IDEAL STATES AND SACRED PLACES with PENNIE STEEL
NOVEMBER 2 – 26
IDEAL STATES AND SACRED PLACES
We carry with us, both internally and externally, physically and mentally, memories, learned experiences, cultural differences, spiritual values and expectations and through these we form ourselves.
As a female, I look very much to the internalization of these complexities and my art is informed by my debate. There is something intrinsically humanly female about the need to make spaces which reflect the desire to make comfortable and safe places.
The paintings and sculptures explore the notion of personae and cultural mythologies and the poetry of the spaces between the self and its manifestations. They are related through a common theme.
The imagined towns and cities and ancient settlements manifest in the paintings and constructed within the safe confines of the cloches, are reminiscent of places remembered, experienced and dreamed of.
The works are informed and shaped by cultural differences, which are heightened by the very nature of displacement, migration or journeying from one place to another. I have brought them into existence.
They are of nowhere and yet they are everywhere.
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
November 3rd – VIP OPENING, 5pm tp 7pm REGISTER ATTENDANCE HERE
November 4th – OPENING EVENT – Official opening by Dolla S. Merrillees, writer & curator, 3pm
November 18th – Artist Talk, 11am to 11.45pm
November 18th – Workshop, 1.30pm to 4.30pm. More info soon
PENNIE STEEL
Pennie Steel was born in the United Kingdom in 1947 and emigrated to Sydney in 1969 where she completed a post-graduate and Masters degree.
After retiring from teaching, she lived in South Australia and Queensland before returning to NSW in 2011. She now lives and works with her husband and fellow artist Brian Reid in Cathkin Braes, Lurline Street SteelReid Studio is at Cathkin Braes.
Cathkin Braes was built by stone mason and architect John Howie in 1912 in the Queen Anne Federation style.
Howie was the builder and stonemason for many significant Sydney buildings including the General Post Office and Central Station.
Sense of Place
“My work is based in mythology. I am interested in the link between History and Myth and the artefacts associated with stories. Currently my body of work consists of 3D structures, some in domes, fabricated from recycled card, paper and styrofoam. These I called Ideal States and Sacred Places. A natural progression was to indicate these ‘places’ realised in 2d form on canvas panels.
“Subsequent motivation comes from reading texts which link the history and mythology to a sense of place.”
“To live as an artist in an artisan’s building is quite wonderful. There is an ambience in Cathkin Braes which reflects excellence of design and workmanship.
“The garden is an ongoing project. When my Mother bought this property, the garden was pretty ordinary and new turf covered poor unworked soil. The trees are a reminder of the age of the house and stand majestically along the edges of the property despite being savaged by the electricity company.
“When the power has been moved underground as part of the Treeline Lurline project and new plantings and street furniture placed strategically, the streetscape will reflect the value of this legacy. Both residents and visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy and be proud of the First Nations and subsequent Settlement History.”
WOMAN, My Own Point of View with REBECCA WILSON
AUGUST 17 – SEPTEMBER 17
WOMAN, My Own Point of View
OPENING EVENT – Saturday August 19th from 2pm
Come and join us to celebrate the launch of Rebecca Wilson’s new narrative collection: Woman.
Rebecca takes a humorous but sharp look at language, beauty, ageing, mental health, Feminism and the history of women artists. Referencing Virginia Woolf’s ‘My Own Point of View’, these paintings are a personal expression of the artist’s female experience and voice.
Join host Jenny Barry, author Kim Kelly, and artist Rebecca Wilson for a fun and engaging chat about all things Woman.
Sunday September 24th – ARTIST TALK with Rebecca Wilson – Join Rebecca as she talk about her work and all things WOMAN – 11am to 3pm
REBECCA WILSON
In the 1990s Rebecca Wilson studied her B.A Fine Arts at the National Art School, Sydney, and she went on to complete her M.A. Fine Arts at the College of Fine Art at the UNSW in Paddington, Sydney (2002). In 2001 and 2007 Rebecca was a finalist in the Blake Prize for Religious Art and her work was included in the Blake Tour 2001-2.
In 2007 Rebecca’s Australianism exhibition was the start of her investigation into Australian myths and icons such as Ned Kelly. From 2010 she started researching the life of Kate Kelly, the sister of Australia’s most infamous bushranger. From 2015 to 2022 her Kate Kelly Collection toured from Sydney across regional NSW and into Victoria. In 2018 Rebecca was invited to a London art fair where she exhibited some of her Kate Kelly paintings and presented a talk at London’s Central Library about her Kate Kelly research and paintings. She continued to develop and tour her Kate Kelly work which culminated in her fictionalised biography, Kate Kelly: the true story of Ned Kelly’s little sister, published by Allen & Unwin in 2021.
From 2011-2016 Rebecca taught art and design at TAFE Western Institute in Bathurst and Orange. At the beginning of 2016 Rebecca completed an artist residency at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China. In 2017-2018 she worked as Communications & Project Officer for the regional arts development organisation, Arts Out West, in Bathurst.
Across 2018 and 2019, Rebecca’s series of narrative works and accompanying self-published catalogue, A Portrait of Landscape and Time in Hill End, toured Sydney, Grenfell and Lithgow and was shown as the solo exhibition Mythmakers, Heroes and Villains at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery in 2021. Extensive media coverage about Rebecca’s work can be located online.
NATURE AND NURTURE
AUGUST 3-13
MELINDA SCHNEIDER & SONIA COX
More information soon
OPENING EVENT – Saturday August 5th from 3pm – Officially opened by Mayor MAREE STATHAM
Including a special performance by Melinda Schneider
Each of our featured artists will be spending an entire day in the Gallery, we would love for you to join them
MELINDA SCHNEIDER – TBA
SONIA COX – TBA
MELINDA SCHNEIDER
Who are you, really? Which traits are natural? Which ones have been nurtured… moulded? If you’re anything like me, these questions are unsettling. For the answers, I needed to explore a medium devoid of words. You see, words and melodies were the artistic tools I’d employed for decades – but to unpick the stitches of perfectionism, which had come to imprison me – I craved visual abstraction. Abstract Expressionism, in fact. This fluid style, wielded so eloquently by artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning and Barnett Newman, inspired me to break free from the unrelenting standards that kept the real me hidden behind a shiny smile and a veil of ‘perfect’ celebrity fog. Behind the fog, I was lost in a deep sea of depression. Painting was my lighthouse. It led me to be free and express myself without the critical inner voice.
I created these works by applying acrylic to plywood with brushes, twigs, rollers, rags and sponges. I adore plywood for all it’s gorgeous flaws. My techniques are akin to the rhythmic pulse of song writing. I draw inspiration from the fauna, flora and ancient spirituality of the Bouddi Peninsula (GuriNgai Country) – my home. When I started these paintings, I’d hoped to convey my frustration, and speak to other trauma survivors. What eventuated was quite different. These works have uncovered an organic, gentle strength – perhaps, this is my true nature. The one I was born with… whole, complete, unique. My hope is that you see your own journey in these works and feel a sense of resolution. My hope is that you see, and embrace, your natural self.
SONIA COX
We all inherit some traits from our parents but how these develop and shape the person we are to become depends on how well we are loved, how safe we feel and how much we are encouraged to be our best self. I believe we are the sum of our spiritual, emotional and physical experiences. Our earliest memories and our perception and the feelings we attribute to them leave a road map or, perhaps, a life map, in our minds. How we choose to use this map, and what directions we choose to take, will depend on how safe, supported and loved we feel at any given crossroad. I have been extremely lucky to have always felt loved, safe and encouraged to be the best I could be.
I am a local woman who proudly embraces both my rural and Wiradjuri heritage. My artworks reflect the importance of nature to my own wellbeing. Both my painting and sculpture depict native flora and fauna. The paintings are imbued with vibrant colour that represent my emotional response to the subtle tones of the Australian landscape and the subject matter I have chosen. The artworks are painted directly onto layered paperbark that I have collected from a variety of sources. They have inbuilt texture and depth. Images appear and disappear through colour and pattern prompting the viewer to spend time with the painting. This time is not dissimilar to the mediative qualities of nature.
The bronze sculptures have been cast using the lost wax method. Their construction generated sensations of play reminiscent of a happy childhood and the simple joy of creating and being.
I have a strong interest in the connection between the healing qualities of nature, the act of creating and our own sense of wellbeing.
FLIPSIDE
JUNE 15-25
JENNIFER BURNS & MICHAEL COMERFORD
“Flipside” brings two diverse artists together, with two very different styles, who are literally splitting the gallery down the middle.
Jennifer Burns takes over the Eastern side of the gallery, with unique works on a variety of materials, including subtle recycling of everyday materials such as teabags, tin lids and dominos.
On the opposite side, Michael Comerford is filling the Western wall with saturated reinterpretations of panoramic photographs in a unique style that invites the viewer to look deeper, to determine the hidden origins of the piece.
OPENING EVENT – Saturday June 17th from 2pm
Each of our featured artists will be spending an entire day in the Gallery, we would love for you to join them
JENNIFER BURNS – TBA
MICHAEL COMERFORD – TBA
JENNIFER BURNS
Jennifer is an artist of many mediums, primarily working in pencils and ink and has been creating for many years. She is inspired by colour and nature, usually mixing the two and creating vibrant landscapes and uniquely quirky portraits of Australian birds and flowers. Her love of drawing is reflected in the personalities of the artwork she brings to life.
MICHAEL COMERFORD
Michael has over 20 years or professional photography behind him, building his craft through portrait and wedding photography while photographing the great Australian landscape just for pleasure. Putting aside professional portraiture in 2015 he has continued with his love of sweeping vistas and big skies, always seeking a slightly different perspective to scenes already well known to the observer and developing some unique ways of presenting a scene that has likely been seen before in a new and evocative way.
ImaginARY
JUNE 1st -11th
JAN MELVILLE & KYLIE BLAKEMORE
Exploring photography, collage, mixed media and assemblage
OPENING EVENT – Saturday June 3rd from 2pm
Each of our featured artists will be spending an entire day in the Gallery, we would love for you to join them
JAN MELVILLE – Saturday 3rd – 11.30am to 4.30pm
KYLIE BLAKEMORE – Sunday 11th – 2.30pm to 4.30pm
JAN MELVILLE
I appropriate images into my collage works to create works that make one believe in the unbelievable.
Working in collage, mixed media, and assemblage was for me a natural progression from being a full time printmaker and teacher of printmaking for over 25 years.
Once again certain images caught my eye women, dresses, birds. Works were created on paper, canvas and finally into 3D assemblage works in boxes, at times adding small objects and ephemera. I liked this cross over in the working mediums and a small body of works was in the making.
An inspiration for a number of works in this concept come from the Frozen Charlotte dolls that held a fascination for me. This carried into a 3D assemblage work. As well there were also childhood memories of circuses and performers and side show alley. Many child hood memories are held within these works resulting in Circus ImaginARY.
Jan Melville is a printmaker, collagist, assemblage and book artist who has been an invited artist-in-residence in Italy, Ireland and the UK (Sidney Nolan Trust). She has also been a guest printmaker on a short visit to Singapore in 2017 at the Tyler Print Institute. She has exhibited in both solo and group shows for many years and is an invited tutor in workshops both in Sydney and The Blue Mountains..
KYLIE BLAKEMORE
Painter, photographer, writer & filmmaker with an eclectic and nomadic artistic career spanning over 20 years and almost as many relocations, I sometimes find my best work comes from ‘unlearning‘ all my formal training and previous successes and being open to finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places.
The aim of my most recent work is to try capture that elusive feeling of spontaneity, creativity and pure joyful childish abandon of ‘play,’ while paying homage to some of my favourite bygone eras of film, painting and photography.
My style varies between expressionist, abstract, impressionist and just a dash of realism to shake things up a bit from time to time, and liberal does of whimsy.
All my photographs are either limited edition or original mixed media works printed on archival photographic or cotton rag papers and often hand painted with my own mix of acrylic or oil based paints.
H ART of Women
MAY 4th – 28th
NATASHA DANILOFF, ANNIE JOSEPH, ALIKI YIORKAS, JANETHA LYON
Four exceptionally tallented ladies come together for an exhibition celebrating women and their art.
