearls dangling from an outstretched hand may indicate an adherence to that ideal or conversely, a wilful rejection. Slashes of rouge directing one's attention to the scarlet pouting lips perhaps suggest the latter. Although the least embellished, Truong Son is a pivotal image for Everton. Not only is it the final portrait in the Indochine series,... --- - Published: 2019-06-22 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/silent-conversations/ - Categories: Media Releases Fanciful, hybrid creatures populate Jill Lewis’s densely textured surfaces. Metaphorical intent imbues the imagery and her ‘silent conversations’. “Painting is my preferred method of communication with the world,” says the Melbourne-based artist. “I think in pictures.” Jill describes herself as a “bit of a people watcher”, revealing that it provides abundant inspiration for her art making. “Observing people's behaviours from a distance can often tell me more about them than hearing their words. I'm interested in body language and facial expressions, particularly those conveyed in different social situations. It’s about the position characters take when relating to one another within a particular context and space. For me the canvas equates to such a space.” Fanciful, hybrid creatures populate Jill Lewis's intently textured surfaces. Metaphorical significance imbues Jill's imagery and her ‘silent conversations'. 'Painting is my preferred method of communication with the world,' says the Melbourne-based artist. 'I think in pictures. ' Jill describes herself as a 'bit of a people watcher,' revealing that it provides abundant inspiration for her art making. 'Observing people's behaviours from a distance can often tell me more about them than hearing their words. I'm interested in body language and facial expressions, particularly those conveyed in different social situations. It's about the position characters take when relating to one another within a particular context and space. For me the canvas equates to such a space. ' Commenting on her subject matter, Jill says that she likes to imagine stories about strangers she sees on public transport, in cafes and elsewhere. The scenarios presented in myths and fables are also influential, so too the pictorial techniques employed by primitive and ancient cultures. She explains that as in Egyptian frescoes, the size and position of her characters within the picture frame can connote their significance in the narrative. 'People are mostly represented by animals in my works,' she continues. 'I often laugh at the body positions and countenances I give when painting them. ' Jill confesses that the characters can also display certain insecurities. Many turn away from each other as if eschewing any communication. Conversely, others are so engrossed in conversing that they are quite oblivious to anyone else. Some stare... --- > Experience "The House of Kindness" at Anthea Polson Art with paintings & sculptures celebrating empathy, and the beauty of human connection. - Published: 2019-05-25 - Modified: 2024-07-29 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-house-of-kindness-paintings-and-sculpture/ - Categories: Media Releases Like an echo across time and now through the eyes of an adult I revisit the theme of the home, along with other favourite themes and ideas inspired by everyday life and memories of the Australian countryside, city life, travel and literature. Recently discovered in an old drawer in Dean Bowen's country childhood home was an early pre-kindergarten drawing he created around 1960. This almost frantic, expressionist drawing on old butcher's paper depicted an archetypal house with spiralling smoke below a just visible sun and scribbled sky, so characteristic of early childhood artworks. What a thrill and how joyously amusing it was for the artist to discover this lost remnant, this little treasure from the past! Like an echo across time and now through the eyes of an adult Dean revisits the theme of the home, along with other favourite themes and ideas inspired by everyday life and memories of the Australian countryside, city life, travel and literature. In the exhibition, 'The Home of Kindness', the themes of starry night skies, comets returning to earth, boats, echidnas, birds, pets and insects all make an appearance, reflecting Dean's interest in these subjects. Over the last year he has also been developing paintings of sheep which were initially inspired by C. Watkins painting ‘Darling Downs' 1887, one of his favourite works in the Bendigo Art Gallery. Dean's sheep paintings also pay homage to the Australian artist Les Kossatz, who created so many sheep artworks. This exhibition focuses on recent oil paintings and bronze sculpture, the artists ideas often developing in one technique and then evolving into others as concepts cascade and bounce of each other. Dean says 'I am fascinated by all kinds of art