Art Wank (Fiona Verity, Julie Nicholson and Gary Seller )

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You are going to love this one!!

We spoke to Emilya, the 'wizardess of lightbulb moments', founder and director of Art Pharmacy, an art consultancy in Sydney. 

We spoke to Emiya about her illustrious art career in the UK and Australia, and how Art Pharmacy came about. She is a wonderful powerhouse of knowledge, culture, and art, brimming with ideas and interesting projects. She has also written a book, Making Art Matter, which builds a bridge between artists and organisations, governments and the corporate world. Art Pharmacy is also launching an exciting NFT platform that will be a game changer for artists.

'Art Pharmacy is a specialist project manager and purveyor of authentic culture. We pride ourselves on our grass-roots connection to creative communities, common-sense advice, and a nimble approach. We like to understand the “why” of a project and we aren’t afraid to ask questions and bring fresh perspectives. We have no commercial affiliations with any galleries, so we are free to recommend the most suitable artists based on your brief and budget, which we do by utilising our huge and ever-growing community of artists. We are constantly looking for fresh artist talent and maintain an engaged artist community as a priority. We prefer to support local artistic talent where possible.'

Art Pharmacy is a valuable part of the Australian art world. Thanks for talking to us Emilya, and thanks to your wonderful team in the office too.

We also mention the wonderful artist James McGrath so check out his work...

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Emily Ball is an artist and teacher from the UK - she described herself as WHAT SHE IS NOT - an artist who paints things as they look or an abstract painter she is somewhere in between. She wants to make visual poetry. She is a self described magpie. 

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=emily+ball+artist&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Emily advise was so valuable and encouraging about how to keep going as an emerging artist and suggestions of how to grow.

If you would like to purchase Emily's book 

Emily's courses can be found on the website Emily Ball at Sea White. http://www.emilyballatseawhite.co.uk

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We LOVED talking to Morgan Stokes in his amazing apartment in Sydney surrounded by his beautiful artwork. He is pushing the boundaries of what a painting can be, or is defined to be, which is very exciting.

We met Morgan, his partner Charlie, and their friend at The Other Art Fair and instantly loved them all! We had an art crush on Morgan’s work after Sophie from Curatorial and Co. told us about him. Morgan is represented by Sophie and is having a solo show, Virtual Gaze, opening March 2nd, opening night March 3rd. You really have to see Morgan’s work in the flesh, they beg to be looked at closely for their subtleties. So get your self down to his opening and take a closer look.

We talked to Morgan about the definition of a painting, working with restraint, his path to being an artist, Picasso and much more…

Thanks for talking to us Morgan, we really loved it 😍

We should also mention, Morgan has artistic flair in the family, his Aunt is the wonderful painter Sally Stokes. 

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Orlanda Broom is a landscape and abstract painter from the UK she paints highly saturated dense exotic jungly places in her landscapes that are alluring and incising but if you got stuck in them you would perhaps be afraid...

You can find these amazing paintings on Orlanda's website
https://orlandabroomartist.com

You can also find her on her on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/orlandabroom/?hl=en

All the references to Orlanda's work mentioned in the podcast can be found on the above links. 

Many Thanks Landy

Fiona and Julie. 

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We spoke to Nick Collerson for a long time and we left it all in because he is so damn interesting! We could have spoken to Nick for hours, he is such a deep thinker and perceptive artist, it was very insightful. We think you are going to love this episode. He also teaches at the National Art School so get yourself on one of his short courses.  Nick also runs an artist studio in Sydney, which was very cool, and includes the amazing artist Justin Williams. We were so chuffed to meet Nick and Justin and want to move into the studio asap!!!

We spoke to Nick about literally everything from his childhood moving around overseas, to poetry to life and death; it gets deep! It's so refreshing to have deep conversations about life and art. His art is next level, deeply considered, and otherworldly. It was so great to see it in real life in his studio. 

Nick is represented by Liverpool Street Gallery - 

'Nick Collerson was born in Newfoundland, Canada in 1977.  He has no recollection of his place of birth.   He grew up moving from country to country eventually arriving in Australia. These formative years spent moving, again and again, had a profound influence on his sense of identity, sense of place, and artwork.   This instilled in him a transcultural view that is recognized as the “3rd culture kid” perspective; which essentially means not identifying with nationality, feeling instead like a citizen of nowhere and everywhere. 

Now based in Sydney, Collerson draws on his observations of the environment and his personal experience for subject matter and themes. His painting practice is not aligned with one style, instead, he is open to diverse ways of making paintings, and he places equal emphasis on the material, social, historical, poetic, and perceptual aspects of art-making.

“Some commit themselves to abstraction or minimalism, others figuration, landscape or a specific cultural identity, though I consider all of these, my focus is the poetics of painting, in other words, human perception. Consequently, my life/art is informed by a wide range of cultural perspectives”   Collerson 2020

Nick has graduated from the National Art School in 2011 with a Masters of Fine Art and has taught there since 2013.' -Liverpool Street Gallery 

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Matthew Wright is from Western Australia he began his creative  life by studying Jazz music at University.  He did a short course in painting and has been working away building his painting practise.

He is a self taught - you can find out about his visual art practise from his website
 https://www.matthewwrightart.com

You can also find Matthew on social media - here is his instagram link.

https://www.instagram.com/matthewwrightart/?hl=en

Many thanks for the chat Matthew it was heaps of fun we love your laid back WA style - best of luck with the growth of your art career. 

Fiona and Julie 
 

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We interviewed Billy Bain in 2021 for a public live stream with Northern Beaches Council Creative Tool Kit, a professional development scheme for creatives in the area.  Before the interview, we visited Billy's studio in Avalon to see the new work he is creating for his upcoming show, 'Being Manly', at Manly Art Gallery and Museum opening March 25th. His ceramic creations and paintings depict characters or identities of Australian sport, the pub and beach culture. Billy has a background in Australian surf culture, previously competing at a high level before realising his calling was in the arts. 

Thanks Billy for chatting with us and doing the live stream with us and we cant wait to see the exhibition!

'Mythologies of the Australian male have long been ingrained in our country's national post-colonial identity. Stoic, white, able-bodied, and heteronormative. But what defines the Aussie bloke nowadays? And more importantly, what does it mean to be a bloke that falls outside the archaic definitions of what being an Australian man entails?

Billy Bain explores representations of Australian masculinity through taking perceptions of the Australian male and playfully deconstructing them. By interrogating and subverting representations of the Australian male in popular culture and the everyday suburban life he exists within, Bain seeks to create works that humour our Australian sense of identity. By “taking the piss” out of these perceptions of who he is meant to be, Bain reclaims power and autonomy over his sense of identity as an Indigenous man..

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Hedley Roberts is an artist from the Uk - he is based in Margate in Kent. His first introduction to art was an encyclopaedia on art that his parents bought him when he was 10 years old. 

We had such a fabulous chat with him about what being an artist is and how its evolved over time.

He simply states that you need
Time, Space and a network of people.

Hedley says find the activity that takes you back to core, a safe place it maybe drawing or reading, taking photographs, writing in a note book, scrapbooks  - as you will have bumps in the road - find the thing that is unchallengeable and then you can use this when you hit those bumps.

He is an artist who has been working for many years. He is predominantly interested in painting although he studied printmaking - he is an academic who has studied for a very long time, he first went to art school at 15 years old and did a degree at Central Saint Martins with the artist Helen Chadwick, and also attended the Royal College of Art and ended up lecturing after his masters at 23 years old.

You can find out more about Hedley on his website.

https://www.hedleyroberts.co.uk.