OPENING EVENT – Saturday May 6th from 3pm
Each of our featured artists will be spending an entire day in the Gallery, we would love for you to join them
JANETHA LYON – Saturday May 6th
NATASHA DANILOFF – Saturday May 13th
ANNIE JOSEPH – Saturday May 20th
ALIKI YIORKAS – Sunday May 28th
NATASHA DANILOFF
Is an Australian artist specialising in drawing, painting, mixed media and installation. Her work embraces a broad thematic framework referencing her Russian heritage, Iranian cultural motifs acquired when her family lived in Iran and fuses these with her experiences in the Australian landscape. These themes are explored through layers of materials and meanings.
The recipient of several prestigious residencies – Bathurst Regional Gallery Hill End Residency and Launceston City Council’s A.I.R. – she has been able to experience Australia’s diverse landscape and explore further aesthetic possibilities that can visually connect culture and context.
‘This landscape is simultaneously potent and strong, fragile and vulnerable. Tree roots cling to rocks creating their own rhythms, becoming powerful metaphors for co-existence and survival.
I paint what I feel, what I remember- a sense of place, rather than the actual image or objects connected to people and memories. I like to use the poetry of light and shadow to suggest the half remembered; that point when one state of being slips into another.’
She has had numerous solo and group shows in Australia and overseas and her work is in collections in the U.S. Britain, Denmark, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
ANNIE JOSEPH
Annie loves the beauty of landscape, from the hills and valleys of Lithgow to her heartlandon the plains of the Central West. She works in watercolours, pen and wash, charcoal and acrylics.
Annie exhibits at local Art Shows many local art shows and the Sydney Royal Easter Show. She has had several successful solo andgroup exhibitions.
As well as commissions, involvement in the Lithgow Tidy Towns Laneways group, Annie also prepared the illustrations for Loreto Normanhurst, A Century of Memories, Resting Beneath the Rainbow by Tess Elliot, and the illustrated maps of Rydal Village for the Daffodil Festival and Lithgow Landmarks for the Lithgow Small Arms Factory
ALIKI YIORKAS
Alikis’ practice is focused primarily on printmaking, drawing and artists’
books. Her work is auto-ethnographic and is a consideration of post-memory as it relates to place and materiality. Bringing attention to the things we use and collect, and approaching things at their level of sensuous specificity, Aliki endeavours to bring an awareness of the ability of objects to affect us. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the National Art School, Sydney 2020.
JANETHA LYON
Janetha was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in 1969. From an early age she had an interest in art, especially drawing figures and portraits which came naturally to her.
After marrying the well-known South African artist, Marc Poisson ( www.marcpoisson.com ), over 20 years ago, over time she became adept at painting in oils.
Her subjects included figurative works with strong narratives, then branching out to large flower studies, and capturing the beauty of our beautiful Australian birds in their natural habitat.
Janetha is currently enjoying success exhibiting her work at Artist’s school exhibitions such as Portland near Lithgow NSW and looking forward to exhibitions in Thirroul, Scarborough, Wollongong and Shellharbour.
She is also becoming well known on social media selling countrywide.
As a mainly self-taught artist, Janetha paints subjects that touches the emotions of mostly women who enjoy the beauty of our surroundings, emphasising strong draughtsmanship in a fluid style with a warm, colourful palette.
Her chosen subject matter evokes the charm, colour and excitement we find in nature and which brings the joy that enriches our lives.
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
OCTOBER 6 – 30
JENNIFER TREZISE & LIVONNE LARKINS
OPENING EVENT – Saturday October 8th from 2pm. Officially opened by Susan Templeman – Member for Macquarie and Special Envoy for The Arts
As nature discards, so does humanity.
IN CONVERSATION with MELINDA SCHNEIDER
Thursday October 13th – 10am to 11.30am
.Join us for a Morning Tea in conversation with Melinda Schneider as she shares her inspiring story and how art shapes her wellbeing.
ARTISTS
JENNIFER TRZISE
Jennifer Trezise was born, lives and works in Australia. She is a full-time artist with a studio in Winmalee, NSW. Her work often takes her to Europe, where she has completed two international residencies, one in Venice, Italy and one in Vaasa, Finland. She has also completed two art residencies in Australia, one at Riversdale and one at Bundanon.
She is driven to passionately explore the materials of her studio in the Australian bushland, using recycled papers, graphite and gouache with heavily textured surfaces, often in conjunction with text in the form of her original poetry. In addition, she incorporates what nature discards. By reading the landscape, she renews, values and interprets found materials from her bush surroundings.
Her body of work is a metaphor for her adaptability to life’s challenges. She deconstructs social issues through her poetry and uses nature’s detritus which drops to the earth or is washed up by the sea.
Jennifer, at times, is a voyeur, a disconnected viewer of strangers, particularly those people in trains or cafés. She reflects on voices in the dark, dreams and nightmares, existentialism and the human condition. The decision to incorporate poetry is quite recent because it uses a different creative process, a separate, impulsive, abstract part of the psyche.
Her artworks are solid, but her poetry is liquid.
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
This body of work entitled ‘Falling Through the Cracks’ by Jennifer Trezise is part of a creative collaboration.
As nature discards, so does humanity.
These artworks reveal the rescue and valuing of that which is thrown away, objects and people who have fallen through the cracks. Ironically, in order to find their potential, these objects must be discarded before being rescued, hence the parallels to life and the artist herself.
Conceptually, this exhibition is driven by the failure of systems which should support humanity, but which intrinsically fail. The health system, legal system and education system in particular leave countless thousands of people unsupported in their times of greatest need. Family law fails to protect the most vulnerable and the mental health system discards victims who are unable to have a voice when they should be shouting out for help.
While the resultant artworks use disparate media, they in fact, through describing lived experiences, the imagination and skill of the artist, demand, through their unique stories, to be heard.
Jennifer has a story to tell, a strong narrative. She is an artist and a poet. Her poetry will accompany her works in the art space.
Her work is a correlation of found object, pencil, poetry and brush.
LIVONNE LARKINS
A self-proclaimed late bloomer and fairytale fanatic, Livonne is an artist and storyteller, both in pictures and words. She had always dabbled in creative pursuits, but family responsibilities were the priority in her life. Approaching fifty however, the yearning to seriously create could no longer be ignored. Completing an introduction to Fine Arts, she went on to study photography as she was always enthralled by the romance of old photographs. After completing at Diploma level, she voraciously studied everything she could about compositing and digital manipulation of images which took her from taking photos to making imagery.
Heavily influenced by the colours, textures and romance of the Renaissance artists, she strives to bring the same ethereal beauty to her imagery. Just as every good fairytale has light and shade or evil and goodness, it is essential to her that even the darkest of subjects should have a glimmer of hope to inspire and empower. ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘happily ever after’ are words which influence every piece of art she creates.
She makes theatrical settings and costumes from recycled materials to ensure her work tells the stories that she is inspired to tell. Those images tell the stories that she struggles to find words for.
Having lived through several traumatic and life changing events, art has filled many of the cracks caused by these traumas and has become her voice after years of not being able to speak her truth. She often uses the fairy-tale genre to tell harrowing stories as she finds the same sense of safety and comfort in fairytales as she did as a child. She is a passionate advocate of de-stigmatising mental illness and domestic violence.
Livonne has completed a residency at Bundanon and has had her work displayed in the Victorian Arts Centre, AGNSW and the National Trust Woodford Academy. She has also had solo exhibitions at Chrissie Cotter Gallery Sydney and other private galleries. Her work has been awarded numerous art prizes and published in art magazines nationally and internationally.
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
This body of work entitled ‘Falling Through the Cracks’ by Livonne Larkins is part of a creative collaboration. The artist explores Kintsugi applied to the soul.
The Japanese art of Kintsugi is a physical manifestation of resilience. The practice which literally means gold mending, emphasise the beauty and utility of breaks and imperfections.
The artist Livonne explores this concept when applied to the human psyche. If we can find the gold which will fill the cracks we develop through trauma, it makes us stronger, more resilient & fuller of beauty.
Could this mean the human frailties that were once seen as a downfall might actually make a damaged person more valuable than before?
This series shows a before and after image of each model, depicting a variety of social and world issues including bushfires, climate change, political depreciation of the arts, institutionalised abuse and many other subjects. Just as the artist has recovered from trauma through art, she is intrigued by other people’s experiences in mending their souls.
ART IN ME
SEPTEMBER 1 – 25
CAPERTEE PUBLIC SCHOOL – CULLEN BULLEN PUBLIC SCHOOL – GLEN ALICE PUBLIC SCHOOL – HAMPTON PUBLIC SCHOOL – PORTLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL – WALLERAWANG PUBLIC SCHOOL – ZIG ZAG PUBLIC SCHOOL
In our second year of The Art In Me Program, Schools were once again invited to participate with over 70 artworks produced by the children through a number of workshops and in addition each school has created a group artwork which will become part of a community polyptych artwork for the exhibition? This community artwork has been created using charcoal, sticks and leaves remaining from the bushfires.
The project includes a facilitated Art Space at Gang Gang Gallery for primary school students from the local Lithgow LGA, a catalogue of the children’s work, an exhibition of artwork by primary school students in the main gallery.
This activity is supported by Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN), as part of the Australian Government’s response to the 2019-20 bushfires. Wentworth Healthcare is the provider of NBMPHN.
About Workshop Facilitator Elaine Butler (WWC0256766E)
Elaine Butler is a local visual artist and mobile arts educator from Wallerawang. She has over 28 years’ experience in arts education.
Through her business Fun Time Art she offers at variety of art classes and workshops for young and old. She is also a Mural Artist, qualified in Art Therapy, and a children’s book author & illustrator.
Saturday 3rd September – Opening Event and Award Presentation – From 2pm – ALL WELCOME
JUDGED BY NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED ARTIST ANNE GRAHAM
PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
K – Year 1 (Juniors)
- First Prize – Student – Full Term (8 week) Workshop Voucher with Fun Time Art & Certificate
- Highly Commended – $50 Art Voucher & Certificate
Years 2 – 4 (Intermediate)
- First Prize – Student – Full Term (8 week) Workshop Voucher with Fun Time Art & Certificate
- Highly Commended – $50 Art Voucher & Certificate
Year 5 – 6 (Seniors)
- First Prize – Student – Full Term (8 week) Workshop Voucher with Fun Time Art & Certificate
- Highly Commended – $50 Art Voucher & Certificate
Each child will receive a Certificate of Participating and Art Pack
LUMINE
AUGUST 4 – 28
COLETTE JONQUIERES – PENELOPE OATES – BOYD McMILLAN
OPENING EVENT – Saturday August 6th from 2pm.
ARTISTS
COLETTE JONQUIERES
I love owls!
For many years now I have undertaken a series of paintings of animals that I felt strongly connected to. In my last two series I focused on sheep and then goats, now it is owls…. but with a twist.
The sheep, goats and owls are all portraits of people that I have met and who possess strong personalities that I felt could be represented in this way.
Other than the facial characteristics of the subjects, my main focus is on the shape and colour of the eyes of the person I was painting. A person’s eyes are, in many ways, the most powerful aspect of their identity.
The works take a lot of time, but I love it. I really get to immerse myself in the image and am fascinated by the incredible detail in the feathers, the talons, the intensity of the eyes or the bark of a gnarly branch.
PENELOPE OATES
Penelope has had an extensive and varied career in the arts spanning a period of some 20 years. She completed a degree in Fine Arts in Sydney at COFA at a young age which was followed shortly by a degree in Stage and Costume design which she completed at the highly prestigious acting school, NIDA. She worked for several years through to her thirties in Sydney as a designer, concept illustrator and model maker before finally completing a Diploma of Teaching in Visual Arts which has allowed her to finance her foray into her own art practice. Today Penelope works from her studio in rural Grose Vale NSW, where she lives with her furniture designer/maker husband Darren Oates and at the moment, one dog.
