Art Chat

Renowned Australian artists, John Maitland and Ken Strong return to Red Hill Gallery, Brisbane to showcase their new, vibrant body of works. Through the joyous lens of youth, Maitland explores the naivety and fragility shown within the harnessed imperfections of each work. Meanwhile, Strong combines light, colors and contrast in his portrayal of the Australian landscape and Brisbane. Presented together, the two collections will bring a dynamic new breath to the gallery with robust colors and textures from Wednesday 15 May 2019.

John Maitland’s skillfully executed oil and acrylic paintings are informed by figurative expressionism and imbued with rigorous colour and texture. Within the ‘Splash of Colour’ body of work, Maitland draws inspiration from the ballet, depicting young ballerinas resting after training, a little exhausted and exhilarated. Sunday School is another theme explored by the artist, giving him “an excuse to have a lot of fun with paint” – John Maitland. The artists cerebral interaction with the painting and the canvas informs a sequence of physical movement and paint application, using flicks, dabs and splashes to achieve the texture of a completed work of art.

Ken Strong’s latest body of work, ‘Playing in Light’ is an alluring new addition to his 20 years of Australian landscapes paintings. Characterized by bold applications of paint, Strong continues to build on his legacy of Internationally acclaimed impressionistic paintings. The artist describes the essence of this selection of works as “the feature of light as the subject”. With his essential creative combination comprised of the portrayal of light, colour and contrast, the artist plays on the viewers imagination. Merging obvious points of interest and suggestive compositions, Strong graces the canvas with an otherworldly interplay of light and hues that pulls on one’s heartstrings.

Combining a collection of figurative beauty in ‘Splash of Colour’ by John Maitland and Ken Strong’s vibrant artist landscapes in ‘Playing with Light’, this duo bathed in talent will exhibit from Wednesday 15 May and continue until Sunday 2 June 2019 at Red Hill Gallery, 61 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, QLD.

For further information about the gallery and its represented artists, please visit redhillgallery.com.au

For additional details, interviews and/or image requests please contact:Jan Griffith, Senior Art Consultant, Red Hill Gallery
E: art@redhillgallery.com.au
P: (07) 3368 1442 M: 0448 114 007

Sales will commence prior to the opening of the exhibition.

Red Hill Gallery is located at 61 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, Brisbane QLD, and is open seven days

Being an artist, I believe I see things and situations rather differently to most. My work is made at my Gold Coast studio, at Korora, Coffs Harbour and sometimes in the UK. Whilst it is not context specific, the context does affect how I work.

Recently, after being awarded an important commission for an historic Brisbane school, I happened to glance at a print of one of my works which was painted some years ago and, which is now in the collection of Brisbane Catholic Education.  I was immediately captivated by the humble old chair which is depicted in the piece. Although an integral part of the painting, it is simply and quite childishly portrayed. But …it is quite powerful.

I became fixated on it, just an old school chair, it had been around the house for a few years. I decided to honour it by painting it into this new small series called Ballerinas. So, why did I decide to paint a series around an old chair, rough around the edges? Well, contrasted with the beauty of the ballerinas, it has an incredible beauty of its own.

In my latest exhibition I’ve drawn inspiration from a few themes, the ballet, youth and, from one of my favourite series which I have revisited, Sunday School. In the Ballerina paintings most are with the young ballerinas resting after their training, a little exhausted, a little exhilarated and their naivety and frailty clearly shown within the harnessed imperfections of each work.

Another  theme, Sunday School is from a series I did quite a few years back,  it’s simply an excuse to have a lot of fun with paint, children either tumbling out of  or into Sunday School with big sisters and brothers or parents in a suggested vast landscape, with the Sunday School itself nowhere to be found!

In the course of the last few months I also embarked on a series of works for which I have a great affection. In general, the paintings depict youthful figures…female but a younger brother in some, they represent the joy of youth when every day is lots of fun, giggling laughing and just being together in a little huddle…. just the way things should be in an idyllic world.… so important now when pressures on our youth from a number of quarters can make that special time extremely difficult to navigate!!!  They are in truth rather story bookish, and they are meant to be.