Hedley talks about what kind of artist do you want to be in the book Navigating the Art World which you can order from Delphian Gallery - see link below.

https://delphiangallery.com/artists/


The artist support pledge is a UK concept you can find out more about it here https://artistsupportpledge.com

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Marina Debris is a great pseudonym for this American, Australian-based artist and activist. She uses trash washed up on the beach to create 'trashion', such as in 2020, a dress made out of hundreds of discarded face masks. Marina has also created installation work, such as, 'The Inconvenience Store', for Sculpture by the Sea, which was a mock-up shop, created with re-used materials displaying trash for sale. She is a passionate advocate for recycling, reuse, and buying less. She has used art as a medium to talk about, teach and create discussion around environmental issues and animal rights.

We had a great chat about all things 'rubbish!',  thanks, Marina.

Marina has a Wikipedia page with all her publications and information so check it out here. 

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We had a fabulous chat with Donna Green in Utopia Gallery, Waterloo, surrounded by her beautiful exhibition, Vessel, which is on at the gallery from 2nd April - 30th April. Go have a look at these amazing ceramics, collages, and drawings, all speaking to each other in a visceral way. We talked to Donna about living in New York, how she came to ceramics, the technicalities of making her work, being a woman in the art world, and all things art! What a lovely woman, talented, humble, and forging new paths with her art! Very exciting to see. She is very inspiring! 
 
'Donna Green's ceramic vessels, although seemingly abstract, are all based on vases and urns that permeate human cultural history.

Thrown and altered, the bulbous shapes are melded into contorted, ambiguous forms. Glazes rich in colour, metallic or glossy, matte or layered, drip and pour over the surfaces.

Donna Green is included in the current "Clay Dynasty" exhibition of Australian Ceramics at the Powerhouse.' - Whats on Sydney

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We spoke to Malcolm Greenwood at his studio in Mosman. What a lovely man. He showed us around his amazing studio full of pots, bowls, and plates, some of 400 makes a week for Australia's top restaurants and hotels such as Bennelong and the Baillie Lodges Group. He started out in business management and then a realisation that his health was suffering from the stress he started his journey in ceramics. We talked to him about the perception of ceramics in Australia, how he makes his ceramics, mentorship, and much more. it was a great chat and we were so happy to meet Malcolm and learn about his successful career and how he gives back by teaching master classes.

'Malcolm Greenwood began working with clay while studying for a degree in Business Administration at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A., in 1976. After moving to Boston, he began studying various Japanese pottery techniques with visiting Japanese potter, Makoto Yabe, including throwing, ‘neriage’, glaze formulation, and firing techniques.

While living in Nigeria (1978 to 1979) Malcolm built a wood-fired kiln, producing pots using local materials. In addition he traveled throughout much of West Africa, studying the traditional pottery techniques and various collections of antique and contemporary pottery. The form and texture of many of the African pots have had an influence on the development of his work.

On returning to the U.S.A. in 1979, he again worked with Makoto Yabe. During this period Yabe’s most significant influence on his professional development as a potter, was with regards to the philosophy of making and firing pots.

Malcolm returned to Australia in 1980, working in clay on a part-time basis until 1989, when he left the corporate world, finally, to begin a career as a full-time as a potter.'

malcolmgreenwood.com

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Michelle Connolly studio is so awesome, full of her assembled sculptures, paintings and creations. It's like stepping into a theatre, full of characters and stories between them. Michelle is very interested in outsider art, she sees something in that kind of work that she recognises. We had a great chat with her about living in the USA in North Carolina and how that shaped her work,  about how she makes her pieces with a variety of found objects and materials, her studio practice, and much more. She is a fascinating artist, bursting with creativity and life. 

Thanks for talking to us , Michelle, we loved meeting you and visiting your wonderful studio. 

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Misha Harrison is an artist from Wollongong, NSW, specialising in assembled plywood artworks. She carefully cuts, carves, sands, stitches and paints her artworks into life, depicting still life, portraiture, and abstraction. We spoke to Misha at a live interview at Sydney Road Gallery back in Feb, and at Fiona and I's exhibition back in February. Misha drove all the way from Wollongong and back to speak with us, thanks, Misha!!!! Since then she won the Jumbledonline 2022 Superstar competition, so we spoke to her again over zoom for this podcasts interview to ask her about that.

Misha's exhibition starts on May 5th at Sydney Road Gallery, Balgowlah, so go see it! 

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Lily Cummins is an artist from the  Southern Highlands.  We had a great chat about studying and residencies.  Her practise examines both the self and the emotive bonds and attachments

Lily feels that she attaining a Masters has given her practise a great deal of rigger,
It really helped her grow as an artist and a person to keep studying and gain a masters.

Lily studied at NAS and graduated from her masters in 2018
you can find Lily on her website
http://www.lilycummins.com

Lily is inspired and likes a huge spectrum of artists - Folk and Outsider art  James Castle, Miro, Matisee, Rachel Whiteread, William Kentridge. 

Lily also works at the new art space in the southern highlands - The fantastic space called Ngununggula in Bowral.

https://www.ngununggula.com

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Thanks to Utopia Gallery and Helen Eager for showing us your work and talking to us at your amazing studio. 

'Helen Eager has sustained a solo exhibition program for over three decades with her drawings, paintings and prints. Over the years, the shift from domestic interiors to pure abstraction has been a consistent evolution, her love of colour and light a constant thread.

Helen Eager studied at the South Australian School of Art in the 1970s. A Masters degree at COFA in the late eighties focused on large-scale works on paper, which took her drawing to a new level. A residency at the Greene St Studio in New York in 1988 was pivotal as Eager's work evolved towards pure abstraction.'

Helens work can be found on the Utopia website https://www.utopiaartsydney.com.au/artworks.php?artistID=7-Helen-Eager

  Helen is a part of Vivid this year - her work will be on the 

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Many thanks to Suzanne Archer for welcoming us into your home and studio. We enjoyed your hospitality and generosity so much.

Suzanne will be showing at Nicholas Thompson Gallery from 15 June to 2 July.

You can get THE BOOK - The Song of the Cicada from Nicholas Thompson Gallery. https://www.nicholasthompsongallery.com.au/artists/suzanne-archer/

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Tara Axford welcomed us into her home in Sydney last week to talk with us about her work, and her 25-year career as art director of publications such as The Good Weekend magazine.

'As a mixed media artist working with prints, collage, mixed media, fibre arts, and photography, I am interested in the push-pull of constantly searching for something... Are we developing something new or are we constantly referencing and influenced by the past?I draw inspiration from my surrounds, I find patterns, textures, imperfections. The forgotten, the weathered, the discarded appeal to me. '

We talked to Tara about working full time and making time for art, her process of collecting her 'pocket finds' and sharing them with her large online following, her online course with Fibre Art Take Two, what success means to her, and much more.

Tara has a show at Gosford Regional Gallery on 24th June, with the Makers Studio, so go see it.

Thanks so much for talking to us, Tara, and showing us your beautiful work and studio.

Links -
Studio Print Studio printing tiny books
Blurb printing - for printing of catalogues
Pro Camera by Moment

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Harriett Watts many thanks for welcoming us into your studio. Harriet has always been interested in change and ephemerality - she is fascinated about materials and how we can become more focused on sustainability. 

You can find out more about Harriett on her instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/hettywatts/?hl=en

or on linked in

https://au.linkedin.com/in/harriet-watts-587649118?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

The art show at the V&A called Food that Fiona mentioned can be read about here https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-the-exhibition-food-bigger-than-the-plate

To learn about The forty-nine studio have a look at the instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thefortyninestudio/?hl=en

The artist in UK who re

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Brett Piva artist  and super community arts man of Newcastle.

