ADRIFT
NOVEMBER 4th – 28th
JILLIAN CULEY, CAROLYN DANCE, KAYLENE BROOKS and MICHIYO MIWA
Adrift is a collaborative exhibition focused on the amazing array of twisted, burnt, dented, discoloured and gnarled wood that gets washed onto the shores every day. Every piece has its own personality, and has been shaped by its journey through storms, currents, tides and bushfires.
Whatever happens in this universe as far as we know, everything is transient. We, humans (animals), plants, and the environment at large constantly change and are shaped by forces that remain unknown. In the midst of this universal flow, we simply try to capture and present what we witness in the world around us at that moment of time.
OPENING EVENT – Saturday 6th from 2pm
ARTISTS
JILLIAN CULEY
Jillian works predominantly with locally harvested fibres. She explores and experiments with ancient and traditional basket weaving techniques including twining, string making, ribbed and randing.. For Jillian weaving is also an opportunity to explore the connection of mathematical patterns and the natural environment. Her baskets and sculptural pieces take their roots from the colour and forms of the bush where she lives and works
CAROLYN DANCE
Carolyn’s home and studio is nestled on a bush block in the Blue Mountains. The surrounding flora and fauna inspires and informs her creative practice. For Carolyn weaving is a meditative process where the purposeful, slow and rhythmic movements help to transform natural materials into functional baskets and unique pieces. Carolyn enjoys the whole process; from a walk in the bush to harvest materials, to weaving the final creation.
KAYLENE BROOKS
A multi media artist living and working in the picturesque Kanimbla Valley where inspiration is plentiful. “Shape and form is explored in this collection incorporating natural fibres, textures and of course drift wood with a muted pallet of colours with a whimsical twist, no prethought was put into each piece, like driftwood I let each work dictate its own design and form. I really enjoyed the relaxed process this allowed.”
MICHIYO MIWA
Michiyo Miwa lives in the bush in a house and garden with a distinctively Japanese atmosphere—wide, open verandahs surrounded by gums and banksias and a view through the trees to the hills beyond. It is the banksias in particular with their unusual fowers, sharp serrated leaves and nobbled bark which have drawn her artist’s eye.
The practice of sumi-e, Japanese brush painting or ink wash painting, seems entirely appropriate in such a setting. This is painting which aims to depict the spirit rather than simply the physical semblance of an object. Sumi-e is described as employing the two dynamically opposed forces of the universe, utilising the principles of nature’s vitality in its design and execution. The ultimate goal is to achieve the balance and integration of these forces and the eternal interaction of yin and yang.
WHERE MOUNTAINS MEET INFINITY
MARCH 3rd – 27th
FEATURED ARTISTS
CATRIONA POLLARD, MICHELLE PERRETT & GARY SHINFIELD
Where Mountains Meet Infinity explores our relationship with mountains as we traverse over them and how they impact our sense of space, time and perspective. Bringing together three exceptional Australian artists who use nature to influence their works of art – Fibre Artist Catriona Pollard, Ceramist Michelle Perrett, and painter and printmaker Gary Shinfield.
Running from 3 March to 27 March 2022, this exhibition will include natural sculptures, ceramics and prints that explore colour, texture and organic form of the inspirational wilderness of the Blue Mountains NSW.
OPENING EVENT – Saturday 5th from 2pm
ARTISTS
CATRIONA POLLARD – Fibre Artists
I have established a reputation as a distinctive fibre artist who uses traditional basketry techniques to transform foraged plant fibres into organic sculptural works.
My unique sculptural work offers glimpses of shapeshifting natural forms, from unnoticed branches, leaves and seedpods into evocative works that celebrate the abundance of nature and investigate our personal connection to the natural world.
With a intuitive minimal aesthetic, my abstract sculptures use foraged and discarded plant material with traditional basketry and assemblage techniques.
My work highlights the link between raw foraged organic materials, like vines and seed pods, with earthy materials like base metals including copper, and natural elements like charcoal, clay and ash. Most contains nothing but the organic material – no glue or synthetic dyes, and most don’t even use anything to bind it together, such as thread or wire.
Through my sculptures, I use nature as a way to connect with people that goes beyond physical beauty, but touches them in a personal and profound way.
Transforming discarded organic material into sculptures forces the viewer to observe the natural world and explore the concept of controlling it or being in harmony with it.
It adds a layer of wonder and contemplative engagement, and can also lead to a reflection on our inner landscape and the question of what would happen if we saw aspects of our lives in different ways.
Through this reinterpretation of nature, my work offers up the concept that we should actively see nature as part of us rather than simply an object that has no meaning or spirit. This investigation also leads to a reflection on our inner landscape and questioning control versus harmony within our lives.
The forms I weave tell stories relating to emotions, concepts, energy and experiences. They are about truly seeing the extraordinary in everyday moments. For me, it’s about being still, and letting the beauty surface.
Inspiration
Growing up in the country, with summers at the beach and every other school holidays camping and walking through National Parks has resulted in a deep connection with the natural world around me.
As I walk through the bush tracks inspiration presents itself. I see a fallen tree with the roots exposed and an idea for a sculpture is illuminated. Or as I wade through the rock pools, the shape of the water against the rocks becomes an idea for a story to be told through sculptural form.