Material and Conceptual Practice
Penelope’s technical approach to her practice is highly layered with its mix of coloured inks, acrylic paint and a trusty soldering iron which allows her to lightly etch into both timber panels and canvasses resulting in a distinctive, tapestry-like patina of overlapping lines. This introduction of a soldering iron into her artmaking practice has allowed her to introduce more of a drawing element back into her work and she sees herself as more of a ‘mark-maker’ than a painter.
Inspiration is drawn from Penelope’s own experiences and memories of the landscape with its shifting colours, merging textures and evocations of place and time. She feels a strong connection to the works of 19th Century metaphysical poet John Keats whose poetry expresses the notion of being able to transcend our negative experiences of the world by contemplating upon ‘a thing of beauty’ In this sense her work provides her with an escape from the strains of an otherwise contemporary urban existence and allows her to indulge in the practice of making, often a very solitary experience but one which suits her perfectly. Art does, however, need an audience to give it meaning and context and it is every artist’s joy when that connection is made between the viewer and their work of art.
BOYD McMILLAN
Presenting the Australian Landscape an accessible way to provide an experience of natural areas that may encourage consideration of the bush and its values.
Painting is from the direct experience of walking in the bush with a foundation of drawing to show response to change and present the lightness and transparency of the Australian bush. Tree Portraits engage with older trees as enduring records of the conditions in which they grow.
Sculpture is based on low impact techniques of basketry using the natural structure of plants. Earlier this year I won the Peter Collins Memorial Prize at the 2022 Sculpture Bermagui Festival.
I studied art in Queensland in the 1970’s. I began to exhibit in a range of media.
Works have sold to clients in Australia and overseas.
CURATORS PICK
JULY 1 – 31
FEATURED ARTISTS
CAITLIN GRAHAM, NATASHA DANILOFF, NADEGE LAMY, HILLARY SIMS, KAYLENE BROOKS, LISA RHODES, LISE EDWARDS, MEIKA DAVIS & many more
Our ‘Curator Pick’ collection with some of our favorite artists and their works. Something for everyone for one month only.
HANDS ON CLAY lll
April 6th – 30th
NICOLA COADY, ANNE EDWARDS, CHRIS BARKER-GALLOWAY, ROBIN GURR, ROBERT LINIGEN, BILL SAMUELS and GEOFF THOMAS
Gang Gang Gallery is thrilled to be hosting our third collection of ceramic works by a number of talented potters, pushing boundaries with function and form in this energetic and creative exhibition.
OPENING EVENT – Saturday April 8th from 3pm
NICOLA COADY
“From the rolling hills of Devon, the vdst veldt of Africa to the weathered shores of Australia, my forms have emerged”.
Arriving in Australia in the late 60’s, I was immediately taken by the eroded sandstone foreshores and flora and fauna. Having canoed many times up the River Dart, Devon, England, where I experienced my formative years and walking along the cliff’s collecting primroses and bluebells overlooking the English Channel, I was acutely aware of the beauty of nature.
ln the early 1970’s the opportunity arose for me to get my hands into clay and I never looked back. Once my two sons started School, I enrolled in TAFE at Brookvale and completed a 4 year part time Diploma Course, graduating in 1986. On graduating, I was approached to teach at the Ku-ring-gai Art Centre in Roseville which I did for 27 years which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I have been a member of the Ceramic Study Group since the late 1980’s and in 2010-2014 was President and currently Vice President. 2016-2021 I was President of the Ferry Artists Gallery at Wisemans Ferry, where I still exhibit a range of my latest creations. Over the years I have been invited and exhibited all over Australia and my work has been acknowledged by winning 28 Awards at different times. To name a few, one of the awards was judged by Lloyd Rees in the late 1970’s at the Lane Cove Annual Art Exhibition which, I think, gave me the impetus to keep potting. ln 2015,1 won the 300 grams. Exhibition/Competition at the Mansfield Ceramics Gallery in Darlinghurst, judged by Art Critic, Dr. Christopher Allen. 2018 won the “Bowl” competition held by the Ceramic Study Group,2019 the ‘Animal, Vegetable and Mineral’ competition with a form entitled “Erosion” judged by Barbara Campbell Allen and in 2021 won the “Party theme” competition judged by Malcolm Greenwood . ln 2014, 2017 and 2018 I won one of the categories of the Annual Teapot Exhibition in Sydney. I have had several solo exhibitions, one entitled “Ripples of Time – celebrating 20 years” which was opened by celebrity John Doyle. My work has been purchased for Permanent Collections and Corporate gifts.
ln 2017 one of my Ned Kelly teapots was auctioned at the NSW Parliament House to raise funds for the AMA for the Luke Batty Foundation. 2017 exhibited with Artist Carol Gill entitled “Confluence” at the Art Studios Gallery in Gosford. Last year 2021,l’was invited and exhibited with a group called “Living Textures” at Brush Farm at Eastwood, “Platinum” celebrating the Ferry Artists 20 years in existence, Living Clay Expo. at the Coal Loader, Waverton, 2022″Ephemeral” at the Gang Gang Gallery, Lithgow and finally the North Shore Craft Group’s annual Exhibition in Thornleigh. My love of texture has drawn me to experiment with crystalline glazes, as it has a certain illusiveness and depth which still intrigues me. Mainly working with stoneware or porcelain clay bodies, l’ve recently started incorporating my East meets West, Japanese “Boro” patchwork concept into some of my creations which can also be adorned with the delicate floral motifs of the Australian bush. I usually fire in my electric, gas and sometimes raku kilns and have access to a wood fired kiln in the Wnter months which adds another dimension to the forms and desired aesthetics.
My insignia – the spiral – means ever evolving and so my journey with my love of clay continues
ANNE EDWARDS
CHRIS BARKER-GALLOWAY
”In my ceramics, I work with low temperatures, organic shapes, clear lines and colour, but most of all, I strive for simplicity. Simplicity balances my busy life and my other passion…. portrait sculpture.To quote Edward de Bono…”Simplicity is easy to use but hard to design. Although simplicity is very obvious in hindsight, getting there requires a lot of creative thinking.”
ROBIN GURR
Most of Robin Gurr’s work in this exhibition was inspired by the old Lithgow mine site. She refers to worn graffiti, survivors of fire and detritus from the abandoned mine site. She depicts relics – ” surviving memorials of something past” – and, in so doing, anchors our place in time, contributing to our collective memory by making a material connection with a world which is in the act of slipping away.
Her work consists of wheel formed elements, altered and combined mostly into sculptural vessels, gas fired to stoneware temperatures. Her palate is subdued with surfaces showing evidence of weathering, decay and erosion.
ROBERT LINIGEN
On Making Weed Ash Glazes
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.”
GEOFF THOMAS
The pots for this exhibition are mostly from the fire box area of an anagama kiln where they are exposed to the most severe of the firing conditions. lt is these conditions that give the pots these results. Only 3 to 5 pots fit in this area and the losses are high but as this is the result I am trying to achieve we will keep working on it.
EPHEMERAL
APRIL 7th – 24th
FEATURED ARTISTS
PENELOPE OATES, KRISTINE BALLARD, CAROL GILL and ceramicist NICOLA COADY
A transitory, fleeting, temporary, brief, momentary exhibition
OPENING EVENT – Saturday 9th from 2pm
PENELOPE OATES
Nature is in a constant state of flux, natural forms shift, evolve, disperse, decay and renew over variable expanses of time.
The processes in nature are often mirrored in a landscape artists’ process and mine is no different to others with the layering of media onto a material surface. Where my work differs is perhaps with the introduction of a mark-making tool into the process of an otherwise painted surface.
For me the use of a soldering iron to gently burn into an already layered surface of coloured inks, and acrylic paint allows me to reveal the colours that have been applied earlier on. These coloured marks or lines have become my way of revelling in the process of drawing which has always been my first love. For me, whole process of creating an artwork that references the landscape in some form is by its very nature ‘ephemeral’.. marks or lines are often rubbed back with turpentine to create new ones with remnants of old ones still visible, areas of etched lines, however long they may have taken me to etch, are also sprayed over with acrylic aerosol to be re-etched building up layers of tone and depth. This whole artmaking process for me nicely mirrors the artist’s dichotomy of capturing a fleeting moment or feeling in nature and then committing it to permanency onto the painted surface to be viewed and enjoyed for time immemorial.
Hawkesbury NSW.
KRISTINE BALLARD
The inspiration for this collection of artworks was inspired by the unique light and colour I experience throughout my travels in the Australian landscape. This transient radiance is what I want to capture to canvas in paint.
I have been chasing colour and light around the world on a quest to better inform my art practice for many years. It has allowed me to complete art residencies in Venice, the city of light, in New York at the renowned Art Students League, and in Melbourne at Monsalvat – Australia’s oldest art colony.
My passion for colour sparked the development of the painting style I call ‘Fragmatism’. Here images float, fragment and dissolve across the canvas. Beauty is often camouflaged, and there is a motion in the stillness. It is the place where deconstructed shape and reconstructed colour glow from within.
With this new collection, I celebrate the luminance of the New South Wales countryside.
Paying homage to those fellow light chasers, the Australian impressionists. I’d like to echo their sentiments and honour their ambitions to paint the ‘light’.
Here are my colour stories. As a contemporary painter, they are the abstractions and expressions of my artistic adventures in the Australian bushland.
CAROL GILL
Ephemeral= transitory, fleeting, temporary, brief, momentary.
Like most landscape artists my work is inspired by the environment in which I live and traverse. I have a particular passion for the contrast between the Hawkesbury River region and Central Australian landscapes.
I have bush walked most of my life amongst vast changing landscapes. The transitory experience of which, however fleeting, creates lasting memories from which I draw my creative process. The seasonal changing scape of the riverine landscape in which I live, the spontaneous mass blooming of flora, the arrival of migratory birds to the wetlands, the sudden ravage of wildfire, the emergence of regrowth and the shifting and eroding sands of the Central Australia in which I traverse all converge in my studio to begin a more permanent journey in paper and paint.
Vistas become ideas, cameras capture moments that become sketches and transition into finished artworks that are all generated from brief glimpses of and momentary experiences in the landscape.
NICOLA COADY
Ephemeral for me represents transition in the process of achieving my desired form whilst working with clay. Clay is manipulative in its pure state which enables me to create a form which then has to dry – be fired – then glazed and refired.
My creative desire to begin with though, also quite often includes plants that are ephemeral and then capture that moment whilst they are still alive by pressing them into clay, to then be able to manipulate the clay to form platters, jugs, or even teapots that then hold the ephemeral moment!
Also, some of my forms capture the essence of vegetables e.g. fennel and leek which also can have a fleeting moment of existence before possibly being consumed but my interpretation will actually capture the essence of their peek ephemeral form.
Using a porcelain or stoneware body of clay, I either fire my work in an electric, gas or wood fired kiln, again going through a moment of transition to finish off my desired aesthetic.
HILARY SIMS - RETROSPECTIVE
DECEMBER 2nd – 5th
Thursday 2nd – In conversation with Hilary’s family – From 2pm
Saturday 4th – Opening Event – From 2pm
On Thursday and right through the weekend we are hosting this extraordinary exhibition featuring the work of Hilary Sims. Hilary was an amazing colourful character whose work reflected the eclectic nature of her passionate approach to her art, and we have tried to capture that in this one-off exhibition.
Hilary’s style of textures, patterns & bold colours reflects her life’s journey. Her landscapes are born from a desire to feel connected to place, and self. Her paintings are personal and reflective of her quirky yet confident and positive approach to life.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966, Hilary migrated to Australia with her family at 6 years of age. She lives in the Blue Mountains and it has been her home for over 45 years. Considering herself as “a late starter to painting”, Hilary began her art practice after her two daughters were grown and independent. She first ventured into painting as a form of therapy, but soon discovered her thirst of learning and developed her own style.
Hilary has done workshops with established artists, exhibited her work around NSW in Galleries and has been a finalist in numerous competitions.
Join us if you can on the two special days, Thursday and Saturday when between 2 and 4:30 pm Hilary’s daughters Melissa and Kate will be answering your questions about Hilary’s portrait work, the flowers, and offering stories from an amazing life.