 Find out about Brett on his website

https://www.brettpiva.com

You can find out about his group space Onwards here

https://www.onwardsgallery.com

Many thanks Brett 

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It's difficult to describe the work of James Drinkwater, he really is indefinable. His confidence and talent shine in his work, bold and edgy, full of energy and texture.

James was always destined to be an artist as we discovered in our chat, an aunt providing the nurturing and example to become an artist alongside a close and loving family. He won the Brett Whiteley scholarship in 2014, propelling him further into a dynamic career. He is represented by two major galleries, Nanda Hobbs, Sydney, and Nicholas Thompson, Melbourne.

'James Drinkwater studied at the National Art School, Sydney (2001) and has held solo exhibitions since 2004 in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, and internationally in London and Singapore. A survey exhibition The sea calls me by name was held at Newcastle Art Gallery in 2019.

James Drinkwater’s work has been included in group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally in Berlin, Leipzig, and London. He has been awarded the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship (2014), the John Olsen National Art School Life Drawing Prize (2002) and has been a finalist in the Wynne Prize, Sulman Prize, John Glover Art Prize, Paddington Art Prize, Doug Moran Portrait Prize, Dobell Drawing Prize, and the Salon de Refuses.

James Drinkwater has undertaken international residencies in Germany, Kenya, Paris, and Tahiti. His work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank, and several significant regional and tertiary collections.'

He has recently embarked on a new project creating a ballet inspired by William Dobell’s, ‘Storm approaching Wangi’, to be performed at Lake Macquarie's MAP Mima in November. We cant wait to see it!  
.
He also has an exhibition coming up at Nicholas Thompon in Melbourne coming up - 27 JUL TO 13 AUG.

Thanks to James for having us and Ben Adams for the Photos! 

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Aidan Gageler is a recent graduate of Camberwell Arts College in London, graduating with a 1st in Fine Art Photography. Since moving back to Newcastle, Australia, he has taken a job at Bundanon Trust and is taking his time thinking and talking about his art practice.

After finding old photography paper in a flea market in Poland, he explored the possibilities of developing the paper and using them to create an artwork in itself, no longer taking the photos but using the photographic process instead.

We really enjoyed our chat with Aidan and we hope to catch up again when we get a chance to visit Bundanon. Aidan's show will be on at the Onwards Gallery in Newcastle in August so go check it out. 

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Many thanks to LOTTIE Consalvo for speaking to us on zoom - we enjoyed the chat very much sorry if the Audio is not great - rain rain go away.

You can find out about LOTTIE Consalvo on her website

https://www.lottieconsalvo.com

Lottie instagram feed https://www.instagram.com/lottieconsalvo/

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We spoke to Ash at her studio and gallery space, Hake House of Art, in Brookvale. She is a young vibrant artist with a smart head on her shoulders, once represented by a gallery, she decided to go it on her own, and the results have proved she made the right decision.

We spoke to her about being a 4th generation artist, setting up a gallery space, colour psychology, techniques, overseas residencies, and much more...

Hake House of Art is taking part in the Northern Beaches Council Creative Open, on August 13th and 14th so head down and check out the studio spaces and see a group exhibition of fantastic artists. 1/275 Harbord Road, Dee Why, 2099. 9-3pm

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Wendy Sharpe needs no introduction, but here's one anyway!!

'Wendy Sharpe is one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists, she lives and works in Sydney and Paris. She has been awarded The Sulman Prize, two Travelling Scholarships, The Portia Geach Memorial Award (twice), The Archibald Prize, and many others. She has been a finalist in The Sulman Prize thirteen times, and The Archibald Prize eight times. She has held over 65 solo exhibitions around Australia and internationally.'

We talked to Wendy in her fantastic studio in Sydney, surrounded by all her paintings and drawings. Our conversation was so interesting, covering Wendy's career, her upcoming book with author Kate Forsyth , how to find your own voice in your artwork, and much more....

Thanks so much, Wendy, we loved meeting you!

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Spoiler alert - Nick Bishop is brilliant!!!

In this episode, he explains, how the NFT world can assist artists and galleries in fantastic ways. Nick explains the different layers of the web3 world, blockchain and NFTs in such an understandable way.

He runs a web3 venture capitalist company with three partners, Not Centralised. They will be holding a talk at Manly Art Gallery or the Northern Beaches council's creative open, on August 17th 6-8 pm. 'Metaverse and NFTs - the future of art and the value it unlocks.' Curious to know more about how art crosses over into technology and finance? Want to discover the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens)? Here’s your place to start, with a presentation and conversation led by NFT/Metaverse experts Simo Leonelli, Sam Joel, Nick Bishop, and Mark Monfort.

link to Violeta Sofia 

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Element Ensemble is an improvisational sound experience by Peta Morris, Noah Bloom, Finlay Hogan and guest artists. 

Immerse yourself in soundscapes and visual projections inspired by the local environment and created by Element Ensemble, a three-piece improvisational music group.

See Element ensemble perform as part of the creative open on August 13th 7-8 pm at Curl Curl Creative Space, 105 Abbott Rd, Nth Curl Curl NSW 2099. Book online for tickets here. Bring a pillow to sit on, chairs will be provided if needed.

The podcast was recorded by Fiona, as Julie was unwell,  at Noah's house on the Northern Beaches. 

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Shuffle Studios is in Brookvale. 

To find out more about Tony check out his website.

https://www.shufflestudio.com/ 

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Tiarna Herczeg is one to watch - she is a young indigenous Artist from Sydney.


The best place to learn about her is on her social media pages
https://www.instagram.com/tiarna.herczeg/

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We really loved our chat with Peter Sharp! Very inspiring talk and we learned so much from Peter who was very generous with his words and the pastries he bought us!! We interviewed Peter in his studio in Sydney and talked about his teaching, his upcoming show, Fowlers Gap, being an artist, and much more..

Peter is represented by Nicholas Thompson gallery in Melbourne and his new show, Signal, opens on August 20th so get down there and check out his fantastic work. 

thanks so much for your time and support, Peter, we really appreciate it. 

'Peter Sharp has held solo exhibitions since 1989 in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne and internationally in Germany. His work has been included in group exhibitions since 1987 throughout Australia and internationally in Paris, Chang Mai, Beijing and London. Sharp is a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales School of Art and Design and has a Master of Fine Arts (1992) from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. His work was acquired by the Kedumba Drawing Award in 2007 and the Grafton Regional Gallery's Jacaranda Drawing Award in 1996. Sharp was a recipient of a Cite International des Arts Residence, Paris in 1997. A monograph Peter Sharp: Will to Form was published in 2012. Sharp has been a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize (2020, 13, 08), the Hazelhurst Art of Paper Prize (2019, 15, 13, 11, 07, 05, 03), the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize (2018, 10, 06), the Dobell Prize (2010, 09), the Sulman Prize (2008, 98) and the Wynne Prize (2003, 96). His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank, regional and tertiary collections in Australia and significant corporate collections.' - Nicholas Thompson gallery

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Ember Fairbairn has based herself primarily in Melbourne and Queensland, satisfying her love of contemporary culture and the need to be immersed in remote parts of nature. Fairbairn’s practice focuses primarily on painting and she holds a Masters in Contemporary Art. Ember is based in the Yarra Valley.