and artists and inspired by the creativity of people... --- - Published: 2019-04-27 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/obsolete/ - Categories: Media Releases Peter Smets’ new body of work again accents the consequences of progress and technological change upon the landscape and its inhabitants. Carefully researched source material has been meticulously reconstructed in the studio where significant imagery was lifted out of its original context and presented as aesthetic phenomena. The sense of actual place is ambiguous but we inevitably feel a familiarity. Although cultural, environmental and economic interests are implicit, the paintings have an extraordinary psychological presence and metaphorical relevance. Peter Smets' new body of work again accents the consequences of progress and technological change upon the landscape and its inhabitants. Carefully researched source material has been meticulously reconstructed in the studio where significant imagery was lifted out of its original context and presented as aesthetic phenomena. The sense of actual place is ambiguous but we inevitably feel a familiarity. Although cultural, environmental and economic interests are implicit, the paintings have an extraordinary psychological presence and metaphorical relevance. The powerful impact of the images owes much to Smets' profound understanding of formal composition. He composes with light and shadow as readily as space and form. 'Capturing light is everything! ' he stresses. 'I'm fascinated with its illusive quality and fleeting magic. ' In the painting Milk Bar, strong light streams from an undisclosed source and is manipulated for dramatic effect. It falls obliquely over half of a shopfront; the other side is enveloped in deep shadow signifying impending redundancy. Allegory is implicit in the imagery. The solitary figure of an elderly gentleman has ‘rounded the corner' and passes by a seldom-used telephone booth. In the distance beyond, a cement truck hurtles towards a sprawling metropolis that glimmers under roiling, moon-tinged clouds. A similar ambience pervades the Corner Shop work. Here another man well past his prime hobbles past a corner, his grey presence replicated as a shadow on the wall. The figure's subdued bearing contrasts markedly with the abundant colour and shapes of the shop's facade and interior. Selection and location of details... --- - Published: 2019-03-23 - Modified: 2022-01-20 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/wild-and-wonderful/ - Categories: Media Releases Jodie’s art makes no attempt to capture flora and fauna as a naturalist painter might do. An intense involvement with the materiality of her oil medium lifts her imagery beyond mere representation. The instinctual energy of Jodie’s luscious markings radiates a direct, sensory appeal. We encounter nature in all its textural vividness through the gestural freedom and quality of her palette knife technique. The vitality of Jodie’s tactile surfaces offers an alternative way to respond to our own environments - to experience the pleasure in just looking and feeling without recourse to analysis. The exquisite forms and colours of flowers and birds are again the substance of Jodie Wells' new body of work. The aesthetic beauty abounding in the natural world has inspired poets and artists throughout the ages. Feathered creatures signify freedom, imagination and thought. We delight in their warbling songs and ability to soar into the sky away from mundanity. Flowers represent the culmination of a growth cycle. Receptive to sun and rain they manifest loveliness literally and metaphorically. However, Jodie does not invest her subjects with a symbolic import. They quite simply present a visual, poetic linking with her domestic environment. Based in the northern Gold Coast, Jodie's locale is one teeming with all manner of wildlife. Her backdoor opens out into a domain where wonderfully wild things flourish amidst the ordered chaos of Nature. 'My studio is in my house, so working from home I have found inspiration from those things that are near to me,' she offers. 'Often just looking out a window is a creative stimulus. My main desire is to keep my subjects everyday, all the birds are native. ' "I realised there were so many facets to a creature's moods and actions to be explored. Whether they are wild birds or even birds in captivity, they all appear to display a distinctive personality. By observing posture or body language, I hope to be able to express their spirit and energy," continues Jodie. 