SHE WILL BE DEARLY MISSED
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
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
Ink painting (Sumi-e) was initially developed in China from around 9 th to 10 th Century and was introduced into Japan around the 12 th Century together with Zen and was fully developed by the end of the 13 th Century. Initially, Sumi-e was practised amongst monks only.
Michiyo has been practising Sumi-e for about 20 years. While she was learning woodblock printing, she started using Japanese handmade paper. She was soon drawn into the paper itself for its texture and hue. She found that a combination of shades of grey and the natural glow of handmade paper gives the effects of a delicate hue of light such as shadows reflecting on paper screens, invoking the natural instinct of her birth country. To pursue further the effects of these shades of grey, she decided to study Sumi-e.
The theme of this Exhibition, Adrift, is complementary to the Zen philosophy of impermanence – nothing stays the same.
In the environment where you are constantly facing incidents totally beyond your control or efforts, only thing you could do is to accept the way as it is – leave yourself to the flow and relax – like a driftwood.
SOUL
ONLINE EVENT due to the current lockdowns SOUL will now be held online. All purchases and viewing can now be done through our online shop.
AUGUST 5 – SEPTEMBER 12
FEATURED ARTISTS
USHA SINGH – MARTIN GARIBAY – MARIA GRZYBOWSKI – KAREN BLOOMFIELD
A beautiful exhibition that reflects the issues that shape our diverse world, the four artists take us on a journey of exploration on personal and cultural identity, curiosity, and intimacy, encouraging the viewer to question their own beliefs and inspirations.
Saturday 7th August – Opening Event – From 2pm
ARTISTS
USHA SINGH – Painter
My art is a journey from Darkness to Light. Tracing every ray of light with strokes of colour on a canvas as it comes to life. I pay close attention to detail in the way colour fills up a place or a subject to create a realistic rendition. I paint to capture the fleeting magic of an illuminated space. I find inspiration in wilderness and heritage structures and still life alike often capturing an illuminated perspective which has ruminated and emerged from my creative subconscious. Through my work I want to transpose viewers into the scene and have an emotive experience. To feel what it’s like to be inside a painting and interact with its characters.
MARTIN GARIBAY – Painter
I paint because I have no other choice if I want my life to have purpose. This is a recent discovery for me, a very happy one.
As a painter I like to create paintings with a soul, so connections between a painting and the observer can be made, and emotions can be conveyed. I enjoy the goodness in the world and I don’t enjoy the pain in it bit I know that beauty can be found even amongst ugly and painful things, it’s about perspective.
MARIA GRZYBOWSKI – Painter
Soul & Wilderness – In the modern age of technology we are in a constant hurry, which leaves us detached from nature. My personal experience as an artist living in Australia, has given me the opportunity to create works inspired by local native flora and my garden. The beauty and perfection of the wilderness, innovates the creative flow within my artwork.
The six paintings series “Solitude & Wilderness”, represent my feelings of freedom from daily difficulties and demands and the state of calm and exploration of my inner soul and identity.
We humans can’t separate ourselves from nature, we are part of it.
KAREN BLOOMFIELD – Painter
I believe that my role as an artist is to capture & preserve society in this very moment & to garnish this captured moment with my own filters, wit, emotions & beliefs.
It is in this way I share my vision of how I perceive that simple, mundane, ugly & unexpected things may be viewed to be beautiful or, at the very least, engaging. It is my desire to encourage the growth that comes from seeing more than one viewpoint – in everything.
REBECCA WILSON
FEBRUARY 18 – MARCH 21 – EXTENDED TO APRIL 18
THE KATE KELLY COLLECTION
Saturday 20th February – Opening Event – From 2pm
Book Launch – Saturday 20th – 3pm
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
FEBRUARY 18 – APRIL 18
Kate Kelly | True Story of Ned Kelly’s Little Sister
In celebration of Rebecca’s biography Kate Kelly published by Allen & Unwin, 16 February 2021, Gang Gang Gallery presents The Kate Kelly Collection, a series of narrative paintings and story cards based on years of research and investigation into the life of Kate Kelly, Ned Kelly’s little sister.
Download a PDF about the book and the collection here | Buy the book here
BUY THE ART
Please contact the Gallery for more information and purchases – 0408 514440
POP UP | DIRK ROMEYN - Painter - January 21 to 24
POP-UP
DIRK ROMEYN – Painter – January 21 to 24
A local Artist and Craftsman
Dirk Romeyn was born and lives in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia. He is proud of his local heritage as well as his dutch ancestry.
Dirk is a wood craftsman and carpenter by trade, with over 45 years experience. His deep knowledge and love of the mystery and beauty of the Blue Mountains inspires his work and life.
Dirk creates unique wooden sculptures and furniture, and his paintings and drawings reflect the breathtaking beauty of the natural landscapes in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. His works continue to be exhibited and sought after in Australia and internationally and are a wonderful souvenir of any visit.
dirkromeyn.com
See the video here.
SUMMER
JANUARY 14 – FEBRUARY 14
FEATURED ARTISTS
HILARY SIMS – MELLISSA READ-DEVINE – SANDY FULLERTON – ANJUM OLMO
An all female exhibition
Saturday 16th January – Opening Event – From 2pm
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
ARTISTS
HILARY SIMS – Painter
Hilary’s style of textures, patterns & bold colours reflects her life’s journey. Her landscapes are born from a desire to feel connected to place, and self. Her paintings are personal and reflective of her quirky yet confident and positive approach to life.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966, Hilary migrated to Australia with her family at 6 years of age. She lives in the Blue Mountains and it has been her home for over 45 years. Considering herself as “a late starter to painting”, Hilary began her art practice after her two daughters were grown and independent. She first ventured into painting as a form of therapy, but soon discovered her thirst of learning and developed her own style.
Hilary has done workshops with established artists, exhibited her work around NSW in Galleries and has been a finalist in numerous competitions.
MELLISSA READ-DEVINE – Painter
Mellissa was born in England in the 1960s and as a child emigrated to Australia with her family. She has studied & practiced printmaking and painting continuously since the mid ‘90sand is a recipient of many prizes and awards. Her sought after works are part of many private and public collections around the world. .Living in rural Sydney overlooking the Hawkesbury River, Mellissa’s paintings have evolved into her “macropointilist”style celebrating the shape, colour and brushstroke of contemporary impressionism. An Associate of the Royal Art Society of NSW, Mellissa is a fine art tutor and travels to teach art enrichment work shops around the country.
ANJUM OLMO – Painter
Anjum has an expressive and playful approach to her art practice combining mark making, patterning and gestural application of colour. Each artwork evolves as a visceral and therapeutic practice often driven by intuition and music, she lives in the Blue Mountains and draws her creative inspiration from her environment.
Summer –Yūgen幽玄 is a juxtaposition of the landscape in the Blue Mountains and combining this with Japanese aesthetics.
Yūgen is said to mean a profound, mysterious sense of beauty of the universe and the sad beauty of human suffering. These paintings are based on this concept, it is a stark reminder of last year’s Black summer bushfires, in which the landscape is still recovering.
Yet there is hope and optimism in the air with the regeneration of the landscape, recreating a profound beauty found in nature. My intention is to create this balance and ultimately to lift the spirit and to celebrate life.
SANDY FULLERTON – Painter
My painting procedure is a very old technique used by the Renaissance artists (1500’s) & the Pre-Raphaelites (1800’s) …… called ‘Prick & Pounce’
This classical procedure was taught to me by the Czechoslovakians who came out to Australia after the WW2 and set up an embroidery textile factory in Surry Hills.
This technique was used by the designers for the manual machine embroiderers to follow…..This process is not used in the industry so much anymore as computers gradually took over.
The Power House Museum have some of our early pattern books, jacquard embroidery machine and jacquard tapes along with embroidered garments….as in the Kylie Minogue Australian Flag Jacket.
The Star Wars wedding dress in ‘Attack of the Clones’ when Anakin & Princess Amidala marry at the Lake Como scene and where Anakin turns to Darth Vader, was done in this technique.
PROCEDURE OF THE CARTOON…….
First stage is to draw onto heavy duty tracing paper to create clean art work……called an Artist’s Cartoon.
2nd stage is to photocopy the art work & colour-up the art of the cartoon……see attached pics.
3rd Stage was to perforate the tracing paper cartoon art work…….called ’Prick & Pounce’.
4th stage was to mark the cloth by placing the perforated pattern into position and mark the mix of powdered chalk & odourless kerosene through the perforations.
This would leave the imprint on the cloth/canvas for the artist/embroiderer to follow.
The cartoon technique is a much longer process, but allows the artist to understand and grow with his painting through the procedure.
LISA RHODES - LIONESS EYE
FEBRUARY 10th to 26th, 2022
Saturday 12th – Opening Event – From 2pm
Lisa Rhodes has many feathers in her cap.
An established artist and photographer, she calls Lithgow her forever home. Lisa is community spirited and enjoys curating and mentoring other artists on social media promotion and art sales.
Lisa’s work is currently exhibited on the exterior of the Gang Gang Gallery, helping promote the gallery, throughout the town (see if you can find prints of the work in local cafes and the tourist information centre).
Prolific and eclectic, her work has been collected and exhibited worldwide including Harajuku, Tokyo, Time Square, New York and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Lisa’s work has been featured on MTV and ABC TV. University qualified as a visual artist, majoring in community culture.
Her photography is sought after and is exhibited annually at the Add On to the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney. Here she has been a standout with her work collected by Alex Perry and Charles McKean. She has won first place in Lithgow photography competitions.
LIONESS EYE gives us a peek into the whimsy and fairy tale world that the artist and her imagination have created, with splashes of flora and fauna from around the Lithgow area these digital landscapes take you to a world of fun and fantasy with in depth imagery. A true delight.
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
NO BOUNDARIES
OCTOBER 2 – NOVEMBER 9
FEATURED ARTISTS
RICHARD BARGWANNA – ANTHONY CAHILL – SILAS CLIFFORD-SMITH – HAROLD DAVID – ANDY McROBERT – PETER PORTEOUS
An all male exhibition exploring the diversity of art without boundaries
3rd October – Opening Event – All day event
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
ARTISTS
RICHARD BARGWANNA – Painter
This body of work is inspired by other artworks or photographs of women from books and magazines and by building on the ideas generated by the original artist or photographer: I have retained the attitude of the women that I found so compelling.
My medium is cut paper collage
ANTHONY CAHILL – Painter
Has been exhibiting in commercial and public galleries in Australia and abroad since 1982. His work explores notions of Landscape and human presence within a contemporary representation of landscape painting. Images are derived initially through direct observation; his subjects are varied usually involving a figure in landscape, working without concern for formal boundaries of figuration and abstraction. Cahill enjoys exploring notions of the absurd and his working method is intuitive and improvisational.
This collection is an “ongoing investigation of the absurd.”
SILAS CLIFFORD-SMITH – Painter
My preferred form of artistic expression is painting but I also enjoy creating the occasional lino-cut print or pastel. My work is generally semi-abstract as I enjoy the ambiguous boundary between realism and pure abstraction. I’m inspired by many things: landscape, plants, architecture, tools, machinery and even elements from the celestial realm. I am influenced by many artists, especially Modernists of the early and mid-20th century. Important people that certainly strike a chord with me are Ian Fairweather, Jeffrey Smart, William de Morgan and last, but not least, my late-father Stanley Clifford-Smith.
I follow the dictum of William Morris and the 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement, that we need to turn our backs on objects made by machines and return to those made by people. Although not a complete Luddite, I’m distrustful of computer technology encroaching into the world of art. This doesn’t mean we have to only do pre-industrial art but we should strive to return to our own skills and physical abilities as artists. Put simply, a return to an appreciation of handmade objects. This is expressed in my art as a love of the freely drawn line, after all, there are no straight lines in nature.
As the son of two artists I grew up in the family-run art centre in England. My art training was varied and intermittent and included ceramic tuition at Braintree College in Essex (a fellow student was the Turner Prize winning artist Grayson Perry) and later a Foundation year at the respected Sir John Cass School of Art in London. After moving to Australia in the 1980s I put my art career on hold to concentrate on making a living as a Horticulturist and being a dad. Since 2011 I have returned to art making after discovering the joys of painting and printmaking.