Her exhibiting history spans from 2001 in both solo and group shows in artist run spaces and commercial galleries in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore and New York. Awards include The 2020 Athenaeum Club visual Arts Research Award (2020), Gogo Art Series Award (2019) , Art150 Travelling Scholarship (2019), The Ravenswood Art prize for women (Finalist). Residencies include Montsalvat Art Centre and Yea Arts Festival.

'Within Fairbairn’s painting practice is an influence of nature, where she explores the metaphysical philosophy of ecology and her own body. The result is something akin to art as meditation; each consideration of process, colours, gestures playing out until the artist finds a resolution. The works reveal themselves in active gestures or layers of paint. They reveal a belonging, connecting Fairbairn’s time in the landscape, and evolving within nature. Spending time in nature becomes a meditation on being present in the moment, a feeling that comes through in her paintings, each gesture a methodology of grounding.'


You can find out more about Ember on her instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/emberfairbairn/

Also if you would like to book in here is the link to the Orpheum
Audience with an artist LIVE ...

https://www.movietkts.com.au/selecttickets.php?siteCode=CREMRN&sessionIndex=188880

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We love Troy Emery's work, his playful, soft sculptures are so extraordinary and tactile, when we saw them at the Art Pharmacy office we had to touch them!! Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney represents him. We talked to Troy over zoom as he is based in Melbourne, about taxidermy, natural history museums, materials, degradation of nature, Hermes windows, and much more!! We also talked to Troy about his sculptural paintings.   

Troy will be at 2022 Sydney Contemporary so get down to Carriageworks to see his work in the flesh. 

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Abdul Abdullah is one of Australia's leading artists and we were lucky enough to meet and interview him at his studio in St. Leonards, shortly before he moves to Bangkok, Thailand.

'Abdul Abdullah is an Australian multi-disciplinary artist. As a self-described ‘outsider amongst outsiders’ with a post-9/11 mindset, his practice is primarily concerned with the experience of the ‘other’. Abdullah’s projects have engaged with different marginalized minority groups and he is particularly interested in the disjuncture between perception/projection of identity and the reality of lived experience. Identifying as a Muslim and having both Malay/Indonesian and convict/settler Australian heritage, Abdullah occupies a precarious space in the political discourse that puts him at odds with popular definitions. He sees himself as an artist working in the peripheries of a peripheral city, in a peripheral country, orbiting a world on the brink. His work has been censored by politicians who have accused him of attacking Australian culture, and once a member of the Christian Democratic party wrote that he wants to “convert young Australians” and that he “worships a moon god”.'

Abdul is represented at Yavuz Gallery, Sydney, and internationally. 

Thanks, Abdul for your time, we really appreciate it. 

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David Fairbairn lives and works in Wedderbern not far from Campbelltown with artist and partner Suzanne Archer. We were excited to go back to their amazing home and studios to interview David a few weeks ago.

We had an in-depth discussion with David about his upbringing, growing up in Africa, boarding school in England and finally reaching the sunny climes of Australia in his early 30’s. We spoke to him about his art practice, teaching art,  and recently joining the fold at Nanda Hobbs in Sydney.

David’s work will be at Sydney Contemporary, opening Thursday the 9th and we are very excited to see it there! 

Thanks, David, always a pleasure to talk to you and Suzanne in your wonderful home.

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Marnie Ross is well known for being the founder of the Little Things Art prize that is celebrating its 8th year - go check it out it is is currently (opens 14th September 2022) on show at https://saintcloche.com

You can find out more about Marnie and the Little Things Art prize on her website

http://www.marnierossartist.com

The medium Marnie talks about is from Matisse - https://www.matisse.com.au/mm20-water-based-patina

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Bernard is currently on show at Trevor Victor Harvey Galleries in Seaforth until 26 November 2022 - https://www.instagram.com/trevorvictorharvey/?hl=en

Bernard Ollis is an artist of immense talent and knowledge - it was a pleasure to go and chat with him on the podcast - his studio is a riot of colour filled with awesome art works in paint, oil pastel of all manor of fabulous spaces around the world. Bernard was kind enough to share some of his stories of his vast career in the Arts. This podcast is a must listen for all aspiring and emerging artists.


Learn about Bernard Ollis on his website
http://www.bernardollis.com

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Scott McCracken is an artist from the UK we met through the Turps Banana art school.

You can find out more about Scott on his website
https://www.scottmccracken.co.uk

His work is hard to distill or describe you could call him a painter of still life or even a surrealist or abstract painter. Scott talked to us about many great  in this chat and talks to us about making art, his process and what he has learnt over his arts education and his arts career.

He mentioned an artist who he really admires called Victor Willing - link below.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/victor-willing-2150

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Many thanks to Helen Earl Ceramic artist from NSW. Helen creates ceramics from clay with found objects. They are transitory experience of being in the world. 

Her website is
https://www.helenearl.com

Or you can find out more on her instagram
https://www.instagram.com/helenearlart/

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We spoke to Sarah Robson at Manly Art Gallery and Museum, surrounded by her current exhibition, Abstract Realities: The MAG&M Project, alongside artists Julian Goddard (Perth), and David Thomas (Melbourne). This exhibition brings together three artists, to create site-sensitive installations that are temporal, open, and sensory. In addition to their own works, the artists have selected works from public and private collections to consider the fundamental role of contemporary abstraction.

Abstract Realities invites the viewer to experience abstract art as a unique way of questioning and revealing the seeming complexity of being in the world.

We had a deep dive with Sarah about the role of abstract art in the world and how it can be perceived as elitist and not understood. Sarah recently completed her Ph.D. and we spoke to her about undertaking a doctorate and what she gained from the in-depth study.

Thanks, Sarah we really enjoyed the chat. you can see the exhibition at Manly Art gallery until December 4th so get down and walk through the experience! 

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We spoke to Giles Alexander from his  St. Peters studio.  His painting practice strives to understand, 'us', and 'belonging' and in turn, the universe. Hence, Giles's fascination with planets and space. 

'Giles Alexander’s art practice explores the visual discourse of belonging. He asks us how we find a sense of belonging in a city, a country, the world, and the universe. Alexander’s humanist preoccupations have led to a multi-disciplinary practice marked by the high production value and technical skill. The artist is conscious that the questions he ponders - around belonging, origin, and the universe - have absorbed humanity since we encountered the power of thought.'

Giles is represented by Olsen Gallery and Mars Gallery. 

NB: we talked about Vantablack, a blackest black paint made and trademarked exclusively by the artist, Amish Kapoor, for his sole use. Another artist, Stuart Semple, has made his own blackest black paint, in retaliation, for everyone can use except Anish Kapoor! 

Thanks, Giles, we really enjoyed our chat and hope everyone does too! 

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Thank you to Joanna Logue for a fabulous chat - we so enjoyed talking with you and could not wait to get back to the studio to paint, you were so inspiring and generous.

You can find out more about Joanna's art practise on her website https://www.joannalogue.com

or her instagram https://www.instagram.com/joannalogue/?hl=en

You can see Joanna's work at https://kingstreetgallery.com.au

Her show Echo is on until 22 December at Kings Street Gallery in Darlinghurst Sydney. 

Congratulations Joanna on a beautiful show. 

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https://elladreyfus.com/weight-and-seaTo find out more about Ella Dreyfus check out her website

https://elladreyfus.com

or her instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ella_dreyfus/

To find out more about her artwork in Sculpture by the Sea https://elladreyfus.com/weight-and-sea
and Ellas latest Film Dreyfus-drei look here
https://elladreyfus.com/dreyfus-drei-film

Many thanks Ella for a great chat. 

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Many thanks to Josh for having us to his studio - to find out more about Josh you can go to his website.

