It was a packed night at Red Hill Gallery for the opening of ‘Cool Sand, Warm Light’. The art gallery buzzed with excitement as guests admired the vibrant paintings, their laughter mingling with the clinking of glasses. Attendees sipped on drinks, engaging in lively conversations about the stunning artworks on display. The night was a perfect blend of sophistication and joy, leaving everyone with unforgettable memories of a colorful and fun-filled evening.
The room was buzzing with excitementA selection of Nick’s smaller works
This September, Red Hill Gallery was pleased to present Brisbane artist, Nick Olsen and his latest work in his exhibition ‘Cool Sand, Warm Light’. Nick explored the intricate relationship between architecture and cultural identity in his captivating artwork. His focus on light, tone, and colour unveiled the essence of our living spaces, reflecting the evolution of our collective history.
“Nick Olsen is an artist with a unique style that has universal appeal not only in Australia, but also internationally. Nick revives our past relationship with the beach, urban landscapes, Queenslanders which are a stalwart of our heritage”.
Margaret Campbell-Ryder
Nick Olsen being interviewed on opening nightNick Olsen and Margaret Campbell-Ryder
Olsen’s artworks beautifully portray the intricate patterns and colours of Australian light dancing across urban landscapes, capturing the essence of our surroundings and reflecting our shared history.
Nick Olsen, Close to Heaven oil on linen 76cm x 76cm $3900
Thank you to everyone who attended the evening. We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery again.
Red Hill Gallery respectfully acknowledges the Yuggera and Turrbal Peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Brisbane and surrounding areas. We pay our respects to Elders and Community ~ past, present and emerging.
Home from her dry season travels in remote East Arnhem Land, NT, Terry Swann will be giving a demonstration of her watercolour techniques in the gallery on Saturday, 3rd of August. Join us from 10.30am for morning tea and for what will be an entertaining and informative talk from Terry as she talks about her love for the Top End of Australia and shows us just how she paints her glorious watercolours.
Afternoon Arnhem Land Waterway, Watercolour, 76.5cm x 74cmPink Flowering Gum, Watercolour, 91cm x 75cm
“My work is a journey into landscape, an exploration of place. Painting is so much a part of me it’s something I have to do. I paint from the heart and paint from life. I am drawn to Australia’s remote landscapes and feel a genuine connection to the land. I have to go bush, somewhere, anywhere and sit and paint and commune with place. Each winter I travel to a new location to explore what the landscape has to offer and what it will share with me.
Once I have made a study of what I will paint, my process becomes spontaneous and exhilarating. I throw paint on the paper, allowing the colours to blend and merge. If I want line work, I use twigs, sticks, whatever the landscape provides as my tools. It’s about colour, movement and texture.
For me it is the process of painting, not the end result of the work that is exciting”.
If you would like to join us next Saturday to meet Terry Swann; to discover her multi talents, and hear about her latest trip to Arnhem Land please RSVP here.
Red Hill Gallery respectfully acknowledges the Yuggera and Turrbal Peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Brisbane and surrounding areas. We pay our respects to Elders and Community ~ past, present and emerging.
The air was ELECTRIC on Friday night at Red Hill Gallery as we celebrated four female artists and their incredible works for the opening night of our Group Show – Beyond Form.
It was so wonderful to share the evening with these wonderful artists, their families and our valued clients and friends as we sipped bubbles and talked all things art. Congratulations and thank you to Emma Sheldrake (almost a sell out!), Charlotte Wensley, Delia Vilhelm and their families for joining us in the gallery on this fabulous Friday evening.
Apologies from Judith Dalozzo whose artworks were also on show but was unfortunately unable to attend the evening. We missed you Judith!
As Margaret Campbell-Ryder our director expressed on the evening during the always entertaining Q & A with the artists:
“The show is a stunning fusion of different styles of artwork, shape and form, featuring a kaleidoscope of colours. Thank you for being here to support the gallery and these wonderful artists, it was a pleasure having you all here tonight.” – Margaret Campbell-Ryder
This exhibition showcasing four fantastic artists will come together to bring a colourful and expressive collection of work. Inspired by the elements of abstract and figurative painting, each artist brings a distinct voice and style with their works incorporating a range of techniques from oils on canvas to mixed media, collaging and decoupage.
Colour is
paramount to these artists and their works. As our gallery curator Freya
explains “colour defines how we view the works and how we experience the works.
The title ‘Beyond Form’ invites us to look beyond what we see and what we feel”.