I have exhibited my work in a number of shows in Sydney and the Blue Mountains and look forward to new exhibitions, projects and collaborations in the future. A five-page illustrated profile of my work was published in the Summer 2015 issue of OZ ARTS magazine. As well as my hands-on art making, I also have a keen interest in the history of art and have written widely on art and artists both in Australia and Britain. I have also written two art books: Percy Lindsay: artist and bohemian (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011), and a biography of my parents: Under Moonlight: a portrait of Great Bardfield artists Stanley Clifford-Smith and Joan Glass (self-published, 2016).
HAROLD DAVID – Painter
Harold David is a multidisciplinary artist that draws his inspiration from life, his personal feelings and the universal field. “I tap into the unknown space that we all share as humans.” After establishing himself as one of Australia’s premier portrait photographers, Harold turned his focus to painting. “I have been painting since the age of 12. Growing up in America with a single mother who worked night shift in a factory, I used this time sneaking into her make-up bag and using her nail polishes as paint,” he says. “Now in my 50’s I have mustered up enough courage to share my love of painting with the public.” His first solo exhibition for his painted works in October 2019 was a sold out show. The man has serious style. When asked about is process he explains, “I put paint on the brush and I have faith and do it. As an Abstract Surrealist I apply pure automatism and invent my own figurative universes. I work in a spontaneous and fluid way and I don’t take into account coherence and sense.” There’s a sense of pure freedom in the work that’s universal and poignant.
Harold David’s photographic exhibition practice includes solo shows: Uniform World and Tracksuits of St Marys, Penrith Regional Gallery; Fujieda City Museum and Hakusan Citizen’s Arts Centre, Japan; Surface, Sydney Fringe Festival; Texas Trailer Park and Rapture, Rubyayre Gallery; Runway, Australian Centre for Photography, Others, Art Gallery of NSW, Garage Barbershop, Blacktown Arts Centre and Survey, Day Fine Art. His portrait of Bob Hawke drinking a milkshake won the 2018 National Portrait Prize – People’s Choice Award.
ANDY McROBERT – Painter
I’m a self-taught artist working in the Graphic Arts Industry with a Lithographic Printing Trade, and a Degree in Communications. My work is influenced by the industrial environment I work and revolves around themes of life and death, art, music and fashion. I often work on retrieved upcycled industrial substrates which would otherwise be discarded or recycled. Like the substrates I collect, my preferred mediums have industrial roots, for example black board paint, spray paint and permanent markers. I work quickly to capture the moment, rarely dwelling on works. I celebrate imperfections and a raw aesthetic dominated by hard lines. The works presented in No Boundaries exhibition represent a range of themes and styles recently explored.
PETER PORTEOUS – Painter
Peter was born in Sydney and has lived there for most of his life. He is a full-time artist and writer. He has been a soldier and educator and is now a casual academic with a Sydney university.
Peter attended Meadowbank TAFE graduating with majors in painting and drawing. His teachers were Jocelyn Maughan, Robin Norling and Michael Kempson.
His work includes figure studies in pencil and crayon. His major works are landscapes and figurative works in oils and acrylics. Peter has drawn from his extensive travels and varied life experiences to shape his work and has exhibited widely in Australia. His work is in collections in Australia, Europe and the United States.
Peter’s use of negative space and the dissonance of his line work draws the viewer into his conversation about the Australian landscape. In his lyrical deconstruction of those uniquely Australian forms he attempts to develop a deeper understanding of the mystical and spiritual objects found in the bush. His use of colour compliments the elemental shapes found on his canvases and places him in the great tradition of Australian abstract expressionists.
NO BOUNDARIES
OCTOBER 2 – NOVEMBER 9
FEATURED ARTISTS
RICHARD BARGWANNA – ANTHONY CAHILL – SILAS CLIFFORD-SMITH – HAROLD DAVID – ANDY McROBERT – PETER PORTEOUS
An all male exhibition exploring the diversity of art without boundaries
3rd October – Opening Event – All day event
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
ARTISTS
RICHARD BARGWANNA – Painter
This body of work is inspired by other artworks or photographs of women from books and magazines and by building on the ideas generated by the original artist or photographer: I have retained the attitude of the women that I found so compelling.
My medium is cut paper collage
ANTHONY CAHILL – Painter
Has been exhibiting in commercial and public galleries in Australia and abroad since 1982. His work explores notions of Landscape and human presence within a contemporary representation of landscape painting. Images are derived initially through direct observation; his subjects are varied usually involving a figure in landscape, working without concern for formal boundaries of figuration and abstraction. Cahill enjoys exploring notions of the absurd and his working method is intuitive and improvisational.
This collection is an “ongoing investigation of the absurd.”
SILAS CLIFFORD-SMITH – Painter
My preferred form of artistic expression is painting but I also enjoy creating the occasional lino-cut print or pastel. My work is generally semi-abstract as I enjoy the ambiguous boundary between realism and pure abstraction. I’m inspired by many things: landscape, plants, architecture, tools, machinery and even elements from the celestial realm. I am influenced by many artists, especially Modernists of the early and mid-20th century. Important people that certainly strike a chord with me are Ian Fairweather, Jeffrey Smart, William de Morgan and last, but not least, my late-father Stanley Clifford-Smith.
I follow the dictum of William Morris and the 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement, that we need to turn our backs on objects made by machines and return to those made by people. Although not a complete Luddite, I’m distrustful of computer technology encroaching into the world of art. This doesn’t mean we have to only do pre-industrial art but we should strive to return to our own skills and physical abilities as artists. Put simply, a return to an appreciation of handmade objects. This is expressed in my art as a love of the freely drawn line, after all, there are no straight lines in nature.
As the son of two artists I grew up in the family-run art centre in England. My art training was varied and intermittent and included ceramic tuition at Braintree College in Essex (a fellow student was the Turner Prize winning artist Grayson Perry) and later a Foundation year at the respected Sir John Cass School of Art in London. After moving to Australia in the 1980s I put my art career on hold to concentrate on making a living as a Horticulturist and being a dad. Since 2011 I have returned to art making after discovering the joys of painting and printmaking.
I have exhibited my work in a number of shows in Sydney and the Blue Mountains and look forward to new exhibitions, projects and collaborations in the future. A five-page illustrated profile of my work was published in the Summer 2015 issue of OZ ARTS magazine. As well as my hands-on art making, I also have a keen interest in the history of art and have written widely on art and artists both in Australia and Britain. I have also written two art books: Percy Lindsay: artist and bohemian (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011), and a biography of my parents: Under Moonlight: a portrait of Great Bardfield artists Stanley Clifford-Smith and Joan Glass (self-published, 2016).
HAROLD DAVID – Painter
Harold David is a multidisciplinary artist that draws his inspiration from life, his personal feelings and the universal field. “I tap into the unknown space that we all share as humans.” After establishing himself as one of Australia’s premier portrait photographers, Harold turned his focus to painting. “I have been painting since the age of 12. Growing up in America with a single mother who worked night shift in a factory, I used this time sneaking into her make-up bag and using her nail polishes as paint,” he says. “Now in my 50’s I have mustered up enough courage to share my love of painting with the public.” His first solo exhibition for his painted works in October 2019 was a sold out show. The man has serious style. When asked about is process he explains, “I put paint on the brush and I have faith and do it. As an Abstract Surrealist I apply pure automatism and invent my own figurative universes. I work in a spontaneous and fluid way and I don’t take into account coherence and sense.” There’s a sense of pure freedom in the work that’s universal and poignant.
Harold David’s photographic exhibition practice includes solo shows: Uniform World and Tracksuits of St Marys, Penrith Regional Gallery; Fujieda City Museum and Hakusan Citizen’s Arts Centre, Japan; Surface, Sydney Fringe Festival; Texas Trailer Park and Rapture, Rubyayre Gallery; Runway, Australian Centre for Photography, Others, Art Gallery of NSW, Garage Barbershop, Blacktown Arts Centre and Survey, Day Fine Art. His portrait of Bob Hawke drinking a milkshake won the 2018 National Portrait Prize – People’s Choice Award.
ANDY McROBERT – Painter
I’m a self-taught artist working in the Graphic Arts Industry with a Lithographic Printing Trade, and a Degree in Communications. My work is influenced by the industrial environment I work and revolves around themes of life and death, art, music and fashion. I often work on retrieved upcycled industrial substrates which would otherwise be discarded or recycled. Like the substrates I collect, my preferred mediums have industrial roots, for example black board paint, spray paint and permanent markers. I work quickly to capture the moment, rarely dwelling on works. I celebrate imperfections and a raw aesthetic dominated by hard lines. The works presented in No Boundaries exhibition represent a range of themes and styles recently explored.
PETER PORTEOUS – Painter
Peter was born in Sydney and has lived there for most of his life. He is a full-time artist and writer. He has been a soldier and educator and is now a casual academic with a Sydney university.
Peter attended Meadowbank TAFE graduating with majors in painting and drawing. His teachers were Jocelyn Maughan, Robin Norling and Michael Kempson.
His work includes figure studies in pencil and crayon. His major works are landscapes and figurative works in oils and acrylics. Peter has drawn from his extensive travels and varied life experiences to shape his work and has exhibited widely in Australia. His work is in collections in Australia, Europe and the United States.
Peter’s use of negative space and the dissonance of his line work draws the viewer into his conversation about the Australian landscape. In his lyrical deconstruction of those uniquely Australian forms he attempts to develop a deeper understanding of the mystical and spiritual objects found in the bush. His use of colour compliments the elemental shapes found on his canvases and places him in the great tradition of Australian abstract expressionists.
BEAUTY OF THE BEAST
AUGUST 21 – SEPTEMBER 21
FEATURED ARTISTS
COLETTE JONQUIERES. CHRIS STEVENSON. WILL HAZZARD. MARTIN GARIBAY. GAV BARBEY. BARRY SMITH and ELLEN JEWETT
22nd August – Opening Event @ 2pm
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
ARTISTS
COLETTE JONQUIERES – Painter
Over the last nine months I’ve been working on a series of portrait paintings using goats as my subjects, but with a twist. The paintings are based on people I know.
CHRIS STEVENSON – Painter
For many years I have been intimately involved with farming on family cattle properties in NSW. Just like humans, cows can be social or bloody-minded, sensitive or stubborn, suspicious or nosy. The shape of cows, both individually and as a herd, invite me to play with their forms within the rectangle of canvas or paper. I am also attracted to the texture and rhythm of their hide which seems to mimic the landscape surrounding them. To quote from the first few lines of a poem I wrote:
“Up close cows are landscapes…….. Those shorthairs on the belly…….. are the grasses of paddocks.”
WILL HAZZARD – Painter
My work aims for a connection with animals, the environment, and the Wiradjuri land I live on. To me, that is where beauty emanates from.
My work is often inspired by personal encounters with nature (lizards, kangaroos, magpies, echidnas, cockatoos etc) on my property at Meadow Flat and my paintings represent a spiritual connection with the land and the beauty of nature.
Like Monet’s haystacks and water lilies, I usually do a series of paintings on each subject, tweaking the work, making subtle changes to capture different moments in the life cycle of the subject.
For example, My lizard paintings were inspired by an encounter in my front garden, when I returned home one day to see a blue tongue lizard give birth to a handful of babies! These works represent life cycles, birth and renewal.
My cockatoo paintings came about after rescuing a baby Sulphur Crested Cockatoo that we named Billy. He had been severely injured by a hawk and could not fly. My family nursed him back to health until he was finally able to re-join his crackle. I have used Billy’s struggles to represent the environment and he is a symbol of hope for a beautiful future.
MARTIN GARIBAY – Painter
I paint because I have no other choice if I want my life to have purpose. This is a recent discovery for me, a very happy one.
As a painter I like to create paintings with a soul, so connections between a painting and the observer can be made, and emotions can be conveyed. I enjoy the goodness in the world and I don’t enjoy the pain in it bit I know that beauty can be found even amoungst ugly and painful things, it’s about perspective, and that’s why I chose stray dogs as my subject for this exhibition, to me the convey some of their pain that make us sensible towards them, and also their infinite beauty.