A little while ago I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Crescent Heads, a coastal town in NSW. It was exhilarating itself just to watch the fun and joy of adults and children hurtling down the Killick Creek on buggy boards towards the ocean, courtesy of the current as the tide goes out. There the idea for the series was hatched, not to depict sea views, but  just children being children in a range of settings.

I am also looking forward to painting  a response to the recent news stories about the historic Travelling Stock Routes and the drovers who have been moving extraordinary  numbers of cattle down these from North Queensland to Dalby and beyond. Amazing!! I can’t promise anything due to time constraints but keep watching this space!

In conclusion, I’d like to share with you that as I work I move from what appears to be chaos to the finished work. I have an almost ritualistic sequence of physical movement and paint application using flicks and dabs and splashes, building them up, leaving them outside in the elements. There is a cerebral interaction between myself, the painting and the canvas which makes no sense to anyone but me. Eventually, when it is sitting on the easel it makes sense. And with the addition or subtraction of strokes of paint and harmonising of colours like a musical score sheet it will make sense as a completed work of art.

VIEW UPCOMING 2019 EXHIBITION AT RED HILL GALLERY HERE

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View collection at Red Hill Gallery

View Joseph Zbukvic @ Red Hill Gallery

Photograph courtesy of Viva Photography, Subiaco

Both dreams and memories are both personal and universal so I hope that everyone can take something from this collection of paintings in some way. I am attempting to draw the viewer in and to have him or her experience and grasp the ‘puzzle’ and by bringing in a bit of themselves too. My work deals a lot with identity and the figures search to find themselves, as mothers, as women, as children, as artists.  The women in our family constantly recall memories and stories from the past and ‘dreaming’ is very much encouraged.

I draw and paint from imagination, instead of from life, as this gives me a freedom to express and explore ideas and themes. My work is often large-scale, brightly coloured with primal and primitive compositions with their motifs and content invariably overshadowing discussion of their formal properties. I come from Romanesque and Mughal heritage and this too permeates my work.

I am known and am unapologetic for my female perspective in my artworks. I try to create a bond between realism as their defining style and a narrative which focuses on single moments, mysterious and revealing at the same time. Most works manifest a distillation of collected experiences into a visual unity, time and feeling. There is an essence of myself, combined with elements of alter egos and moods to match any given day. Art inevitably reveals your life and you as a person, exposing you to your audience, and you become very aware of what you choose to present and what you choose to hold back or, maybe, modify.

There are so many mysteries in life. Motherhood is one of them and a subject that is quite a significant part of my work. It dominates the way you take. No matter how much you think you’re going to be able to keep going on your route, it really affects you.  Nurturing kids, (even now with adult sons, daughter and daughters-in-laws), nurturing your creativity, all of that still feeds into my work in a very positive way.

‘Creativity and nurturing have become intertwined. All becomes quite a significant part of my work.’

Regina Noakes 2019

VIEW COLLECTION AT RED HILL GALLERY HERE

Painting cats is something very new for me, but I found the challenge very interesting! My first response was to research the history of the bond between people and cats.

The fire was lit when I heard the poem Pangur Ban (the White Cat) which gave me a greater understanding of how close our relationship has been with these little animals, and just about for ever….As the poem illustrates, the illustrator  and scholar  working on the illuminated manuscripts by candle light and Pangur Ban his sole companion, the cat, keeping his environment free of pests . They are both looking after each other’s interests and the scholar’s biggest need is the companionship offered by the sleek, purring, lightning- like assailant of the small inhabitants behind the monastery walls!

The second inspiring moment arrived just before Christmas when my daughter’s Tom cat (apparently) gave birth to a litter of kittens.

Archie my grandson, aided and abetted by granddaughter Sarah, organised a fitting and proper and very comfortable nursery for the tiny newcomers……on the best chair in the house! It was all pink and grand until, with only one kitten left, the temporary protective seat cover was removed ….. unveiling the fact, it had been very ineffective.

Eight weeks later…….