This
intentional all women exhibition aspires to showcase and celebrate contemporary
female artists that will take you on a journey that celebrates the beauty in
the benign.
Judith’s still life’s are a testament to the elegance of form, the subtle interplay of colour, and the tactile allure of texture. Through her still life compositions, she aspires to capture the transient moments of grace and tranquility that often go unnoticed. Her florals, imbued with a sense of vitality and grace, celebrate the natural world in its most intimate and expressive form. Her work is a dialogue between the tangible and the abstract, an exploration of the ephemeral beauty found in everyday objects and natural forms.
Judith says that her creative practice is “primarily driven by a desire to capture moments of chance encounter as they meet with knowledge and understanding of self, process and the materials I’m working with. I observe and contemplate emerging narratives retrospectively.”
Charlotte Wensley is a 2D abstract mixed media artist living and working near Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Charlotte’s abstract paintings unfold through curiosity, inquiry and a liminal approach to her mixed media work. Collage, printmaking, painting and drawing are integral parts of her working process and each painting is a unique fusion of different materials and techniques. There are no pre-destined outcomes for what a finished piece might look like. Instead she balances the accidental and the unexpected with decision making and response, drawing on her knowledge and understanding of shape, colour and technique to resolve each piece. Her creative practice is driven by desire to capture moments of chance encounter with emerging visual elements and materials.
Hailing from an artistic family, Emma Sheldrake
has worked across a wide range of creative industries. Bold, striking,
spontaneous and captivating, Emma’s works reflect the fact that painting
liberates her passion and energy. Emma’s signature style drips with seductive
intent, blending figurative art with the mischievousness of Pop Art and the
subtleties of eroticism. Bold colour combinations, daring brush strokes,
irreverent drips and enticing eyes define the power of her images to seduce the
onlooker.
Largely influenced by her experiences in the
fashion industry, her works are commentaries on how beauty is reflected in the media,
its mesmeric portrayal and obscured depths. The flawless beauty of her subjects
seeps from the pages of stereotyped fashion magazines into an unbound
representation of character, rich with personality and evocative imperfections.
Delia’s art is a
reflection of the intricate dance between the tangible and the intangible, the
seen and the unseen. It seeks to capture the essence of moments often
overlooked, to bring to light the beauty hidden in the mundane.
With a deep reverence for nature and the human experience, her art often blurs the lines between the organic and the abstract, infusing her pieces with a sense of ethereal beauty and wonder. Through the medium of painting, she explores the interplay of colours, shapes, patterns and textures to convey emotions, memories, and dreams. Delia elaborates “each stroke of my brush is a whisper of my inner world, an invitation for viewers to embark on their own personal journey of interpretation”.
Paul Margocsy is an artist of many achievements: the first Australian selected to hang in the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson ‘Birds in Art’ exhibition in America, 2 years running. Honored as fellowship member in the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia. Commissioned by Australia Post in 1991 to do a water bird series of stamps and he was subsequently commissioned by the United Nations to paint a series of endangered species in 1994, which was released in Vienna. Paul has had solo exhibitions in London and Japan, six solo shows in America and two at the exclusive “Raffles” Hotel in Singapore. In 2006, he became the first Australian wildlife artist to have a solo exhibition in Hong Kong.
Paul uses watercolour, gouache, acrylic and air brushes his backgrounds to achieve his iconic photo realistic effect. Using his photographic memory, Margocsy paints from the heart, with great compassion, knowledge, and love, to create touching portraits of birds as they are within their natural environment, untrammeled by human intervention. His uncanny pictorial sensibility has combined with his constant desire to learn all he can about birds, their behaviours and habitats, to evolve into a highly developed and sensitive mode of photorealism, and one that is entirely Paul’s own.
The works are titled with humorous phrases, upon reading the titles of his paintings, viewers are often heard to chuckle unconsciously to themselves or occasionally laugh out loud. The emotive titles provide the viewer with greater insight to the characters of the birds depicted, but through the eyes and ears of the artist.
“ For as long as I have been painting, I have always named each work after one of the apt phrases that spring into my mind, as if of their own accord, just as each artwork is complete. Many of these have a debt to the countless musicians I have listened to constantly over the years, and whose songs have filled my studio through long hours of painting; others are derived from some great film titles. To all those whose phrases I have borrowed, thank you for the inspiration and for all the wonderful music and movies. I should add that from time to time I change or re-use these phrases, as the mood takes me, so unlike the subject matter of each painting they should never be thought of as ‘fixed’. “ – Paul Margocsy (exceprt from his book ‘Away with the Birds’)
Red Hill Gallery is thrilled to be showing Paul Margocsy’s exhibition in our gallery as of 2/12/22, with all the pieces available to purchase! Margocsy’s collection Away with the Birds is on our website for perusal.