GAV BARBEY – Painter
Gav Barbey is a Melbourne born Multimedia Artist.
Eccentric with his art, Gav began his journey as a young dyslexic male in the 70’s. “I always will gravitate to the theatre – I think it’s where I do my best work. It’s all encompassing and a multitude of other disciples can reside there.”
Gav has had a very colourful life, spending time overseas in countries such as America, South America and Africa. With his work he is able to explore his creative expressions in the places novices may not find commercially appealing. He clearly states a loathing for the business end of the Art world; “
BARRY SMITH – Painter
Born in North Yourshire, England in 1948 and the son of a huntsman, his love of horses and hounds have played a big part in his life.
A self taught artists, this love of animals and the country way of life shows through in his paintings.
Barry was granted full membership of the Society of Equestrian Artists (S.E.A) in the UK in 1997.
He has exhibited extensively, including Christies, and won several prestigious prizes in the UK.
Since coming to Australia in 2007 his love of this country is evident in his paintings.
To exhibit in Beauty of the Beast gives Barry an opportunity to show his predominantly equestrian art work in a well known local gallery.
ELLEN JEWETT – Sculptor
TIMESCAPES
HENRYK TOPOLNICKI - Return of the Dragon
JULY 3 – 27 EXTENDED TO AUGUST 3rd
FEATURED ARTIST – HENRYK TOPOLNICKI with PETER BEEH. JANE CANFIELD. NATASHA DANILOFF. WENDY HAWKES. BILL HOPE. BOYD McMILLAN. ANJUM OLMO and LITHGOW HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
A multimedia exhibition where sculpture, paintings and soundscape create an immersive re-imagining of past, present and future
Soundscape Artist – Barbara Lepani, Sean O’Keeffe and Brad Diedrich
Special events and guest speakers each Saturday between 2pm and 4pm – 11th – 18th – 25th
4th – Opening Event @ 2pm
Please note that due to the current COVID-19 crisis, NSW Government restrictions will apply
ARTISTS
HENRYK TOPOLNICKI – Sculptor
I am a practising artist who develops works completely independently and in response to private, public, gallery and competition commissions.
After completing a sculpture course at East Sydney Technical College I started a designer-maker’s business.
From 2000 this business became a primarily art focused enterprise. Dozens of successful public art commissions followed. At the same time I was pursuing other avenues such as interior design, landscape art and commercial space fit-outs.
My latest venture is the opening of Gallery H at Dargan.
I have the comfort of fully equipped studio workshops, both for metal and wood working. This gives me total control of the whole artistic process and ensures that the original intention does not “get lost in translation”.
PETER BEEH – Aerial Cinematographer – Aerial Film Australasia
Peter’s contribution to Timescapes features six contemporary images that reflect the recent state of our environment. Four of the images centre on lands around the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area – the majesty of the region as well as the impacts of humanity. Two images com from Tasmania’s remote and less touched Tarkine wilderness.
JANE CANFIELD – Painter
Living at Lidsdale, we saw the fire season kick off locally in September 2019. And everyone in Australia felt what happened after that. As Artists, we work with what is around us and at the time that I was working on these paintings, there was stifling smoke and burning off, followed by disastrous out of control fires. The light was different. What was happening and will continue to happen with Climate Change inaction can be seen as depressing and sad. The loss of animal and human life, peoples homes and livelihoods, but as with life, in every disaster, some good may come out of it, if we mark this point in time and make new choices. There was a strange beauty in the menacing smoke the voluminous clouds, the remains of burnt trees, laying almost in formation as they fell and continued to smolder. The fringe of skeleton trees on the ridge lines and the revelation of cathedral rocks and cliff faces. Artists through the ages have made their marks through tragedy, from J.M.W. Turner and volcanic eruptions to Fred Williams and his You Yang paintings and Burnt Landscapes.
An Artists role is to mark these time and events, all in our own personal way.
NATASHA DANILOFF – Painter
This exhibition is an attempt to capture and express the summer of 2019/2020; our lost summer and the summer of so much loss.
Art can be cathartic and can speak to many in an immediate, visceral way. These works are a personal expression of events, surroundings and emotional choices about the things we feel are precious. They are also an expression of hope, of green life pushing through scarred ground. Precious things celebrated in my art. I began these works on site at Hat Hill Road days after the fire. Walking carefully through the ashen landscape I picked up charred bits and made marks on papers that had the gessoed and sanded remains of old drawings. I began to see a relationship between my process and the images that confronted me.
The work was resolved in my studio as I reflected on the emotional impact of this summer.
WENDY ANNE HAWKES – Digital Prints
To me, art is about telling stories. I like to make connections with people, asking them to empathize with my subjects and find compassion for and enjoyment in them. I use drawing, painting and mixed media to create free, scribbly images full of movement and character. Animals and urban art are my main subjects. Both bear the impact of our love and carelessness, and reflect it back upon us.
My Weather Map Animals appeared during those long, terrifying nights last summer when we all stayed awake watching the fire and weather maps and waiting for that evacuation order. I began to see animals in the weather maps. I took screenshots and used my basic edit function to draw the animals into the map. Soon they began to tell their own story as the devastating impact of the fires on our native animals began to become apparent. It is estimated a billion native animals died in our nation as a result of the summer fires.
BILL HOPE – Illustrator
Bill Hope is an Illustrator and Artist Living in the Blue Mountains. Having established himself in the illustration industry in Sydney Bill recently moved to the mountains where he has expanded his practice into the fine arts. His commercial work is represented by the Jacky Winter Group of Melbourne and he shows with the Lost Bear Gallery in Katoomba. His work is often intricate and precise with a focus on character and storytelling.
BOYD McMILLAN – Painter
Boyd works in a variety of media with a foundation of walking and drawing in natural areas such as the western Blue Mountains. His practise is based upon site drawing and the direct experience of landscape. The work starts from the immediacy of drawing and develops in the application of media and techniques available in the studio to convey the experience of change in landscape and explore resonance through metaphor.
Boyd received formal training majoring in painting in the mid 1970’s, and has continued a dual practice as an artist and landscape architect exhibiting in Galleries and Art Fairs in Australia and Japan. He has been a finalist in the Gosford Art Prize and the Bermagui Sculpture Prize and his work is held in private collections across Australia, in the United States and the UK.
ANJUM OLMO – Painter
Dreamtime is Anjum’s modern interpretation of the landscape in the Blue Mountains, it acknowledges the past and bringing together Anjum Olmo’s artistic journey began when she lived in a remote Aboriginal community in Far North Queensland working on the Indigenous Enterprise Partnership program in Cape York. It was on this outback adventure that she became drawn to the indigenous art and culture and this has fueled her curiosity ever since.
Upon returning from the outback, Anjum decided to pursue her interest and love of art and design. Anjum re-trained as an interior designer and more recently graduated from Nepean Art and Design Centre completing the Visual Arts diploma.
Anjum has an expressive and playful approach to her art practice combining mark making, patterning and gestural application of colour. Each artwork evolves as a visceral and therapeutic practice often driven by intuition and music, she lives in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains and draws her creative inspiration from her environment.
The future. Each canvas portrays a story, one of self discovery, community and empowerment, it captures the sacred land of the Blue Mountains utilizing colour vibration combinations, her intention is to lift the spirit and to celebrate life.
GABRIELLE KNIGHT – Lithgow High School
“In October 2013 a string of catastrophic bushfires ravaged the Blue Mountains. I created this artwork in 2016 during my final year of high school. Quite recently in December 2019, the Blue Mountains were again subjected to devastating bushfires highlighting the continuing relevance of these sculptures. Such events are an uncomfortable fact of life for those of us who live in bushfire-vulnerable communities, the risk we think we accept for a lifestyle choice. But when it actually happens it is nonetheless raw, confronting and usually devastating. And in a warming world, disturbingly more frequent.”
LITHGOW HIGH SCHOOL
ALICE KINGSTON – more info
CHLOE LOGUE – more info
GABRIELLE KNIIGHT – more info
KAYE RICE
FEBRUARY 29 – MARCH 30
BEHIND THE CURTAIN supporting artists
Kaye was introduced to clay in South Australia’s Riverland during the 70’s and was totally captivated.
A serendipitous move to Mudgee and then onto land at Home Rule in the heart of the ancient clay fields brought many opportunities to broaden her understanding and use of clay in body, slip and glaze.
GALLERY NOTES – In this collection of hand built pots, the years of skill and understanding of the medium shines through. Kayes use of understated colours and muted tones with hints of golds, ash and glaze together with the rustically earthy textures and overstated proportions of the pots give rise to being a beautiful centrepiece to any art collection.
GRAHAM SMITH
FEBRUARY 29 – MARCH 30
BEHIND THE CURTAIN with supporting potter Kaye Rice
Born in Wellington New Zealand, Graham Smith later moved and settled in Sydney in 1977. Teaching drawing at The University of Technology till 1985, Grahams works have been purchased by The Australian Art Bank and also grace the homes and offices of private collectors all over the world.
GALLERY NOTES – In a compilation of Cubism, Modernism and hints of Constructivism, this is a bold and exciting body of work. Grahams use of colour and form takes the viewer on a journey through enchanted gardens, baron landscapes and far away travels, sending the mind through a whimsical world Behind the Curtain. A truly beautiful display of contemporary art…
HANDS ON CLAY
APRIL 3 – APRIL 27 FINAL DAY – MONDAY JUNE 8
KWIRAK CHOUNG, MICHAEL CONOLAN, ANNA CULLITON, LISE EDWARDS, ANNE EDWARDS, SUSIE McMEEKIN, CHESTER NEALIE, SARAH O’SULLIVAN, BILL SAMUELS, LINDA SEIFFERT, REBECCA VERPOORTEN LAWS and emerging artists EBONY SALAMA
A group exhibition showcasing a collection of masters in their field in this dynamic and thought provoking show.
Hands on Clay and GANG GANG gallery are proud supporters of Clay Gulgong
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.”
MICHAEL CONOLAN
The work exhibits a balance between narrative and reflective contemplative ideas.
The chuns are used to reflect something of the old tectonic forces, the melting and flowing of rocks from our planet’s pre-histories which are evident in the deep ravines and cliffs of the Kowmung River chasms. These landscapes seemed to accept our walking tours of the Kanimbla – Boyd National Park, offering a sense of ‘all will be well’ even when we might have become stuck amid those beetling cliffs and sliding shale screes and fogs and red cedars, and scary cave systems, and river oaks by quiet pools. All that humbling beauty.
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.
LISE EDWARDS
“Women who play with fire” – is ultimately the autobiography of an imperfect woman turning 60 and considering her life decisions, and experience, relationships, health and concepts of beauty and ageing.
Clay is my medium and wood is my fuel in the kilns I built at Hampton.
I’m not interested in what I know can happen but rather using found and scrounged materials to see what I can make of them. The same mold was used for each of the 60 pieces that make up the entire installation.
I fire alone so I can experiment without interference and the only limitations are my own.
ANNE EDWARDS
SUSIE McMEEKIN
Susie is a potter of 42 years’ experience. She is based in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. There she and her husband have built a home raised a family.
Susies’ work is quiet and simple. It is based on two strong cultures that of Asia and the UK. She is enamored with the Chinese Sung dynasty glazes and the simplicity of shape. Her Teadust glaze is taken from the Korean tradition as is the white glaze that she uses. Some shapes are West Country English and that comes from her training with her father Ivan McMeekin who trained in Cornwall with Michael Cardew a well-known and respected potter from post war UK. There was a strong ethic taught of using the materials that are around your workshop which she tries hard to adhere to. The glazes she uses are sourced from an area within 100 kilometers from her home and she processes all these materials in her workshop so these glazes come from raw rock to the beauty you see before you. In the past three years she has built a new workshop and recently completed the building of her wood fire kiln which will be fired for the first time in April next year.