'We endeavour to harness Nature's wonderful chaos through placing flowers in vases. Plucked... --- - Published: 2019-01-19 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/trilogy-exhibition-and-book-launch/ - Categories: Media Releases Sir Gawain and the Perilous Graveyard is the final book in Marilyn Peck’s Sir Gawain Trilogy. It is based on a chivalric romance written by an anonymous author in 13th century, the manuscript of which is preserved in the Musee Conde, Chantilly, France. As in Peck’s previous works the text was personally translated from Middle English diction and subsequently illuminated. Fifty-four sumptuous illustrations aspire to manifest the esoteric dimensions inherent in all Arthurian tales. Sir Gawain and the Perilous Graveyard is the final book in Marilyn Peck's Sir Gawain Trilogy. It is based on a chivalric romance written by an anonymous author in 13th century, the manuscript of which is preserved in the Musee Conde, Chantilly, France. As in Peck's previous works the text was personally translated from Middle English diction and subsequently illuminated. Fifty-four sumptuous illustrations aspire to manifest the esoteric dimensions inherent in all Arthurian tales. Multi-layered in process and meaning, the miniature paintings do not simply illustrate certain passages from the story but rather interpret its ethos concerning themes of temptation and moral testing. Peck has also created illuminated initials to start each quatrain in the volume. A selection of the original miniature artworks is included in the exhibition. The minuscule scale of the paintings encourages a close engagement with the subjects depicted amidst jewel-like drifts of watercolour. Emulating the traditions of mediaeval illuminated manuscripts, areas of gold and palladium leaf accent the enchanting stories and venerable parables contained within. The precious leaf is often inscribed with subtle patterns that add linear intricacies. Peck tells that when she was researching her first book concerning the Green Knight she'd found two more intriguing Sir Gawain quests and tied the adventures together in a sequence. ‘I wounded him in the first - because of his much touted gallantry, Gawain needed the nick-in-the-neck. Marrying him to the bewitched grotesque Loathly Lady in the second, I taught Gawain lessons about what women want and highlighted the foolishness of... --- - Published: 2018-12-01 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/through-myself-and-back-again/ - Categories: Media Releases In cultures dominated by logic, intellect and linear thinking, life can become a problem to be solved rather than a mystery to be enjoyed. Sydney-based Sophie Gralton’s signature imagery animates a shift in consciousness back to a more intuitive realm – that of the vulnerable innocence, curiosity, spontaneity and unbounded potentiality which characterises childhood. In cultures dominated by logic, intellect and linear thinking, life can become a problem to be solved rather than a mystery to be enjoyed. Sydney-based Sophie Gralton's signature imagery animates a shift in consciousness back to a more intuitive realm - that of the vulnerable innocence, curiosity, spontaneity and unbounded potentiality which characterises childhood. Although the works are based on the poses of actual children, these are not conventional portraits as the cropping of eyes from the figures and the occasional posterior stance connotes. Largely self-referential but with universal relevance, the images embody the recollections, desires and feelings of a time when the everyday world was interlaced with fantasy and imaginative possibilities. ‘There are secrets in these paintings' but Gralton is unwilling to divulge them. She prefers for the viewer to engage with her iconography from a personal perspective and perchance encounter one's own ‘inner-child'. In some instances the subject appears to hover in ambiguous space, in others the child is positioned against a richly patterned, multi-media backdrop. Figure and ground vacillate: the fluidity of time evoked in the stencilled and appliqued numerals afloat over vintage storybook pages. Light absorbing and reflecting, the tactility of the surface further destabilises habitual viewing responses. Pets are often fundamental to a child's domestic environment and so virtually every work depicts an animal companion. As in the 17th century Dutch paintings of children that initially inspired her oeuvre, Gralton's animals are invested with symbolic intent. A cat, being capricious and innately self-sufficient, signifies liberty... --- > The Charles Blackman survey exhibition at the Anthea Polson Art celebrates the ninetieth year of one of Australia’s greatest cultural icons. - Published: 2018-11-24 - Modified: 2022-08-23 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/survey-and-retrospective-exhibition-paintings-drawings-sculpture/ - Categories: Media Releases The Charles Blackman survey exhibition at Anthea Polson Art celebrates the ninetieth year of one of Australia’s greatest cultural icons. Charles passed away shortly after his birthday in August this year. A vital force in every sense, he kept working right up until his final days, bringing forth quite illuminated and spiritual images. The Charles Blackman survey exhibition at the Anthea Polson Art celebrates the ninetieth year of one of Australia's greatest cultural icons. Charles passed away shortly after his birthday in August this year. A vital force in every sense, he kept working right up until his final days, bringing forth quite illuminated and spiritual images.   