To stay up to date with us at Red Hill Gallery be sure to follow us on social media: Instagram: @redhillgallery Facebook
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Darren and STARR first met in the late 1990s when they were both were exhibiting at a local seaside gallery. While their mediums may be disparate and their approaches unique, they share a true appreciation for each other’s work, and a lasting friendship.
Photography can provide STARR with points of inspiration which she then transforms with mind and brush into her signature style. STARR and Darren have collaborated on several projects, but none so entwined as in these recent underwater works, where he’s provided her with a window into his underwater world.
“I love that Starr can find inspiration in the ocean – I want my part in Underland to give viewers an insight into the creative processes that brought these wonders of light and colour to the walls” – Darren Jew
Starr is fast becoming a paragon of contemporary Australian art, both here and around the world. Starr’s paintings are intensely personal and are as much the work of a devotee of popular culture as they of the artist/observer. This can be seen in her inclusion of ‘Alice’ in her work Time, just has she has been featured in Starr’s works in the past.
Darren Jew has photographed the planet’s landscapes and wildlife from Antarctica to Zambia over a 30-year career spent on mountain peaks, desert plains and beneath the ocean. Darren has shared the natural world, producing sought-after nature, travel, and scientific images–both above and below the water; selling fine art prints; undertaking magazine commissions; and leading photo tours to the planet’s great wildlife, landscape, and marine destinations.
The exhibition will be on show in our gallery Friday 4 November – Sunday 20 November, with all the pieces available to purchase, some of which have already been snapped up! Starr’s collection ‘Underland’ is on our website for perusal.
To stay up to date with us at Red Hill Gallery be sure to follow us on social media: Instagram: @redhillgallery Facebook
This month we welcome back Des Spencer, an artist renowned for his vivid, vivacious images of the environment around him. Land and cityscapes, floral and abstract studies and underwater scenes explode with pulsating color, conveying all the energy and passion of life itself.
After exhibiting his art in Australia for 22 years Des moved to the UAE and the Maldives. Des has since returned but frequently travels to exhibit his work as his reputation continues to grow steadily.
‘Moreton Bay to Southbank‘ Acrylic on canvas
‘Story Line’ Acrylic on canvas
Des paints in acrylics and couples this medium with a highly distinctive paint application that includes painter’s trowel, brushes and tools, allowing him to create depth and movement through the combination of vibrant colors and varying texture. He paints directly to canvas from his imagination and observations.
Des is an artist whose rich talent has developed over the past three decades. His devotion to his unique impasto style has cemented his reputation as a leading International artist.
Entering a world of deepness and stillness with Katherine Wood’s latest solo exhibition at Red Hill Gallery.
Internationally renowned artist Katherine Wood’s latest solo exhibition, Dancing with the Wind explores the psyche of the mind. The events of the past two years have allowed the artist to reflect on stillness culminating in serene artworks that capture the feeling of calmness amidst the chaos.
In the artist’s words, “this body of work reflects on the
idea that although not everything in this life is in our control, if we are
mindful and elevate ourselves out of the mind, that even in the turbulence we
can find our centre.”
The trademark Wood landscapes that depict a tiny tree or a
figure standing against the infinite landscape are a reminder to constantly
look at our perspective and although we may feel insignificant, we are powerful
beyond measure.
Influenced by the philosophy of Yoshida Kenko who writes,
“blossoms are scattered by the wind and the wind cares nothing, but the blossoms
of the hearts no wind can touch”, the artist makes a statement to remember this
is but a season and take this opportunity to dance with the wind.
The exhibition officially opened on Friday the 11th of March where patrons came to witness the serenity of Wood’s artworks and hear Katherine and Director of Red Hill Gallery, Margaret Campbell-Ryder sit down for a Q and A session in the gallery. Touching on mental health, states of mind and the human experience in the universe, Katherine took the crowd on a spiritual journey through her paintings and shared her experience of creating the artworks.
Artist Katherine Wood with Red Hill Gallery Director Margaret Campbell-Ryder
Exhibition Opening
Dancing with the Wind will continue until the 28th of March.