Susie is represented in Regional Galleries and in many private collections both here and internationally. In 2018 she represented Australia in China at the Belt and Road Celadon Conference in Ningbo a city close to Shanghai where her work was enthusiastically received
CHESTER NEALIE
Nealie is a New Zealand potter working in Australia. He began potting in New Zealand in 1964 after being inspired by visiting potters Shoji Hamada, Takeichi Kawai and Michael Cardew and has since maintained a continuous potting practice for over 50 years. He built his first wood-fired anagama kin at South Kiapara Head, NZ, in 1978 after seeing woodfiring in Shigaraki and Bizen during his sponsored visit, in company with Len Castle, to the World Crafts Conference in Kyoto, Japan. Since that time Chester has lectured, built kilns and conducted many firings in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, USA, Korea, Norway, China and France. Nealie began exhibiting in 1965 and from 1975 has responded to invitations to exhibit, lecture and give workshops overseas. He has exhibited widely in solo and group shows both in Australasia and other countries. He also initiated and curated a number of exhibitions and events in New Zealand and overseas.
Nealie relocated from New Zealand to Australia in 1991. While working from his studio at Goanna Ridge, Gulgong, where he has three woodfiring kilns, Nealie continues to demonstrate and exhibit on a regular basis.
He is represented in many public and private collections in New Zealand and around the world, been published in numerous books, received many awards for his works and is a member of the New Zealand Society of Potter and the Auckland Studio Potters.
SARAH O’SULLIVAN
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.
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.”
REBECCA VERPOORTEN-LAWS
I use clay to tell stories. My heart and hands love to touch clay. I feel that I need clay like the air I breathe.
This work is a collection of decorative narrative pieces that play with the idea of decorative and function. I see the work as lustrous illustrations straight from the heart. The work explores the recent Bush fires, evacuation, regeneration and life in the Blue Mountains. Other themes depicted, the impact of illness, heartache and breakdown of things we hold closest to us. Decay, love and loss and nostalgia. The vintage references evoke a sentimental yearning for return to a past period or irrecoverable condition. A longing to hold onto love and the pain and inevitability of loss, and the moments of beauty that are found and embedded in-between.
All events are framed within in creation and my belief and eternal hope that there is so much more to heaven and earth.
EBONY SALAMA – emerging artist
My work borrows from the romantic ideals of union with the natural world and the connection we as humans share with the creatures that walk alongside us. This work depicts the battle scarred Mercenary flaunting wounds upon his face, and the Mother lying exposed with swollen teats but baring no kittens. The cats manifest both the anger and aggression of the dominant male, and the submission and nurturing of the reserved female. Both are common behaviors found in each respective sex of cat, and the animal kingdom as a whole. As such, these pieces are both consciously buying into the stereotypes of traditional gendered roles. It’s up to the viewer to decide whether or not they support the idea or reject it, and if they think of these attributes as a positive or negative force. We like to think ourselves above this behavior, however I’m curious as to how prevalent this nature is in our own species and want to question how far removed we actually are from our primal instincts that we so look down upon.
ZIG ZAG STEAM EXHIBITION & ART PRIZE
4 – 28 OCTOBER
In October 2019 Gang Gang Gallery will be holding an exhibition, The Zig Zag Steam Art Prize, to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the first steam train to traverse the Great Zig Zag Railway and arrive in Bowenfels. Artists residing in NSW are invited to enter up to three artworks for consideration in the exhibition. A prize of $1500 will be awarded to the most outstanding artwork along with a $500 People’s Choice Award.
On the 18th October 1869 the first steam train traversed the Great Zig Zag Railway from Clarence to Bowenfels. Built to transport farming and mining goods from the Central West across the Blue Mountains to Sydney, the The Great Zig Zag was the first of its kind ever built and was regarded as one of the engineering wonders of the Victorian age. In 1910 the Ten Tunnels Deviation was built and the Great Zig Zag reverted to bushland. Then in 1975 the railway was reopened as a tourist destination. There are endless wonderful stories regarding the construction and running of the Great Zig Zag Railway many of which will be told over the coming months as the 150th anniversary approaches. The Zig Zag Steam Art Prize aims to tell these stories through visual mediums.
Artists are encouraged to explore the theme of the The Great Zig Zag Railway through their favourite medium for their entries in this exhibition. There are many aspects of the railway to consider including: its construction, the trains run on the line, the viaducts and stations, passengers, train staff, the environment, construction, crashes and its time as a tourist endeavour. Realistic and abstract interpretations are both encouraged.
CONGRATULATIONS
SHANE MONAGHAN
2019 Zig Zag Art Prize
Peoples Choice Award
WENDY ANNE HAWKES
4 OCTOBER to 4 NOVEMBER
ANEMOIA: NOSTALGIA FOR A TIME I NEVER KNEW
Wendy Anne Hawkes presents her exhibition Anemoia: Nostalgia for a Time I’ve Never Seen at GangGang Gallery in Lithgow from 4 October to 4 November 2020. Using multimedia techniques combined with her signature loose sketching style Wendy Anne creates artworks that express her connection to the history of Lithgow and her nostalgia of places, people and stories she has never experienced. The exhibition includes framed works, concertina books and her 8m panorama sketch on newspaper of the top end of Lithgow’s Main Street, Top End. Wendy Anne will be running a Multimedia Urban Art workshop at GangGang Gallery on Sunday 13 October, 10.30 – 12.30pm and will be artist in residence at the gallery for the Lithgow Artist Trail weekend of the 2/3 November.
The community is invited to celebrate the opening of her exhibition at 1pm on Saturday 5 October 2019
ARTFUL ALCHEMY
AUGUST 9 – SEPTEMBER 30
In ancient times, alchemy was the magical transformation of base materials into precious metals, perfumes or elixirs of life. As well as observation and experimentation with minerals, plant and animal extracts, alchemists were also concerned with mystical symbols and spiritual enlightenment.
Today, Artful Alchemy is the virtuosity of an artist skilful with paints and brush, a musician bringing to life their voice and instruments, a chef’s masterpiece equally pleasing to the eye and tastebuds.
Gang Gang Gallery brings you a fully immersive Art of Lunch experience on Sunday 29 Septrember with Artful Alchemy. Five well-known artists present totally different perceptions of Blue Mountains environments, astonishing us with their originality and insight. It is intriguing how each artist’s vision and depiction of the natural environment is so distinctive. They all start off with the same materials – paints, brushes, canvas – and transform these base elements into artworks that evoke emotional, and sometimes spiritual or philosophical, responses.
Often painting ‘en plain air’, Jane Canfield’s tonal studies can capture the seasonal chill of winter, the mountain’s moody atmospherics or distant urbanscapes, discovering their essence in broad strokes rather than representational detail.
French-born and educated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Nadege Lamy has immersed herself into the Australian environment, which she interprets through the prism of her French-Australian culture and interest in Asian philosophies. She aims to express the meditative, spiritual exchange that she experiences.
From her eyrie overlooking the Hawkesbury River, Mellissa Read-Divine uses expressionistic, immediate style to render vivid and spectacular large-scale paintings of river landscapes, flora and birdlife.
As a youth Ray Harrington frequented famous London galleries, drawing inspiration from Turner and French Impressionists. Since setting out in earnest on his creative path as a painter based at Blackheath, he has developed his own style of impressionism in oils with emphasis on light and colour.
Yaja Hadrys practices a different type of alchemy. She goes on seasonal gathering trips, collecting her Blue Mountains native plant materials – flowers, leaves, twigs, barks. She concocts bundles of carefully selected plants, tightly binds them in a cocoon of silk and steams the bundles in her ‘eucalyptus stews’ . When the silk fabric is released from its cocoon you see its amazing transformation into an echo of nature.
Musician . . . . .
Roy McVeigh, Executive Chef of multi-award winning Darley’s Restaurant, has designed his highly creative spin on Artful Alchemy in harmony with the exhibition.
mi'anderin
July 19 – August 4
MI’ANDERIN – a collaborative exhibition by Kate St James, Catherine Whitting and Monique Sartor
Presented by Barbara Hamilton and Curated by Mary Brown
Gang Gang Gallery, Lithgow
When four creatives meet at the Sydney Home Show and discover their joint love of art, only great things can happen.
Interior designers are no strangers to selecting and specifying art in their residential and commercial projects but not all interior designers are artists in their own right. Discovering each other’s talents and passion for art and brought together by a fellow designer and art enthusiast, things could only take off for this trio.
Mi’andarin is an exhibition of original art by design duo Kate St James and Catherine Whitting from the St James Whitting studio and Monique Sartor from Sartorial Interiors. Interior designer, Barbara Hamilton owner and curator of The Curious Art Bar, recognised their talents and brought the artists together and now represents them nationally.
St James and Whitting started creating collaboratively in 2016. After graduating from Sydney College of the Arts with a degree in Visual Art and design, Catherine Whitting took on various roles from teaching art at high school, running her interior design business and lecturing interior design at the Design Centre, Enmore – a role she still undertakes in conjunction with running her design practice St James Whitting along with Kate St James. Whitting has exhibited her art in Australia and New Zealand since 1993 and her works feature in many private and commercial collections.
Prior to joining forces with Whitting, St James’ career spanned more than 30 years as an interior designer and design magazine editor. The pairs’ collaboration came about through their realised passions for design and they started working together in 2016. Discovering each other’s talents for art and photography they began experimenting in various mediums, culminating in a series of collaborative as well as individual works, which they exhibited in three successful exhibitions in 2017.
There is a deep connection to nature and the environment in St James’ and Whitting’s works. In this current exhibition abstracts and mixed media reflect joint and collaborative journeys of travels and experiences, nostalgia, the present, fleeting moments and the past. Colour and textural techniques are explored layer upon layer – the common denominators found in their environments and in their works.
Monique Sartor has been a keen amateur photographer for almost twenty years. She focuses on the stories behind the image. She also believes in allowing for happy accidents such as blur, shards of light and grain which some might consider a fault but Monique sees them as adding to the mystery!
Blanc & Noir is a photographic retrospective of culture and landmarks through the lens of Monique Sartor, with her perfectly fitting subtitle ‘my life, my lens.’
Beautiful photography has the ability to draw us into a story; even if we know little about what that might actually be. Moody black and white shots, blur and grain add to the mystery, allowing our imaginations to fill in the blanks”.
From famous landmarks to traditional costumes, Monique focuses on detail and atmosphere and applying a healthy dose of humour to her works.
The exhibition will include original and mixed-media paintings, limited edition artworks, fine art photography, handmade jewellery by MZ Form, and home wares and apparel all featuring the artists’ original works.
REBECCA WILSON
A PORTRAIT OF LANDSCAPE AND TIME IN HILL END
May 24 – June 24
An exhibition of paintings and research, with an accompanying book. The works unearth lesser known stories of the remote and iconic town of Hill End. They disrupt common narratives of the region, questioning who the real heroes and villans are in recorded history and how we create myths and icons. “The line that divides good and evil cuts through the heart of every man,” is a quote fromRussian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn which introduces the viewer to the artist’s narrative works.
COLLECTIC
‘COLLECTIC’, this group exhibition is an exploration of the unusual and unique. Recycled, reclaimed and rebirthed this thought provoking exhibition shows you everyday items transformed into contemporary art pieces. Raphe Coombes, Kaylene Brooks, Philip Hammial & Michelle Connolly combine their quirky talents in this must see ‘collection of the eclectic.’
FEATURED ARTISTS
MICHELLE CONNOLLY
I am a mixed media painter and sculptor based in Sydney Australia. I am influenced by tribal and primitive artwork and would describe my work as that of an outsider artist with no formal art eduction. My work on multiple creations simultaneously using various materials. I enjoy creating quirky and fanciful human and animal characters, there is no planned story behind these creations, but I use them to trigger off new works and to keep an internal dialogue going.
I lived in North Carolina, USA for seven years (2007-2014), where I became familiar with visionary/folk art, I was inspired by its honesty raw energy and started to use found material more and more in my works. A recent series of flattened box drawings are filling my studio walls, these sometimes turn into studies for larger works.
Since 2010 I have been making figures out of a variety of found material, clay, wire, wood and paint. Inspired by the puppets made by artist Paul Klee. They have a history in their make up – stories to be told and although they stand alone they also come together in a dialogue with each other. These poor scraps are turned into rich trophies – waste not, want not.