MICHELLE PERRETT
HANDS ON CLAY II
MAY 5th – JUNE 19th
JULIE BARTHOLOMEW, KWIRAK CHOUNG, ANNA CULLITON, MEIKE DAVIS, NYSSA MILLER, LISE EDWARDS, ROBERT LINEGIN, SIMON REECE, BILL SAMUELS, LINDA SEIFFERT and CAMERON WILLIAMS
A group exhibition showcasing a collection of masters in their field in this dynamic and thought provoking show.
NEW DATES – 5th May to 19th June 2022
Due to the uncertainty around the Covid lockdowns we have made the disappointing decision to postpone the ‘HANDS ON CLAY 2’ Exhibition to May 2022.
We are now working towards a show that will excite and ignite your senses.
ARTISTS
KWIRACK CHOUNG
“I would like to think that clay objects at their best, whether understated or strongly expressed, illustrate a harmonized interplay, between surface texture, colour, form and interestingly enough, the makers perception.”
ANNA CULLITON
Anna is a ceramicist working in the Kanimbla Valley of NSW.
A love of animals and nature is integral to her work, with many different styles, specialising in “funk” ceramics. She has exhibited regularly since the mid 2000’s and in 2015 was a finalist in The Muswellbrook Art Prize, National Portrait Gallery 2016.
BILL SAMUELS
“….In my own way it exemplifies my approach to the creative process – realizing a whole new technique then solving the problems as they emerge. The idea also evolved out of my approach to ceramic materials in general. While I lean heavily on the traditional approach to ceramics I have deliberately chosen to find and use my own materials rather than commercially prepared ones. THe beauty of some of the old pots from cultures that have a long ceramic history (unlike Oz that has none) has intrigued me for the last 50 odd years. I believe their beauty resulted from the potters use of “materials at hand” and their “primitive” methods of preparation. I don’t mind being called a nutter by my colleagues because I enjoy the chase, the research is endless and it’s what keeps me going, albeit at an increasingly slower pace.”
LINDA SEIFFERT
Compelled by the physical and metaphysical (metaphor) language of nature – my practice explores the infinitely evolving visual expressions, of patterns and structures throughout Natures organic processes. The mystery of nature excites me, exploring the realms where physical matter is infused with the unquantifiable substance of spirit, and where spirit can breathe and pulse in the densest most inert form of matter. I aspire to embody in the hand formed, abstract organic, clay sculpture – the sense of mystery, sanctuary, diversity and dynamism that I experience as the spirit of Nature.
As an artist working primarily with clay and the ceramic process, I inherit the legacy of an artform which has held a space, telling stories of earth and culture through millennia. “The vessel”; the archetypal ceramic container, remains as important now as ever, as do the methods of creating with clay. Within and outside of the vessel there is the infinite world of potential expression in clay.
My recent body of work explores “breaking the boundaries” of the “vessel”. Challenging conventions, evolving ceramic traditions and inspiring fresh audience perceptions and understandings of this art form. The work Undulatus resides “off the plinth”. The sequential wavy modules emerge from the ground, forming a sculptural environment. As the sculpture interfaces directly with the surfaces of the gallery space, a dialogue has been introduced which allows the audience to share the space with the sculpture, to feel the physical impact of the work, and to navigate their way as they would through a living landscape. This work is the latest expression of a body of work which ponders the place of humanity within the natural universe; reflecting on our relationship with nature in all its forms. As an innate part of nature we exist inarguably within an earthly and cosmic ecosystem, yet the prevailing condition of our modern lives is an unreconciled, alternating experience of belonging and separation that leaves us searching for meaning, connection and wholeness. The transitional zones between the man made & natural world can be like a bridge between dimensions.
NOVEMBER 4 to NOVEMBER 28 – ADRIFT – JILLIAN CULEY, CAROLYN DANCE, KAYLENE BROOKS, MICHIYO MIWA – Organic artworks from natural and handmade fibres. ADRIFT is a whimsical and beautiful collection.
DECEMBER 2 to 5 – HILARY SIMS RETROSPECTIVE – A celebration of the colourful life of Hilary Sims, Opening Event TBA
DECEMBER 9 to 2022 – CHRISTMAS ART FAIR – A selection of artworks from emerging and celebrated artists, Find the perfect Christmas gift for the person you love.
MARCH 3 to 27 2022 – WHERE MOUNTAINS MEET INFINITY – CATRIONA POLLARD with MICHELLE PERRETT, GARY SHINFIELD – Weaving, Ceramics, Printmaking Exhibition
MAY 5 to JUNE 19 – HANDS ON CLAY 2 – JULIE BARTHOLOMEW, KWIRAK CHOUNG, ANNA CULLITON, MEIKE DAVIS, LISE EDWARDS, ROBERT LINEGIN, SIMON REECE, BILL SAMUELS, LINDA SEIFFERT, CAMERON WILLIAMS, NYSSA MILLER – A selection of works from acclaimed potters and artists.
POP UPS
CAITLIN GRAHAM – PRINTMAKING – 10th -13th March 2022
My name is Caitlin Graham. I’m an artist from the Lithgow region and am currently in my second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. Majoring in printmaking, I have been developing my skills in a number of disciplines including etching, lino carving, screen printing and drawing.
I love creating works that highlight our region’s beauty and uniqueness. I want to share our unique perspective with a broader audience and bring light to some of our local issues through my art. I also enjoy incorporating landscapes, architecture, mathematics, humour and my everyday life, both here and in Sydney, into my artworks.
IMAGES – “Hivemind” & “Hoist, Colourbond and Gums”