Josh describes his work as referencing our experience of peripheral vision of the local world but describes our visual experience as being truncated and redacted - as we are living on our phones and our experiences with visual media are so fleeting and sporadic and perhaps people will contemplate the world more by viewing his artwork.

https://www.joshuacharadia.com/cv 

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Christopher Hodges artist and gallerist from the fabulous Utopia gallery many thanks for the chance to chat art at your gallery.  Christopher will be exhibiting at Utopia gallery from Feb 4-26th in there, ‘Thirty Five’, show celebrating 35 years of Utopia Sydney. Congratulations!! 

To find out more about Christopher check out his website here.

https://www.christopherahodges.com

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Many thanks to Cybele for welcoming us into her home and studio very close to us in Avalon Beach. 

'Cybele Cox’s practise explores ancient feminine symbols and occult mysticism, which is part of a larger enquiry into representations of women in the western art canon. Using hand built ceramic totems and figures, painting, drawing and more recently costume, Cox seeks to re-invoke occult practices of an imagined ancestral lineage. She makes the proposition that magic and ritual have been dismissed by the secular nature of Western society, which overlooks the importance of the spiritual realm and altered mental states. Making figurative sculpture is a means of entry into a mystical realm, which embodies hybridity of human-body-animal, fusing symbols from the mythic world with fantasies for a new feminist order. Her work proposes a return to occult knowledge, as a re-flowering of the spiritual.'

Thanks for talking to us Cybele.

Cybele is represented by Yavuz Gallery

Warning: please be advised this episode contains content of sexual abuse. 

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Many thanks for talking to us Mary Tonkin

To find out more about this Artist check out her instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mary.tonkin/?hl=en

or with Australian Galleries who represents her https://australiangalleries.com.au/artists/mary-tonkin/

'Landscape painter Mary Tonkin completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in 1995 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2002 at Monash University, where she has also lectured. Tonkin has held solo exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney since 1999. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and internationally in New York. A survey exhibition titled ‘Home’ was held at Burrinja Gallery in the Dandenong’s in 2012. Tonkin was awarded the National Gallery of Victoria Trustee award in 1994 and 1995 and Dobell drawing prize in 2002. She was the recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshield foundation grant in 1998 and Australian post-graduate fellowship award in 2000. Tonkin’s work is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, VIC and several regional and tertiary institutions.'

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Melanie Vugich is an Australian artist giving the still life genre a modern twist.

She is a still life painter from Broken Hill, who lived in Florence, Italy for 25 years designing textiles. She has recently collaborated with the fashion designer, Oscar De La Renta, for a collection using her paintings as prints. Her paintings feature flowers, books, fruits and vases she has collected from her time in Broken Hill.

Her sister, Lisa, is her manager, which is very cool, and we think everyone should have a Lisa!!

You can see Melanie's work at Twentytwentysix Gallery in Bondi from 24th Jan - 12th Feb.

Thanks Mel, so great to meet you and talk to you. 

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Many thanks to Amber Boardman for your time talking to us about the show Fair Play currently showing at Manly Regional Gallery. You can find out more about the exhibition with the following link.
https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/whats-on/fair-play

If you would like to find out more about Amber

https://www.amberboardman.com

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Thanks you Emily Besser for your time and sharing your stories. You can find out more about Emily on her website.

https://www.emilybesser.com

or her instagram

https://www.instagram.com/emilybesser/?hl=en

You can find out more about Nicole Barakat workshop in the following link.

http://www.nicolebarakat.com.au/learn

Emily was also featured in Amber Creswell Bell’s new book, Australian Abstract!

Her upcoming show, 'Ground',  at Boom gallery opens 27th April - 21st May

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Many thanks to Trevor Victor Harvey from Harvey Galleries for an enlightening chat

You can find Trevor and his marvellous team on their website -

https://harveygalleries.com.au

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Many thanks to Artist Ali Noble for your time. You can find out more about Ali on her website or instagram. Good luck with your Masters!

Ali Noble’s primary interest is the discourse of textiles; which she frequently explores alongside the aesthetics of abstract formalism and mysticism. Ali’s current work, as part of her MFA research, is connected to an ongoing enquiry into the transgressive spirit of textile architecture, or curtains. Together, textiles and space provoke discussions that explore sensuality, transformation, normative domesticity, and time.

https://www.alinoble.com

https://www.instagram.com/alinoble11/

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Many thanks to Art Advisor Michael Powe for your time talking to us.

Michael’s business is Anala Art Advisory.

https://analaartadvisory.com.au

Johnny Romeos show, Cloud 9, is opening on Friday 10 March in Melbourne at West End Art Space.
https://westendartspace.com.au/exhibitions_details/johnny-romeo-pop-popart/

‘When it comes to capturing this overwhelming sense of being high on life, few expressions exude with the same joy and wide-eyed wonderment as ‘Cloud 9’. According to some linguists, the concept of Cloud 9 originates from the categorization of the world’s largest cloud, the Cumulonimbus, as a Level 9 cloud in the 1896 ‘International Cloud Atlas’. Others have suggested that the term was inspired by the ninth cloud in the journey of the Bodhissatva, considered to be the penultimate step to Enlightenment in Buddhism. Within the context of the series, Romeo masterfully combines the lofty grandeur of being on top of the world with a sense of spiritual ecstasy to express his own Cloud 9 philosophy, which encourages us to embrace life to the fullest in order to experience true joy.’

Curated by Michael Powe 

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We interviewed Ali Tahayori at his home and studio in Newtown, Sydney, a long way from his hometown of Shiraz, Iran. Ali moved to Australia from Iran in 2007 after imprisonment and torture for being gay became unsustainable to remain in his homeland .  We discovered Ali at the NAS MFA Exhibition where he showed his impressive broken mirror artworks and video installation.

'Born and raised in the oppressively homophobic climate of 1980s Iran, Ali Tahayori assumed the identity of an outsider, further compounded by his migration to Australia in 2007. Combing fractured mirrors with text and imagery, his recent works draw on ancient Iranian philosophies about light and mirrors to create kaleidoscopic experiences; moments of both revelation and concealment hint at the conflicted nature of his identity. 

Translating the traditional Iranian craft of Āine-Kāri (mirror-works) into a contemporary visual vocabulary, his practice skillfully combines a discourse about diaspora and displacement with an exploration of queerness – in both cases, poignantly testifying to his experience of being othered. He holds a Doctorate in Medicine, a Graduate Diploma in Photography, and a Master of Fine Arts in Photomedia from Sydney’s National Art School. His work has been extensively exhibited in Iran, Europe and Australia.'

Ali is also a photographer, winning the 2022 Prix Yves Hernot Photography Award and in 2021 the peoples choice winner Bowness Photography award.  Ali continues working as a rehabilitation doctor in Sydney whilst being a very busy artist.

Congratulations Ali, your work is so multi-layered in meaning and beauty that we think you have a very long career ahead of you.

You can see Ali's work in his upcoming show, 'The Sky is the Same',  at Gosford Regional Art Gallery from April 1-June 4 2023. Opening Friday 14 April at 6pm. 

He is represented by This Is No Fantasy in Melbourne. 

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Many thanks to Anthony white for a great chat over Zoom all the way from France.