We are thrilled to host STARR’s annual exhibition, ‘Jardin’ this month. ‘Jardin’, is inspired by the wonder of nature and its glorious flora and fauna. From her atmospheric and surreal land and cityscapes to her whimsical figurative work, Starr reveals her unyielding passion for nature and life in every brush stroke. Amongst several figurative works featuring in STARR’s November exhibition, is the portrait of Prima Ballerina Lana Jones. As an avid admirer and follower of the Australian Ballet, STARR’s passion has developed into a signature motif throughout her pieces. According to STARR, the beauty, elegance, and strength of ballet dancers act as a muse for her work.
For the piece, Rose de Amethyst, she was particularly excited to accommodate principal dancer, Lana Jones. Starr combines purple hues and bright florals with Lana’s silhouette to illustrate her grace and vibrancy. Originally born in the small town of Coffs Harbour, Jones began her studies at the Canberra Youth Ballet School where she first embraced her talent. In 1999, she relocated to Melbourne to attend The Australian Ballet School, where she graduated as a dux student. Such prospects were quickly brought to fruition in 2002 when she joined the Australian Ballet. In 2005, she was both promoted to coryphée and granted the winning title of the highest accolade of its kind for the Australian Ballet; The Telstra Ballet Dancer Award. In 2010, Lana reached the peak of her career as a principal artist.
Rose De Amethyst combines colour and subject to illustrate the vibrancy and brilliance of Lana’s life. Critics across the country have described Lana’s dancing as ‘joyous’, ‘supernatural’, and ‘effervescent’,- adjectives so perfectly captured by STARR. It is an honour to facilitate a work that represents a nexus point for two illustrious Australian artists.
We are delighted to present Starr’s newest series with you. The exhibition opens runs until the end of November.
Hypergiants are gigantic stars that have high luminosity and mass that due to their sheer size are extremely rare in the Milky Way galaxy. Luckily for us here on earth, David Hinchliffe’s paintings have a hyper luminosity to rival the hypergiants.
A master of
light and depth, Hinchliffe paints in subject in the best possible light that
resembles the way we remember moments, in vibrant clarity.
Dean Reilly is a classically trained, contemporary Australian artist whose bold thematic works consistently feature symbolic references painted in a surreal manner. In his latest exhibition titled ‘You Beauty’ Reilly has teamed his unique style with references to iconic Australian artists such as Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd. Reilly draws upon cultural iconography and emblematic Australian symbols to depict his current reflections of Australia – an interpretation which lays bare the “glory, tragedy and struggle” that has come to shape our collective identity. Interwoven in his charged artworks is the element of humour, a distinctly Australian tool of communication, which in this instance is used to juxtapose a harsh landscape, history, and cultural identity.
An important period of history which offers insight into Reilly’s current series is that of the 1940’s Australian modernist literary and artistic movement, coined Angry Penguins. It began as a literary journal founded by four poets: Donald Kerr, Maxwell Harris, Paul Pfeiffer and Geoffrey Dutton, who all studied at the University of Adelaide. The movement sought to interrogate and disrupt the cultural establishment of Australia at the time and allies of the movement were aggressive and unapologetic in their modern opinions and progressive creative techniques.
Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan are synonymous with this movement and Reilly has directly referenced Nolan’s work within the series, namely with the portrayal of infamous Australian icon Ned Kelly. Between 1946-47, Nolan painted his famous Ned Kelly series which depicted the scenes of the icon, his escapades and existence. As Serle Geoffery wrote in his 1971 journal article titled, The Rush to Be Rich: A History of the Colony of Victoria 1883-1889, Kelly was “the last expression of the lawless frontier in what was becoming a highly organised and educated society, the last protest of the mighty bush now tethered with iron rails to Melbourne and the world”. It seems fitting that in a time of tightened government regulation brought on by the current global pandemic, that Reilly has painted artworks which aligned with this previous era of Australian history. As freedoms are restrained and movement limited in this surreal time, Australian’s have found themselves bound to the land they call home, forced to reflect upon their existence and identity as Australian citizens.
Dean Reilly has been represented at Red Hill Gallery in Brisbane since 2012 and we are delighted to present his newest series with you. The exhibition opens 10th September 2021 – RSVP here.
The 20th century was a remarkable period that saw great changes in the social and political structures of Australia. With the advent of the Depression, World War II, and the following Post-War years, the burgeoning Brisbane socio-cultural landscape became a primary inspiration for artist John Rigby. At Red Hill Gallery we are delighted to be showing a preview of a retrospective exhibition ‘100 Years of John Rigby’ we will present in February 2022. ‘Setting the Scene for 100 Years of John Rigby‘ will focus on the artist’s paintings with Queensland landscapes and scenes as their subject.