The next painting, I made was “The Last Man Standing”. As the other kittens had now gone to new home, the chair had to be reupholstered and is showing off the family’s brand-new addition, the one no one else wanted.  Jeffery is pictured-proudly sitting on his new blue chair.

“We’ve Found Her”

Hands up any parent who hasn’t heard that triumphant and highly emotional cry!

Everyone’s looked for the missing kitten without success and just when you think everything’s really good the cry rings out…….oh! such joy.

With the other paintings my aim was to capture the “essence “of cat.  Tom speaks for himself, Pangur and friends depicts the subject with his chums doing what cats do and of course Autolicus, fierce proud and aloof.

I think AlOOf is the essence of cat!

redhillgallery.com.au

Cats – a small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short snout, and retractile claws. In this case, an exhibition featuring this much-loved animal like you’ve never seen before. Red Hill Gallery, Brisbane is set to open its doors on Saturday 9 February for a CAT-tastic Exhibition featuring all things feline. This exhibition
is sure to excite cat lovers and art lovers alike, with nearly the entire stable of artists contributing their Puurrrrfect artworks.
We hope we haven’t caught you CAT-napping because CATS THE EXHIBITION, is about to begin. With a selection of paintings, etchings, ceramics, glass and sculpture there is sure to be something to tickle your whiskers for every cat lover out there. We can’t wait for this CAT-astrophe to begin! The Puurrrrfect way to kick start the Red Hill Gallery 2019 Exhibition Calendar. We’re FELINE Fabulous with excitement!

CATS – the exhibition – ON FEBRUARY AT RED HILL GALLERY – CLICK HERE

Red Hill Gallery is located at 61 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, Brisbane QLD, and is open seven days.

With the lead up to Christmas well on its way, Red Hill Gallery, Brisbane is set to encapsulate and excite all who visit with an exhibition featuring not one, but four of our fabulous femme fatales. Opening on Saturday 1 December Danielle McManus, Denise Murray, Christine Reilly and Simonn Schumacher combine to showcase a visually inspiring collection of artworks.

Intertwining experiences from everyday life with her Maltese heritage, Danielle McManus produces superbly whimsical artworks and ceramics. Relying on the beauty of the landscape as a constant backdrop, her inspiration at present is drawn from everyday life. Her three children provide her with a constant stream of ideas and that along with the changing seasons of the Hunter Valley, and the birds and fauna there, supply more than enough material! Whether fictional or based on real life events McManus’s love of story telling is evident in her colourful, figurative offerings.

For Denise Murray, her sculptures use form and expression to communicate. Body language has always held a fascination for her and the message received is immediate and without guile. Murray’s Dancer series is a celebration of the joy of life, the figures are pared down to the essentials, giving expression to the limbs. With a stunning collection including Welded Bronze Sculptures, Limited Edition Bronze Sculptures and Cold Cast Bronze Sculptures, each artwork is a feast for the eyes.

With over 35 years’ experience both in front of and behind the canvas, Christine Reilly is a respected and imaginative Queensland artist. The figurative work in this collection has come together, marrying in part Reilly’s observation, people watching, memory, imagination and some photography, for reference. She strives to portray all her characters with colour and movement making them come alive on the canvas. Her work
demonstrates a long-held love of travel and chronicles not only the progression of her subjects and style but also her own journey as an artist and woman.

Having drawn ever since she was a young girl, Simonn Schumacher has exhibited worldwide. After a life of travelling overseas on one venture or another, she studied under the tuition of Michael John Taylor in Lismore and feels that the greatest lesson learned during this time, was to paint what you feel and not to think too much, as this has the ability to block the natural flow of creativity. This is evidenced in her highly distinctive and
individual style with her luscious, sassy and often soulful paintings.

‘La Femme’ showcases the stunning artwork of four very talented female artists and is set to take centre stage at Red Hill Gallery in the lead up to Christmas. Each artist brings their own uniqueness and vibrant colour palettes to what is set to be a stunning feast for the eyes.

In this fine art TV show episode Adrienne Williams is interviewed with Colour In Your Life about painting, drawing, art workshops, art tips and art techniques.