As a child, when he was once ill with tonsillitis, Charles' mother gave him some coloured crayons and that was it. A life changer. He immediately understood the force of the image, enabling him to become who he was. 'You can't stop people from being who they are' was one of his favourite sayings. Charles had found the tool for it, because he instinctively had an extraordinary insight into the complex language of the emotions. Indeed, a seemingly endless well of images surged up from then on through his pens and brushes throughout his entire life. It is the underlying denominator in all his artworks, whether it be a massive canvas layered in sheer colours or the simplicity of an ink line drawing.  'You can't hide behind a line', was another of his favourite one-liners. Charles had a life time connection with Queensland, starting from his early romance with his first wife Barbara Patterson. He set up a studio below her family home in Indooroopilly, where he painted figures in urban landscapes, portraits and some of the Alice in Wonderland paintings. He worked up on Tambourine Mountain whilst visiting Judith Wright and Jack McKinnery. His love... --- - Published: 2018-09-21 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/reflections-from-the-rabbit-hole/ - Categories: Media Releases The term 'rabbit hole' is a metaphor for an entry into the unknown. Stemming from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it refers to a journey through nonsensical situations that become increasingly surreal and disorienting. To view Sunshine Coast-based Veronica Cay's new series of works is to plummet into such a realm. Cay describes... The term 'rabbit hole' is a metaphor for an entry into the unknown. Stemming from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it refers to a journey through nonsensical situations that become increasingly surreal and disorienting. To view Sunshine Coast-based Veronica Cay's new series of works is to plummet into such a realm. Cay describes the exhibition's title as suddenly manifesting when contemplating a particular painting in her studio. 'The head up in the left hand corner brought to mind a Charles Blackman work and I was instantly transported to the rabbit hole - those shifting planes of the unfamiliar where nothing is straightforward. ' Although Cay's paintings, drawings and ceramic sculptures transmute intensely personal substance and experience, she intends them as vehicles to encourage reflection on the human condition. The symbolism is therefore oblique and indirect. Behind the visible appearance of things lurks its caricature. In several paintings there appear figures truncated at the waist and duplicated as if reflected in a murky pond. An avid collector of vintage toys, it was a folkloric, Topsy-Turvy doll that inspired Cay's rendition of inverted reality. Made of cloth and fused at the hips, the doll's double countenances represent opposing attitudes: asleep/awake; black/white; above/below. For Cay the configuration of such dolls became emblematic of the topsy-turvy nature of certain episodes that leave one 'spinning and never really knowing which way is up! ' Cay's paintings embrace the figurative expressionist mode. Both painted surface and human document they have an extraordinary psychological presence. The figures occupy an... --- - Published: 2018-08-25 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-world-is-my-village/ - Categories: Media Releases Howson's paintings have never been literal representations. Although triangular-roofed houses inform the imagery, they exist as a visual language. His concern lies more in using them as vehicles for abstract investigations into colour value and pictorial structure. Every geometrical shape and motif has been carefully composed to produce aesthetic outcomes. The utilisation of a... The title of Melbourne-based Nick Howson's latest body of work is not, as might be imagined, to do with the idea of a global village where the world is considered a single community linked by technology It may rather be thought of as the observed world simplified and transfigured within a village of creative ruminations. Reference is however made in a number of paintings to the inexorable growth of ever more closely connected communities, or ‘villages', on the physical plane. Although his home and studio has been in the inner-city suburb of Richmond for many years, Howson grew up in Geelong and often journeys back to visit family members still residing there. In recent times he has witnessed the once rural landscape