John Rigby in his studio, 2003
Born in 1922 in Brisbane, he enrolled at the Brisbane Central Technical College in 1937 and gained employment as a sign-writer followed by a job in advertising. in 1942, Rigby enlisted in the Army – like many young men of his time – serving in the 101 Australian Tank Attack Regiment in Australia and in the 1st Australian Army Intelligence in Papua New Guinea. Upon being discharged from the Army, Rigby returned to advertising and began drawing cartoons for the Sunday Mail newspaper. Encouraged by ex-service personnel training schemes, Rigby enrolled at the East Sydney Technical College. In 1955, Rigby received the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship which allowed the artist and his family to live and paint for a year in Italy. On his return back to Australia, Rigby was loaded with inspiration, knowledge and skills to established his place as a great Australian artist. Among his many awards and accolades he was a Trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery, Officer-In-Charge of Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art, Honorary Doctorate at Griffith University, Honorary Member of the Royal Queensland Art Society and Companion of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Science.
St Bees Bay, North Queensland (2003)
Western Suburbs, Brisbane (1990)
Rigby draws inspirations from nature whether innate or human and describes his interpretation of this as a “poetic reality”. His work makes visual references to the Fauvist movement characterised by a high chroma palette and fierce brushstrokes that was prominent in the early 20th century. In the subject of landscapes, particularly those in Australia, Rigby professes that the strong colours are no exaggeration. Colour continued to be a defining feature in his work and has become his oeuvre.
“I don’t want my work to become softer, I want my work to get stronger and richer. I want it to be different…a retrospective of art expressed through shimmering pools of colour that burst into flames of red and orange, completely devoid of any meaning other than to offer pleasure and joy to those who view them“.
John Rigby in an interview in the Courier Mail, 1990
Rigby’s paintings have charted the life and experience of the artist through a period that inspired great social and cultural changes in Queensland. He not only painted iconic Queensland landscapes but was renowned for his portraits of friends, family and prominent figures in society which further cemented his notoriety. Rigby’s work helped to dispel the myth of Queensland as a cultural backwater to the rest of Australia and established it as a place where artists can flourish. Fellow artist Sali Herman in a letter to Rigby wrote, “Brisbane can be glad to have you…it is good to know that there are now Artists of Merit and greater Promise almost all over Australia. What a change to what it was like when I came to Australia 21 years ago”.
Sideshow Alley, Brisbane Exhibition (2004)
We are delighted to be working with John’s children; Renee, Mark and Tony to present this retrospective in their father’s honour. ‘Setting the Scene for 100 Years of Rigby’ will open on Friday 6th August 6pm -8pm at the Gallery.
‘Intimate Conversations’ presents an overview of husband-and-wife duo John Beeman and Rosemary Hain’s artworks capturing detailed snapshots of domestic scenes. Both artists celebrate the intimate yet remarkable moments of everyday life executed in technical brilliance. The works command attention through their subtlety and highlight the invisible conversations between the painter and subject, and moreover, the viewer and the artwork.
An Artistic Affair
The artists have had a remarkably long career that is testament to their passion for the beauty and wonder of life, and for each other. Their story is a true artistic romance with the couple meeting at the East Sydney Technical College. Between various careers and raising a family, both artists have continued to perfect their talent in artistic pursuits.
John Beeman was born in 1926 in Sydney, and studied at the Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney and the Slade School of Art, London receiving disciplined training in drawing and painting. He later studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art where he honed his technical skills and acute understanding of materials. Beeman has been the recipient of various prize awards in his long career. Rosemary Hain studied at the East Sydney Technical College where she won a scholarship to study an art diploma course. In her career she has expanded her skillset from drawing to painting. She has received many accolades and awards for her precise black and white drawings including working for Australian scientific organisations.
Rosemary Hain and John Beeman in their studio in 2015
In their life-long pursuit of art, the couple have strengthened their love of ordinary subjects in magnificent form. Their skill in painting is matched closely to each other’s work, however, they often differ in subject. Their difference in approach is noted with Hain’s works highlighting a fluidity of line and softer tones in comparison to Beeman’s strong colours and intimate close-ups of the subject.
Beeman and Hain are known for their use of oil on gesso, a material pioneered in Italy and used extensively in the Renaissance. The use of gesso allows controlled, progressive applications of paint with the final result allowing for vibrancy of colours and clarity of subject.