His upcoming show -

OPENING/PRIVATE VIEW:SATURDAY 15 JULY
12PM-4PM
FLOOR TALK WITH DR PETER HILL SATURDAY 15 JULY EXHIBITION CONTINUES 30 JULY 2023 MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA
 Please note this event is free but booking is advised: contact@lennoxst.gallery or +61 409 409 239
Lennox St. Gallery presents Manifestation, an exhibition of new works by Paris-based artist Anthony White. Marking a new direction for the artist, Manifestation consists of a series of 10 paintings responding to Sidney Nolan’s 1966 Eureka Stockade mural in which White reclaims the painterly gesture as a form of dissent. This is White's third solo show with the gallery, his first in the new space as Lennox St. Gallery and his first body of work made as a response to a single work of art.
White draws on new research into the 1854 Eureka Rebellion (Australia’s only ever armed civil uprising), the personal papers of Sidney Nolan and recent protest events in France, highlighting the increasing importance of his engagement with material, concept and history. Painted in France during a period marked by widespread public protests, these ten new works continue White’s wider thinking around the painterly gesture as a form of dissent, as well as the act of civil disobedience, or, in French, Manifestation – a protest, public event, action, or object which embodies an idea.
Following White’s recent creative fellowship at the National Library of Australia, Canberra,
 Manifestation responds to the anti-colonial spirit in Sidney Nolan’s Eureka Stockade mural which White spent time with in Canberra at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery. Commissioned by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the mural depicts the pivotal event of the Victorian gold rush – a crucial point in Australia’s democratic history. White’s research into the papers of Sidney Nolan at the National Library, uncovered correspondence which reveals Nolan’s response to the only first hand account of the Eureka rebellion written by the Italian revolutionary Rafaello Carboni. Manifestation considers Nolan’s engagement with that European vision of the event, the legacy of Eureka and the development of a
 particular Australian psyche typified by a defence of democratic values.

 Each work incorporates an event or individual element from the Eureka battle as depicted in the Nolan mural: Hotham incorporates imagery resembling mounted policemen; Eureka Hotel and the largest work Manifest (After Eureka) 125 x 235 cm [shown above] depict the epic destruction of Bentley’s Eureka Hotel caused by a fire started by rioting miners on the 12th of October 1854. In each work White finds equivalent ways of harnessing the energy and dissenting spirit of the battle.
“I went to the Nolan archive to capture this anti-colonial spirit inherent in some of the images of the mural to emphasize the sense of dissent but what struck me was the ethnic diversity of the period in Victoria. What I found was Chinese, Italian, African Americans, Jewish and Irish migrants revolting against the colonial government. It manifested as the Eureka Rebellion which became a crucial part of Australia’s engagement with democracy”
 In the current moment we are seeing the increasing relevance of civil disobedience in movements such as The Yellow Vests in France and groups like Extinction Rebellion protesting for climate change, increasing class inequalities or retirement ages. In my mind there is no doubt that the power of democracy is diminishing internationally and I feel we need to voice our discontent with government policies that infringe on personal liberty, especially the right to protest peacefully.” – Anthony White

You can find out more about Anthony on his webs

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What a great episode with artist, Tony Mighell, at his home and studio. Tony is extremely well read on the subject of art and artists, we could have talked for hours. We loved hearing about the NY Studio School when Tony attended in the 1970's, it sounded amazing. He also became the studio assistant of artist Roger Kemp.  Tony worked at the MCA in Sydney for 10 years as the manager of installations, and tells some fascinating stories about his time there. 

Since 2015 Tony has been concentration on his own practice and is now represented by gallery Nanda Hobbs in Sydney.

We hope you love this conversation as much as we did.

Thanks Tony.

Links to some of the artists tony mentioned -

Roger Kemp
Frederick Thursz
Robert Motherwell
Mercedes Matters

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Thanks so much to Angus Fisher who picked us up from Patonga Wharf in his boat with his dog, to whizz us round to his home and studio on Dangar Island! It was such a special day out, we loved it. We also met his lovely wife and baby. We missed the ferry home from Patonga and were forced to have lunch at The Boathouse Patonga, such a shame!!!

We spoke to Angus about his love of drawing, printmaking and teaching. He is a wonderful man who is passionate about his practice.

'Angus Fisher’s art practice investigates nature and humankind’s relationship with the natural world. For Fisher, the idea of nature is a not a static term, but an evolving concept. Through the detailed study of history and natural subject matter, his work grapples with the idea of how nature exists, and has existed, in human imagination. Fisher does not only investigate ecology through his subjects, but the evolving attitudes and changing philosophical interpretations of the wider natural world. Primarily working with etching and drawing, he utilises traditional working techniques, methodologies and aesthetics to place his work in direct connection to historical contexts and traditions.'

Angus is represented by Australian Galleries in Australia and Jonathan Cooper Gallery in the UK

Links -
Sydney printmakers
Image for Dobell
Image for Hawkesbury Art Prize winning piece 

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Thanks to Catherine O'Donnell for speaking to us in her lunchbreak from teaching at the National Art School. We spoke to Catherine about her drawing practice, coming to art later in life, judging an art prize, and her love of the fibro shack! 

She has an exhibition coming up at Campbelltown Arts Centre in July and at Dominik Mersch in August. 

'Essentially my artist practice is about the beauty of the uncelebrated and ordinary.

My drawings an exploration of the architecture, culture and history in the everyday-ness of the urban environment. I see the suburbs as full of connection and disconnection, sameness and difference; in short, my drawings examine suburban living as a site of complexity. I am particularly interested in the way that the vernacular architecture and general street scapes of the places we regularly inhabit become recessed into our minds like wallpaper -they are at once visible and invisible.

It is the architecture of the suburban landscape which is the subject in my drawings. The absence of the representation of people in the drawings encourages viewers to consider the architecture from their own view point, perhaps igniting their own memories of suburban living. My drawings whilst uninhabited still capture traces of human intervention with narrative elements embedded in the commonplace structures: an open window; a door ajar.

My drawings are clearly representational but the realism in my work is not merely a reproduction of the visible. It is the elevation of the abstract form, the underpinning geometry and the distillation of the spatial composition that interests me. To this end I extract the building from its surroundings, deleting extraneous information, in order to emphasize the simplified form and obtain the final image. I use representation as a catalyst to ignite the imagination of the viewer and invite them to look beyond the mundane and banal. To revisit these spaces imaginatively and find the aesthetic poetry embedded within in the suburban landscape, while at the same time disrupting cultural prejudices which prevent people from seeing the underlying elegance of these simple buildings.'

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Antonia Perricone Mrjak invited us to interview herself and fellow studio mates so we said yes! We focussed on shared studio space as the theme. It was a really interesting chat about what they love and hate about sharing a space. A shared studio space creates a community for artists, a source of inspiration and a support network. Of course we wanted to move in y the end of the conversation.

We recorded the interview at Nanda Hobbs so thanks to Ralph Hobbs and staff.

list of artists interviewed -

Antonia Perricone Mrjak
Marissa Purcell
Graziela Guardino
Michael Simms
Annalisa Ferraris
Caroline Zilinksy

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This week we spoke to artist Ida Lawrence, who Fiona heard giving a lecture at NAS and asked if we could speak to her back in Berlin over zoom. Ida has spent time in Indonesia, Australia and now Germany practising as an artist. She is a really interesting artist and we hope you enjoy listening to her stories. 

'Ida Lawrence is a visual artist who weaves stories through her art and education projects.

My narrative paintings combine text and images to tell stories of (mis)understanding, (dis)connection, generosity, failure and surprise. They make a big deal out of small observations, tiny gestures and little feelings I’ve experienced or imagined.

I enjoy playing with the ‘visual language’ of painting — how images can have multiple meanings and how the ways a painting is made including its ‘abstract’ and painterly qualities can contribute to or subvert the story being told. While each work contains its own visual logic, many of my paintings let their own construction process (or illusion of it) remain visible: patterns disintegrate through imperfect repetition, mistakes are crudely crossed out, a work might be painted on the floor allowing elements to be painted at all angles, and images on the one canvas might be portrayed through a variety of techniques and degrees of detail.'