of patchwork-like paddocks being rapidly subsumed under generic-looking housing estates that now stretch along the freeway linking Geelong to Melbourne. Driving home across the Westgate Bridge Howson had happened to glance down upon the multitude of rooftops, the shapes of which triggered new art-making possibilities. Howson's paintings have never been literal representations. Although triangular-roofed houses inform the imagery, they exist as a visual language. His concern lies more in using them as vehicles for abstract investigations into colour value and pictorial structure. Every geometrical shape and motif has been carefully composed to produce aesthetic outcomes. The utilisation of a flat, two-dimensional format with extraneous detail pared away encourages the viewer to relate to the subtle compositional relationships at play within the works. The scumbling of multiple layers of... --- - Published: 2018-07-28 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/a-day-with-martin/ - Categories: Media Releases One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin Edge's brightly coloured paintings. It is a quality that earned his work a placement in Canberra's Parliament House Collection and Artbank, as well as being a finalist in the prestigious Salon des Refuses for three years running. Innately optimistic, Martin paints that which delights him. One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin Edge's brightly coloured paintings. It is a quality that earned his work a placement in Canberra's Parliament House Collection and Artbank, as well as being three times a finalist in the prestigious Salon des Refusés. Innately optimistic, Martin paints that which delights him. In his new body of work there are again the urban landscapes that express his fascination for a city's constant motion - the busyness of people, transport, construction and the tall buildings casting reflections in the waters of the Brisbane River or Sydney Harbour. A schematic sun beams down from a sky dappled with puffy clouds in the Martin Being Sun Smart painting. The lofty Q1 edifice readily identifies this arena of summer activity as the Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise. With characteristic humour, Martin has depicted himself, larger than life and in sensible attire, amidst the myriad of rudimentary silhouettes representing fellow beach-going enthusiasts. On the River is a wonderful composition in the juxtaposition of curvilinear and angled shapes. Gone are the more usual horizontal demarcations. Arched bridges criss-cross the meandering Brisbane River while dark highways zoom to destinations beyond. The city's buildings are oddly diminished in their towering proliferation. Instead, expanses of grassy green parkland and distant fields hold prominence. It seems Nature, though cultivated, triumphs here! The portrait, My Name is Martin, references a fund-raising day earlier this year in his role as Autism Queensland Ambassador. The blue shirt denotes such and the yellow balloon is... --- - Published: 2018-06-16 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/indochine-new-seies-launch/ - Categories: Media Releases Acclaimed photographer Samantha Everton will this year present Indochine, a dynamic new exhibition series which explores the intersection of Western influences and Eastern traditions. Indochine depicts a woman navigating the conflicting cultural pressures of the East and the West. Exuding visual luxury and vivid sensuality, the artworks plunge the viewer into a colour-saturated dreamscape. The series explores the encroachment of Western fashion within Asian cultures and the struggle for authenticity amidst contemporary influences. Melbourne-based Samantha Everton is internationally recognised for her sumptuous visual narratives of cross-cultural, socio-historical and psychological relevance. Everton's new photographic series, Indochine, explores the repercussions concomitant in the meeting of Eastern and Western traditions - a confluence that began during the 16th century when European trading companies made forays into exotic realms. Contrary to Everton's previous series that were set in surrealistic three-dimensional spaces, Indochine depicts an Oriental woman variously posed against flat, intensely ornate backdrops. Her costumes are integral emblematic factors imparting Everton's observations of how fashion throughout history has been a signifier of female identity. The portraits manifest a woman caught between the cultural values and expectations of her particular time, and a deep interiority that is struggling towards individuation. Implanted within the amplified colouration and ornamental intricacies are symbolic elements that offer clues to the underlying stories. Entailing eighteen months of international collaboration and research, Everton went to quite extraordinary lengths in finding exactly the right