RAPHE COOMBS
Body of work: “Sofala”
My practice is driven by an underlying fascination with the natural world and our historical involvement, how everything evolves from one another creating an endless source of discovery. Celebrating the visual beauty of colour, creating layered images that interpret the feeling and energy of a landscape, capturing nature in an ambiguous way.
All the colours are from the landscape I visit; from the bright orange fungi growing on dead tree branches, the turquoise lichen on tree trunks and rocks, the pink fluorescent afternoon sunset, the flight trail of a fairy wren, to the imprinting of the scribbly gum moth larvae.
These paintings combine the ever-changing compositional weave and lighting of the Australian bush landscape, with a seasonal summer colour palette. In paint, I describe my journey throughout this ancient country.
For my body of work, I have focused on the stunning historical town of Sofala in Western NSW. Camping and working en plein air at Wallaby Rocks and along the Turon River, I connected to the area and its’ historical importance. When in my home studio in Portland, drawing on my memories and intimacy of this place to build on my vision.
KAYLENE BROOKS
Body of work “RAW”
A cross discipline artist, taking inspiration from the natural as well as Oceanic and Tribal Arts. Kaylene is constantly striving to blur the boundaries by moving the old and mundane into the odd and contemporary with her unusual and at times uncomfortable and unnerving pieces.
In her current collection “RAW” she explores texture and form through contemporary fibre art.
In a story of sculptural mixed media fusions, and an attempt to bring the 13th century Arabian craft of Macramé, also made popular in the 60’s and 70’s, into the modern era by combining natural materials, manmade and industrial objects, as well as light and negative space.
THROUGH A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE
JANUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 25
JANE CANFIELD, AUDREY RHODA, COLETTE JONQUIERES AND NATASHA DANILOFF
A group exhibition with four amazingly talented ladies. In a beautiful presentation of how differently they see the world through their art. A woman’s journey through moods, life experience and personal history
JOE PENN & LESLEY O'SHEA
NOVEMBER 23 – DECEMBER 17
DRAWN TOGETHER
An Exhibition of Works by Joe Penn FRAS and Lesley O’Shea FRAS
The title of this joint exhibition comes from Joe and Lesley’s love of drawing. Each of the works in the exhibition have their origins in drawing; the process of thinking on paper.
“It all begins with the line!”
Joe and Lesley have been working together for the last 20 years. A partnership that had it’s beginning in their shared enjoyment of drawing and painting the world around them. Since then they have exhibited numerous times and between them have won many prizes.
IMAGES OF THE GREAT ZIG ZAG RAILWAY
OCTOBER 12 – NOVEMBER 5
Join acclaimed, local Portrait artist David Newman-White, as he brings together this eclectic and award winning group of artists in a collaboration of ‘Images of the Great Zig Zag Railway”..
FEATURED ARTISTS • Annie Joseph • Royce Holliday • Anne Blair-Hickman • Annette Macrae • Kay Booker • Jenny Sewell • Shane Monaghan • Eileen Manton • Nick Hanson • David Newman-White
GARRY PETTITT
SEPTEMBER 14 – OCTOBER 8
Join current Exhibitor GARRY PETTITT for drinks and a chat as we farewell his collection – Sunday October 7th @ 3pm-5pm.
Garry was born and educated in Lithgow. He began painting at the age of ten and is self-taught. Garry left his career as an electrician in 1994 to pursue his art.
Since turning professional, his success has escalated, winning many awards. In 2008 and 2011, Garry won the prestigious Royal Agricultural Society Art Award for the best landscape painted in a “Traditional” style at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. In 2011 he was awarded First Prize in the figurative section and that portrait also won Best Exhibit across all art sections and an Award of Excellence.
He was awarded People’s Choice at Portland Art Show 2010, and was Guest Artist at Portland Art Show in 2012.
He has had six major solo exhibitions, all of which have been a huge success.
Garry captures the atmosphere of Australia in his oil paintings, whether they are of the landscape, seascape, a streetscene or its’ people, through his attention to light, colour and detail.
Garry’s paintings are in collections around Australia, as well as USA, Singapore and Belgium. Garry resides in South Bowenfels, a suburb of his home town of Lithgow, in the Blue Mountains, N.S.W., Australia.
JANE CANFIELD
3rd AUGUST – 3rd SEPTEMBER
I love what I do. And I find constant wonder in the world which I think this is what drives me to interpret what I see. I often travel in my 1974 VW Kombi Campervan with my little dogs and go on ‘road trips’ to find more inspiration, mainly painting en Plein Air or collecting many studies to develop in the studio.
I see my work developing into semi abstraction, as I don’t want to reproduce a replica but an interpretation of what I am seeing. I often make marks very quickly and then try to ‘pull out’ the colour from the marks and the painting then starts to get a life of it’s own. But hope that viewers can still see the landscape, the interior or whatever it may be that inspired it.
A regular finalist in NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, Paddington Art Prize and Calleen Art Award (Cowra Regional Gallery) and in 2014, was invited and the work acquired into the Kedumba Drawing Award. In 2009 I was a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize, with the work selected by Margaret Olley AC. I have had 12 solo exhibitions and exhibited in numerous group exhibitions.
INDUSTRIAL LITHGOW
INDUSTRIAL LITHGOW
April 19 – May 20
An exhibition in celebration of Lithgow’s industrial past. Seven outstanding artists; Margaret Aalders, Ronald Frederick Horstman, Annie Joseph, Dean Mobbs, Rachel Szalay, Gerard Brown, Ralph Tikerpae present their work in a story of strength, creativity and growth.
FEATURED ARTIST
ANNIE JOSEPH
Lithgow’s Industrial past is well documented in historical documents and photographs. Although the earliest European settlement in the Valley was pastoral, for more than a hundred years, from the 1870s through to the latter part of the 20th Century, Lithgow was an industrial town. Coal mines, Smelters, Railways, Steelworks, Brickworks, Abattoirs, Brewery and industry-associated places such as the Trades Hall and the Lithgow Co-op, were the pulse of the valley. Most of the buildings, and the industries they housed are gone now, the last coal mine in the Lithgow Valley, The Hermitage, closed in 1986. Lithgow in 2019 is clean and green and interestingly, the old buildings that remain from our industrial past have taken on a patina, a beauty that is acquired with age. Some are in ruins while others have survived and flourished and been re-purposed. I have tried to capture some of that beauty in these pen and wash and watercolour drawings.
DEAN MOBBS
The industry of life is never perfect; and not all my works for this exhibition are, Industrial. But, when we place ourselves within the journey – which I did – I became the past, as industry. I felt the essence of the area through imagery and looked for the associated humanity. I looked for the lived elements of industry. These works encompass for me as an artist – lived historical and industrial everydayness; of the township known as, Lithgow. During the creation of the works – I walked within the area and asked for inspiration. I placed my soul inside these buildings. I floated. I swam. I was inspired by – their history; and the internal industrial nature of these amazing facilities. This is your history – feel it.
RALPH TIKERPAE
I have the luxury of working and living in a vast and well equipped studio in Wyalong NSW. This is a space entirely dedicated to the production of sculpture and painting. Here I sculpt in a variety of media but I particularly enjoy pre-loved metal and clay. I also paint in luxurious colours full of graphic mark making. It is an environment devoted to the worship of art.
After studying art in Newcastle I work and teach in regional NSW. By removing my self from the city early in my career I have been able to develop my art away from the tyranny of other influences and the stresses of city life. I revel in the freedom that living on the edge of the Mallee country gives me with access to sculptural materials and the space to both sculpt and paint in my large studio spaces.
MARGARET AALDERS
Margaret is a prize-winning water-colourist who also experiments in mixed medium especially inks. She started painting in England many years ago where she had commissions to paint farmhouses, cottages and elegant residences in rural Berkshire and Oxfordshire. While living in the UK she work-shopped with the renowned British artist John Bockley and at home with Alvaro Castagnet, Herman Peckel and other well-known artists at the Charles Sturt University Summer School for the Arts. Each year she travels to Northern Territory to paint the challenging variety posed by the rugged terrain and this was demonstrated by her very successful exhibition ‘Kanimbla to The Cape’. At home Margaret finds great inspiration in her love of the trees, mountains and vast skies of the Kanimbla Valley, part of the Blue Mountains where she lives. In her latest works she is experimenting with the challenge of capturing Lithgow’s Industrial Heritage. Margaret is an active member of the Blackheath Art Society, Society of Mountain Artists and a founding member of the Gallery Blackheath.
LE GRIZZ
Known for his psychedelic and pop styled artworks, the pieces in this show are inspired by the industrial, Flora and Fauna of Lithgow and surrounding regions in which he now lives and breaths.
“Torn between two climates, the cities in which I spend half of my time painting commercially and privately, to breathing in the fresh air of these mineral rich mountains when I return home, allowing my subconscious to be released into fluidity of creating once again, breathing into the moment.
These artworks are a still image, a moment of what goes through my mind. from the heavy headed black cockatoos floating over to the tinkering of past engineers which made Lithgow the forefront of industry in Australia. I encourage you to imagine them moving, breathing, give them sounds, give them life.”
– Grizz
RACHEL SZALAY
Lithgow has a special meaning to me. My Hungarian father came to Australia after World War II having been a prisoner of war in Germany, seeking a new life in an unknown world. He was interned in an American prisoner of war camp in Germany and learnt English from a dictionary and American comic books. A toss of a coin to determine his destination at the end of the war between America and Australia, landed on Australia.
His poignant first impression of this country was sailing in through the heads at Sydney Harbour early in the morning. Once ashore, he was whisked to the migrant camps at Bathurst jostling for position amongst the fluent in English and those that knew none. Seeking employment, he worked on the coal trains at Lithgow and also cleaned the Small Arms Factory windows.
It was at Lithgow Littleton Hostel that my father met my mother. She came from Coonabarabran seeking employment as a teacher and fondly remembers the ardour of wearing a white blouse to work. In the morning it was clean, by evening, the coal dust had settled around the inside rim of the neck.
From this first meeting, their love and journey grew. On a snowy day they married in Mt Victoria in a little church that still stands today with the reception at the Imperial Hotel. They finally settled in Glenbrook at the foot of the Blue Mountains and three children completed the family. Two sons and a daughter, me.
It was the welcoming arms of this country and the industrial genesis of Lithgow that allowed my father to get a foothold on his future and indeed the future of growth in this country after a devastating world war.
My work encapsulates the first impressions from Hassan’s Walls through to the important remnants of industry, (Zig Zag Railway, the Small Arms Factory, Eskbank House, the Blast Furnace, State Mine, Newnes)
The medium is charcoal.
I have chosen the Asian scroll painting style to show the panoramic beauty of Lithgow’s history.
RONALD FREDERICK HORSTMANN
Before the built world, the ubiquitous landscape enveloped all of humanity. Even well developed human groups, would have known for the whole of their existence, that their presence and immersion into “their” existence, that their presence and immersion into “there” may in fact signify a “somewhere else”…….. Because, we are drawn to the machines fatefulness to our own “naming” of it, and its reciprocity, and its fierce energetic commitment to our own ideological technical project.
CHRIS STEVENSON
The shape of cows, individually and as a herd, move in the landscape in a way that invites me to play with their forms within the geometry of paper and canvas. Cows are often gregarious, protective of their calves and extremely curious. As Rosamund Young says in her recent book, The Secret Life of Cows, “Just like people, cows can be highly intelligent, or slow to understand, friendly, considerate, aggressive, docile, inventive, dull, proud or shy.”
The Cox’s River, which encloses our farm, is a constant source of inspiration. The hovering presence of trees, vines, bush and rocks hint at the diversity of its changing moods, colours and patterns. Some paintings may appear to be abstract but are still recognisably connected to the landscapes of river and cattle country.
Chris Stevenson, 9 th April 2018
NADEGE LAMY
March 16
“My paintings in this exhibition are inspired by the Australian natural environment, through the prism of multi-sensibilities influenced by my French-Australian culture and my interest in Asian Philosophies. On canvas I aim to express the meditative, spiritual exchange that I experience from nature……BREATH”