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Glenn Barkley is a busy man! He has written a brilliant book on Ceramics, 'Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms', (published by Thames and Hudson), a global cultural study of the history of ceramics, sharing the stories of over 100 objects, honouring the artists who have left their mark on this timeless practice. This coincides with the curation of an upcoming show at the AGNSW, brick vase clay cup jug, a look at the Gallery’s collection - July 1 2023 - Jan 2024. 

'Barkley was previously senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (2008–14) and curator of the University of Wollongong Art Collection (1996–2007).

He was a finalist in the 2017 Sidney Myer Ceramics Award and is held in numerous collections both nationally and internationally, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Shepparton Art Museum and Artbank, Sydney.'

He is represented by Sullivan and Strumpf. 

Congratulations Glenn, so great to meet you and find out all about you and your work. Cant wait to read your new book....

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This weeks podcast is a short ramble wrapping up the season before we have a short break over the school holidays. Julie's daughter, Flo, asks us questions about Fionas experience at art school, our work, and our upcoming exhibition at Woollahra gallery at Redleaf opening July 26th 6-8pm.

Woollahra Gallery 

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Kirsteen Pieterse is a sculptor who grew up near the mining pits of Glasgow and lived and worked in the bustling industrial city of Hong Kong, resulting in her amazing sculptures which integrate and contrast brutalist architecture with organic form.

‘The Scottish sculptor Kirsteen Pieterse, who is an artist in the Romantic tradition, draws upon the precarious relationship between man and built environments in her work....she draws attention to the regard we hold for our environment and how easily we might forget the power of nature. Modern architecture and engineering represent, in many ways, the epitome of humankind's 'taming' of the natural world, however, as Pieterse infers in her sculptures, the ramifications of such endeavours should not be neglected."”

- Kate Bryan - Deconstructing Landscape, World Sculpture News, Volume 15 No 4, p. 42 – 45, 2009

She is represented by Utopia Art Gallery in Sydney. 

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Henry Curchod is a fabulous story telling artist who we have long admired who works predomentially in oil stick - we had a chance to chat with him over zoom https://www.henrycurchod.com as he is currently living in UK. You can find out more about Henry on his website instagram account. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=henry+curchod+instagram&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Henry is an eclectic and interesting artist who is a keen user or multiple perspectives inspired by Persian miniature art - also the inventor with his Uncle of the new art movement 'Monobrowism' - a combination of work that is high and low brow.  The manifesto is written on to toilet paper its on Henry's instagram.

Check out his social media to find out where and when Henry is showing his work. He currently has a work in the Sulman and will be at the Ramsay show from 27 May - 27 August https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/ramsay-art-prize-2023/henry-curchod

Many thanks Henry for your time. 

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Many thanks to Simone for your time.

We so enjoyed talking to you, you can find out more about Simone on her website

https://www.simonedouglas.info/biography

or on her social media https://www.instagram.com/simonedouglasstudio/

Simone will be talking at National Art school this Wednesday at Art Forum.

You can out more about Simone's last exhibition in Sydney at Artreal her in this link  https://artereal.com.au/online-exhibition/an-ocean-in-your-hand/

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Now in its third year, the Environmental Art & Design Prize brings together a community of creatives to highlight our environmental concerns and hopes across the nation.  The works selected present fresh perspectives on our global climate crisis and sustainable life on earth.  They will be on show in an outstanding exhibition of art and design from 4 – 27 August at Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Curl Curl Creative Space and Mona Vale Creative Space Gallery. '

Thanks for listening 

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We interviewed artist Marilou Palazon at Sydney Road Gallery surrounded by her beautiful artworks at her solo show, Realise, which is on until Sunday 27th August. Go see the exhibition or view online.  Marilou is a director of Sydney Road Gallery, a mentor, co-founder of online gallery The Brush artists Group Collective. 

'My Florals are really dramatic landscapes. I relish the simplicity of the monumental and sweeping the illogical large scale of an otherwise delicate and small subject disorientate and create a sense of awe.

I like my viewer to fall into my images and traveling along the surface of my images. My images of flowers become more iconic, monolithic, archetypal, ultimate and prime symbols. I rejoice in this transhistorical and ancient subject matter. They always continue to fascinate me.

Historically the flowers are emotionally and symbolically rich with content. To me they represent time, beauty , fragility, decay, cycle of life, life as a journey. I like the space of the struggle – the dichotomy of perfection and slow decline. One cannot exist and be appreciated without the other.

There is great beauty in all these stages. Life as journey and respect for all stages of nature. To get a sense of nostalgia of what was.'

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Our latest guests on @art.wank won it!! In 2021, an arts collective, Array Collective won this prestigious prize for their installation, ‘The Druthaib’s Ball’. 

.‘The Druthaib’s Ball, new work for Turner Prize 2021, has been realised twice over. In Belfast it was a wake for the centenary of Ireland’s partition in the Black Box (grassroots venue), and was attended by semi-mythological druids along with a community of artists and activists wearing hand-made costumes. 

  At the Herbert, the event has been transformed into an immersive installation. An imagined síbín (a ‘pub without permission’) hosts a film created from the Belfast event, and a TV showing Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive. A large canopy styled from banners provides a floating roof. The síbín is approached through a circle of flag poles, that references ancient Irish ceremonial sites and contemporary structures, and is illuminated by a dawn-to-dusk light. 

  Array invite us into a place of contradictions where trauma, dark humour, frustration, and release coexist. It is a place to gather outside the sectarian divides that have dominated the collective memory of the North of Ireland for the last hundred years.’ 

.We had a wonderful time chatting over zoom to two of Arrays members Sighle Bhreathnach-Cashell and Stephen Millar. Thanks for your time! 

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Many thanks to Draw Space founding members - 4 of which kindly spoke to us - if you would like to find out more about these artists please find links below.

Melinda Hunt, https://www.instagram.com/melinda.ink/?hl=en
and Chelsea Lehmann https://www.chelseajlehmann.com
and Daniel Press Art https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=daniel+press+art&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
and Belinda Yee http://belindayee.com/about.htm
and Luke Thurgate https://www.instagram.com/luke_thurgate/?hl=en
and Jeremy W Smith https://www.jeremywsmithart.com
and Lisa Pang https://www.instagram.com/jolibeol/?hl=en

Also many thanks to Kristy Gordon  https://www.instagram.com/kristygordon_art/?hl=en
and Joyce Lubotzky https://www.instagram.com/joylubo/?hl=en
who kindly spoke to us about their art current practises which was on show in Materiality https://drawspace.org 

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We covered everything in this podcast with these amazing curators and artists. We talked about science, ecology, archaeology, art, curating and much much more.

Pippa Mott has recently taken up the mantle of Director of Woollahra Gallery in Sydney, after completing a Fulbright scholarship in NY and 8 years as a curator at MONA, Tasmania. 

Maya Martin-Westheimer is an artist, curator and founder of contemporary art publishing company, Floorplan Studio. She is also artist in residence at Woollahra Gallery until 13th September 2023. 

Thanks to you both for a great chat. Get yourself down to the gallery for the small sculpture prize opens September 28th. 

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Coco Elder - The Never Never is on at Art2Muse Gallery until 18th September. 
Bellingen Arts Trail 10-12th November 

'My artwork is based on observations of the landscape and flora, notably in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, and more recently in the Bellingen Shire. My initial study in Landscape Architecture has inspired my interest in geology and indigenous botanical landscapes. Overtime, I have witnessed the bush thrive in the wet, fight or recoil in the dry, and brought back to life after the fires. I hope to transcribe reverence for the Australian bush and to reveal the mysterious and alluring qualities of our native plants and the lie of the land.