“The white gesso has optical qualities which reflect the light back through the paint layers. It is rugged and stands a certain degree of aggressive technique or a sensitive response to a fine application of glazes”.
– John Beeman on the qualities of gesso
John and Rosemary have exhibited at Red Hill Gallery in Brisbane since 1993 and are much loved and respected artists at Red Hill Gallery. We are delighted to present their work.
The Red Hill Gallery is thrilled to be facilitating artists and partners, Lisa Wang and Joseph Zbukvic for the month of July. “It Takes Two” is an exciting exhibition that brings together two artistic styles to cohesively celebrate the beauty of small moments, the natural and urban, and the collective. The result is a stunning celebration of life itself; when light filters through windows, when wind catches trees and disrupts the oceans tides, when the sun illuminates a dewy country morning.
Joseph Zbukvic
Zbukvic’s artistic breadth reaches all corners of Europe, China, Australia and the USA. His poetic work effortlessly captures a landscape as if to recreate a vision or a dream. Such an affect is indicative of Joseph’s preference for plein air painting, where he is immersed in the landscape while painting.
“Art brought us together, and ever since then we have been each other’s inspiration and support. Being an artist is usually a very solitary activity and can be actually quite lonely at times. It is rare to find someone to share with. So this exhibition is a celebration of our creative partnership. While we are both very much individual artists, we feel that our work also compliments well. We hope you enjoy our paintings as much as we have enjoyed painting them. “
Lisa Wang
Wang’s work expresses a particular aptitude for detail and a craftsmanship that can only originate from a truly gifted artist. Lisa has taken her art from China, New Zealand and now Australia. Her manipulation of mediums, oil and watercolour, allow her pieces to capture vibrancy and movement.
Despite the consequences of COVID restrictions in Queensland and Victoria, Red Hill Gallery is determined to organise an updated Exhibition Opening as we keep a close eye on government advice. Please stay updated via our instagram, facebook and website. We can’t wait to see you in the Gallery!
AL is a contemporary artist whose abstract expressionist paintings are best known for their interplay of movement and stillness. Her work is the first to feature in our 2021 up and coming artists program with gallery Director and artist mentor – Margaret Campbell- Ryder.
Red Hill Gallery is thrilled to be apart of Brisbane’s flourishing art scene – one that continues to warm and inspire us.
AL’s gestural style gives viewers the sense of witnessing a dream or dance – thick bold brushstrokes, delicate drips and mesmeric washes of colour culminate in pieces that invite the viewer to contemplate their relationship to themselves and the wider world.
Her work is vulnerable and human. She explores the personal and the political, the organic and the artificial, using her work to explore personal issues, where paint becomes a visible language for the unutterable and unnamed.
She is inspired by poets including Pablo Neruda, Nayyirah Waheed, and Lorca whose works she uses as stimulus to create pieces that are evocative and reflective. She most often works under the influence of genre (jazz/blues) music, including Joep Beving, Dan Auerbach, Townes Van Zandt, Jack Broadbent and Hiatus Kyote. Her process is highly immersive and movement based, and the final works are somewhat akin to a snapshot of a dance.
If you would like to hear more from AL, please follow the link below to listen to her 4zzz radio interview (at 65 minutes into the episode). AL and Red Hill Gallery Art Advisor – Sophie, shed light on her Women In Art Exhibition, life as a young artist and the process of an artist.
The Gallery was overwhelmed at the reception of the “Women In Art” opening on Saturday afternoon.
Kicking off at 1pm, the gallery was immediately inundated with support for our artists. Zohar Edelshtein, Kate Barry and Chloe Hart spoke with grace and vigor about their unique journeys as artists, their inspiration and their plans for the future. Following, our director Margaret Campbell- Ryder officially introduced all eight artists. What a truly remarkable indication of what women can achieve, and who they impact through their expression.
Zohar Edelshtein
Zohar Edelstein is the beautiful creator of hand-sculptured artisan jewelry, born out of a personal process since 2004, when Zohar left her home country of Israel. We had the privilege of hearing from Zohar and her experience featuring in Paris Fashion Week.
Kate Barry
Working as an abstract painter, Kate’s works are driven by instinctive and emotional responses to landscape and the energy of human interconnection. Her works explore layering, vitality of pattern, gestural mark-making and colour.
“I get lost in the series of painted marks as they charter a rough course across the canvas. Painting pulls me between reality and the subconscious. Visual passages travelled and traces of snatched emotional responses are left upon the surface. As we pass by we allow ourselves to be drawn in”.