accoutrements for the Indochine images. Commissioned, hand-painted Chinoiserie wallpapers were shipped from China. An exquisite neckpiece was designed and made by Cirque du Soleil's Larry Edwards. The actual shoot using a medium format camera took place in a Ho Chi Minh City studio. Extending over a gruelling two weeks period, the session incidentally involved a bicycling venture across Vietnamese swamplands to source the living bird and snake props. Her model, Trang Pham, flew in from a London fashion assignment the day before the shoot's commencement. Anomalies abound in Everton's Alabaster image.... --- - Published: 2018-05-26 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/the-quickening/ - Categories: Media Releases Huge skies vault over brown-grassed plains that stretch to distant horizons. A single house stands seemingly mute in the absence of human habitation. The sense of quietude is profound, but look more closely at Melitta Perry's landscapes, something is astir - the quickening. Huge skies vault over brown-grassed plains that stretch to distant horizons. A single house stands seemingly mute in the absence of human habitation. The sense of quietude is profound, but look more closely at Melitta Perry's landscapes, something is astir - the quickening. All the works are underpinned by the concept of a quickening, Perry reveals. They are about the subtle shifts that herald change and the turning of the cycle of life. With poetic sensibility Perry communicates the mystery and magnitude of such. There is no sense of alienation. Hers is a deeply felt, intuitive relationship with the interconnectedness of all things. The imagery is grounded in a personal flux, the existential flow between a mother and daughter, Perry continues. She tells that the paintings tacitly refer to her experience of motherhood: the quickening of a new life in utero; the subsequent years of nurturing and then the inevitable departure of a child from hearth and home. Envisioned metaphorically, the subject is rendered devoid of sentimentality. Living in the Northern Rivers area for many years, Perry has celebrated nature's rhythms, noting the harbingers of change in cloud formations and the heightened activity of insects, most particularly that of bees. Few creatures are as important in world symbology as the bee and the life of its colony. Seeking an authenticity to her images, Perry attended beekeeping classes at a local community college. Not surprisingly, she was the only student without intention of actually setting up a hive in the garden.... --- - Published: 2018-05-26 - Modified: 2022-01-19 - URL: https://antheapolsonart.com.au/ways-of-mapping-sunshine/ - Categories: Media Releases Sunshine generally connotes warmth, vitality and a sense of contentment. In many world traditions it is synonymous with the radiance of spiritual enlightenment. Although philosophical and ecological musings inform the imagery in Seabastion Toast's new body of work, her intention is more to do with sunshine's power to illuminate and educe form. The title of the exhibition really describes what we do as painters, explains Toast. Everything we see is a reflection of light. My subjects operate to map the beams of light as they bounce off form. I am searching for the visual rhythms. Sunshine generally connotes warmth, vitality and a sense of contentment. In many world traditions it is synonymous with the radiance of spiritual enlightenment. Although philosophical and ecological musings inform the imagery in Seabastion Toast's new body of work, her intention is more to do with sunshine's power to illuminate and educe form. "The title of the exhibition really describes what we do as painters," explains Toast. "Everything we see is a reflection of light. My subjects operate to map the beams of light as they bounce off form. I am searching for the visual rhythms. " Toast describes her paintings as a symbiosis of figuration and abstraction. "I amplify abstraction to blur the boundaries in figure/ground relationships. The indeterminate quality of a form in its surrounds is to suggest the interdependence of the human and animal worlds. My works are a dance of ideologies! " Seeking the tonal patterns that have aesthetic resonance, Toast composes with light as much as spatial considerations. The direct spontaneity of her brush markings confers a sensory appeal that transports the viewer into an altogether different dimension of vibratory awareness. The painting, Flower Bee, exemplifies this immersive reverie in the forces of nature. We witness the bee's outline fragmenting into a multi-hued bliss of petals and sweet-scented nectar.  House Sparrow evokes a somewhat contrary response. The bird's shape is more defined and isolated from a background that seems to have retreated in wan washes of muted colour. A creature estranged from its natural habitat, the sparrow projects... --- --- ## Artists ---