Chloe Hart
Chloe Hart is the granddaughter of iconic Australian artist, Pro Hart, yet makes her own mark as a professional artist with a focus on abstract action paintings. Chloe’s artwork is the feature of a recently published book. Chloe discussed how her writing and painting each inform the other, and her future plans to publish a novel.
I am so grateful that I was able to grow up with a name that is so closely linked to art.
Chloe has managed to reflect on her father and grandfathers work whilst forging her own unique style in the arts.
-Margaret Campbell – Ryder Gallery Director
Almost every single member of my family on my father’s side is an artist or has made art a huge part of their lives, and that really encouraged me to be more creative and to become an artist myself. If I didn’t have that, I don’t think I would have had the courage to pursue art as a career or to let creativity influence my life the way it has. The art world is a difficult one to break into and to be successful in, and it’s so much harder if you don’t have your family supporting you to go in that direction. I am so lucky to have that and to have been able to explore that creative side of myself right from the start. I think back at how encouraging my parents always were with my art and how they helped me get my career started at such a young age, and I don’t think I could ever thank them enough for that
It has obviously come with its own set of challenges though, mainly in the internal battle of doubting my own abilities and questioning whether I really deserve to be where I am. I see so many artists struggling to make it, so many incredibly talented people who just don’t get the opportunities that I’ve had, and it can be hard not to feel guilty about it. I often find myself comparing my art to theirs and feeling like I’ve gotten to take their spot just because of my last name.
I think every artist struggles with feeling like they’re not good enough, and not knowing if your success is because of your merit or your last name can make that really hard. I have to remind myself that that the effort I put in is why I do actually deserve to be here. My Change of Season project has definitely helped me to understand that. I really felt that I needed to do something for myself that would set me apart from my family name and allow me to see that I have something to offer outside of that.
For a while I was kind of separating myself from art and trying to do something on my own by investing my time in writing. I got a bachelors and a masters and thought that I had to follow the path of writing and leave art behind me. It wasn’t until I started on this project that I realised I could do both.
Using art and writing to bounce off each other has honestly been life changing.
I didn’t know I could use my own work as inspiration, I thought it had to come from somewhere else and couldn’t figure out why that never really worked for me. The process of painting has always been very intuitive for me; I can look at the colours in the paint tubs and see what they can transform into.
I can’t believe it took me so long to realise that I was seeing a story in those colours and bringing it to life on the canvas. When I realised that, it suddenly made so much sense to then flesh out those stories with words on a page. I think that’s also why I’m so drawn to abstract art. I used to tell myself that I had to make abstract art because I wasn’t good enough to paint anything more realistic, but now I think I do it because the stories I’m trying to tell don’t necessarily look like anything from this world.
I’ve always felt that I see the world as a muddled abstraction of reality; painting and writing helps me make sense of it all and helps me understand and explore things in a way I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.
One thing you’ll notice is that all the paintings in this project are centered around trees. To me, nature is concrete and real, and sometimes the only thing that seems to make sense. I admire the way trees stand tall and unconcerned with all the chaos that goes on around them, and that’s the feeling I try to capture in my work. I’m not sure if that’s something I’ll be able to move away from in future projects, but I’m excited to see where my journey takes me.
To me, nature is concrete and real, and sometimes the only thing that seems to make sense. I admire the way trees stand tall and unconcerned with all the chaos that goes on around them, and that’s the feeling I try to capture in my work. I’m not sure if that’s something I’ll be able to move away from in future projects, but I’m excited to see where my journey takes me.
Nathaniel Boyd is a painter, sculptor, and Cellist, with an evident affinity to the arts and inherent drive to express his passions. Boyd’s body of work is undeniably reminiscent of his father and grandfather’s style and effect, Jamie, and Arthur Boyd. Nathaniel has gracefully carried on the Boyd dynasty tradition whilst adding a touch of contemporaneity in colour, brush work and medium. The young Boyd derives inspiration from his time spent overseas and the exposure to urban and rural landscape that traveling the world affords. In between his travels as a Cellist, Boyd works on his diverse mediums at his studio in Buckinghamshire. His portfolio extends to all corners of the world, including Brisbane, Melbourne and London.
“Painting and sculpture for me share a great deal with performance. Sitting in a field painting the sky and distant hills, or sitting in the studio with a lump of clay, I endeavour to clear the mind and allow the work to happen; to be guided by an invisible force“
– Nathaniel Boyd
Red Hill Gallery is honoured to represent Nathaniel Boyd, and all his talent, in the gallery. We have curated an exhibition in our back gallery featuring Nathaniel and Jamie Boyd’s work to celebrate their contribution to the Gallery. The works act in harmony on the gallery walls, creating a dialogue between their influence, inspiration, and innovation. The Boyd’s redefine the intricacies of classical mediums and focal points in a fresh whimsical fashion. The result is truly ethereal, and a must see.
Herman Pekel captures an artists’ love and veneration of nature in all “her” contrasting glory in this moody landscape rendition. His paintings reveal a complex inner design manifesting in vectored strokes, aptly scratched-in flourishes to perfect the compositional balance and internal pictorial rhythms, a lucidity of colour and surprising tonality.
“Herman Pekel never ceases to amaze and enthrall me with his depictions of the Australian Landscapes. On his travels overseas he manages to recreate the atmosphere of wherever he is painting. I am humbled and honoured to have an artist of Pekels calibar at Red Hill Gallery and I can not wait to unveil his upcoming exhibition in may 2021.” – Margaret Campbell -Ryder.
Pekel has expressed his own personal passion for the environment through his depictions of pristine landscapes and viscous scenes. Over the COVID pandemic, Pekel substituted his regular overseas travels with his ventures into the Australian landscape. While Pekels subject has varied over the course of his career; from industrial scenes to international landscapes, the artists infatuation with the process of painting has been undying. ‘Australia Through the Eyes of Herman Pekel’ is an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Pekels take on the Australia’s landscape and all that it has to offer.
From the age of 12 I was addicted to paint: its tactile quality, the smell, and the feel. Forty years later, I am still obsessed. The subject for me is of less consequence than the simple act of applying paint. As long as the shapes within the picture plane harmonise with one another, the obsession can continue.
Born in Melbourne in 1956 to Dutch parents, Herman showed an early interest in art which led him in his youth to studying plein-air (open air) oil painting, bringing to light his passion for the “freedom of spontaneity” and the rigor of speedily capturing the fleeting glow and illuminating impact of subtle shifts of light across the landscape. Like many young artists of his day, he flirted with Abstract Expressionism before returning to an Australian realist base with a strong painterly technique. An artist of verve and enthusiasm with an expressionist leaning, he is best known for his “wild, impassioned, ebullient and kinetic atmospheric interpretations of the land/sea/cityscape” in oil.
Red Hill Gallery in Brisbane had the privilege of exhibiting and hosting landscape artists; Terry Swann, Adrienne Williams and Pam Walpole over the month of April.
The exhibition was a wonderful success. Over the weekend of the opening for Landscape in Isolation, we saw many faces, some familiar and many new, in the gallery during our opening exhibition weekend events and we appreciate all of your wonderful feedback.
Together Adrienne Williams, Terry Swann and Pam Walpole have presented a body of work for this exhibition. Each in their own style and interpretation of the landscape they have experienced. Some pieces are recollections of specific areas – others painted plein air – ‘insitu’. All have derived from the love of the natural world to be shared and admired and are combinations of Watercolour and Acrylic.
While I draw in a sketchbook and do note-taking, my passion is to paint in situ where I can use my emotional response to capture the essence of the landscape. During lockdown, I have used sketchbooks and memories of recent trips to the Kimberley and Pilbara to do this body of work.
These works capture the ever-changing sounds and moods of the bush when there is no option but to stay at home. I go back to the memory of colour, texture, and movement, whether it be looking into everchanging water or the changing seasons effect on the environment.
I hope you enjoy the journey.
— Terry Swann, 2021
COVID lockdown afforded these ladies the uninterrupted time to pause, reflect and paint the scars of the landscape in response to bushfires, and unseasonal flooding. Terry’s love for the land has continually drawn her back to the Australian wilderness, therefore it’s no surprise her collection is a nod to the memory of colour, texture and movement. Pam’s collection is a trip back in time – of past travels, dwindling waterholes, lagoons and coastal dunes. Adrienne’s works follow her ‘insitu’ sketching trip to Tasmania where her exploration of sense and peace takes you up there above the tree line with her!
Artist Talk and Demonstration
In addition to the exhibition opening, Adrienne Williams, Terry Swann and Pam Walpole, gave an Artist Talk followed by a watercolour art demonstration by Terry Swann. Both the talk and Terry’s demonstration gave the gallery an insight into the artists inspiration and their artistic process.