The natural landscape presents as an intriguing paradox. Up close, the bush is an unruly entanglement of prickly menace; from a distance, are distinct interlocking shapes that can be ordered by the eye into Cezanne's geometry. Patterns that appear on the macro level are reiterated at the micro. Whilst bodies of water lead the eye in and outwards through reflections, there is a mysterious chasm in time, yet it also appears infinite. Shadows of texture hem and define vibrations of light. I endeavour to capture some of these subtle ambiguities in my work.

I retrace the place, coming closer to the essence of form, yet ironically remove it, by carving back through the surface. The image becomes a visual description that blends aspects of botanical documentation (like the early Australian artists); a journey through nature, (influenced by Japanese scrolls); and a personal expression through patterns of whimsy, and reflections on the past inhabitants, the Carigal and Gumbaynggirr people, whose presence are keenly felt.'

thanks Coco for your time and good luck with the Bellingen arts trail! 

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Many thanks to Michelle Cawthorn multidisciplinary artist working with memory and personal experience through her distinct visual language of repetitive mark making.

You can find out more about Michelle on her website https://www.michellecawthorn.com

or on her instagram
https://www.instagram.com/michellecawthorn/

Michelle has a show on at Olsen gallery opening today Wednesday September 27th ..see this link for more details
https://olsengallery.com/ex-works.php?exhibition_id=893

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Many thanks to Pete Codling for chatting to us on the podcast.

You can find more about Pete on his social media https://www.instagram.com/petecodling/

and here on the dockyard project
https://www.instagram.com/the_dockyard_artist_residency_/

or his website

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=website+pete+codling&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

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We unpacked a lot in this interview with associate professor of UNSW Oliver Bown and Stuart Buchanan, Head of Screen programming at Sydney Opera House. they have converted data taken from the machinations of the Opera House into a digital musical experience that you can live stream for the whole month of October... The Opera House becomes a living artwork. We hope this podcast explains the way AI and art can come together to create some amazing artworks.

Livestream runs from 1 - 31 October for 744 hours. you can find out all the information on the Sydney Opera house Website.

'The Sydney Opera House comes alive like never before through an uncanny symbiosis of machine learning and human creativity, as the sounds and the data from the building itself are dramatically recomposed  for an unforgettable 50th-anniversary performance across October.

What will the future of performance look like? To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we’re looking ahead to ponder the weird and wonderful new ways in which technology and human creativity collaborate – by turning the Sydney Opera House itself into the star performer.

The Interactive Media lab from University of New South Wales team up with music technologists Uncanny Valley to harness data generated by the building and turn it into music.

Across the month of October, the resultant 744-hour generative artwork will use A.I. processes to dynamically recompose the everyday data flow of the building into a unique musical soundscape.

Augmented with field recordings from the building, including the sounds of the Concert Hall’s Grand Organ, the work will be livestreamed on Stream, the Sydney Opera House’s streaming platform, accompanied by generative visuals, and ‘performed’ in situ at various moments during the Birthday Festival.

Music of the Sails is a joyous celebration of a cultural icon and a dazzling glimpse into future possibilities.

Interactive Media Lab, University of New South Wales
The Interactive Media Lab at UNSW’s School of Art & Design researches and teaches emerging media technologies and their application in creative work.

Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley’s focus is one part musical craft, and the other sonic technology. Armed with decades of experience, they harness their diverse musical expertise and collaborate with artists and brands to create their unique sound. They utilise emerging technologies and engage audiences to tell musical stories via all mediums.'

Thanks Natasha from the Opera House for organising and hosting. 

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Susie Dureau is the first artist we have spoken to twice. She complete her masters at national Art school 2 years ago. She currently has a show on at Curl Curl Creative Space, Soundscapes, that runs until Sunday 29th October 11-4pm so get down there and check it out.

Thanks Susie, great chat and wonderful exhibition.

Susie Dureau website

Spencer Finch https://www.spencerfinch.com/

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This weeks podcast is with the brilliant artist Carline Zilinksy. Her show opens at Nanda Hobbs Thursday 9th Novmember so go see it! She recently won the peoples choice award at the Mosman art prize, congratulations Caroline. It was a pleasure to chat with Caroline, full of energy and unapologetic passion! 

She is represented by Nanda Hobbs 

'Caroline Zilinsky is the most enigmatic of painters.  She is obsessive, highly skilled, sharp witted and possesses an eye that drills into the very soul of her sitters, revealing their most intimate truths. Her unrelenting artistic drive is intoxicating—ten-hour days at the easel is the studio norm.

When viewing Zilinsky’s paintings, one cannot be an innocent bystander. As an artist, she has the ability to metaphorically reach out and grasp the viewer, compelling us to engage in a dialogue with her protagonists.  Her works inhabit an interesting place in contemporary Australian painting. She echoes many of the themes of the Australian Modernism greats and stylistically, acknowledges a debt to their introspective investigations into an uncomfortable world.

Caroline Zilinsky was the winner of the 2020 Portia Geach Memorial Award (Australia's most prestigious art prize for portraiture by women) and in the same year won the Evelyn Chapman Art Award at S H Ervin Gallery. She is also a regular finalist in other premier art prizes including the Archibald Prize (2022), Art Gallery NSW, Darling Portrait Prize (2020, 2022) National Portrait Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the 2020 SBS Portrait Prize, the Kilgour Prize at Newcastle Art Gallery, Blake for Religious Art, the 2017 Sulman Prize and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. In 2009, the Muswellbrook Regional Gallery acquired her work United We Stand.'

Thanks Caroline 

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Ochre Lawson is an artist and teacher working out of Addison Rd Studios in Marrickville. She has a deep knowledge of colour and composition through self study and curiosity, Her work is free, flowing and colourful, full of the energy of the bush, which she loves to hike through. She was once an environmental activist and her love for nature comes through in her work.

She is represented by Jennings Kerr Gallery in the Southern Highlands.

The group show, Pulp, opens at Jennings Kerr November 17 until December 17.

She has a solo show next October...

thansk Ochre! 


Ochres Art School - Art Class Sydney, get yourself along to one of her classes!

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Conor Knight is an emerging artist currently exhibiting  at Michael Reid Northern Beaches until November 25th so get online or down to the Newport gallery and see the show, El Aula, in person.

Conor recently spent 8 months teaching in Spain painting for this exhibition. We had a great chat about learning to paint, having a mentor in his friend and previous podcast guest, Dylan Jones, and much more...

Thanks Conor, we wish you all the best for your future art career...

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Many thanks Lisa for your chat about all the work that goes into building a strong business with artists .

You can find the Astute artist course on this link
https://www.theastuteartist.com

Lisa's instagram https://www.instagram.com/lisadoust/

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Richardson’s works are held in the collections of National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of NSW,  Heide Museum of Art, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Artbank, City of Fremantle, MerriBek Council and the Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art.

Richardson is the founding editor of CoUNTess a blog publishing data on gender representation in the Australian visual arts sector.

The first Countess Report authored by Richardson, was released in 2016 a sector wide bench marking data collection project, and which re-launched as Countess.Report in 2017 in collaboration with Amy Prcevich and Miranda Samuels and producing the updated 2019 Countess Report.

You can find out more about the Countess report here
https://countess.report

You can find out more about Elvis on her website
https://elvisrichardson.com

To see the images discussed - Dorothy and Jack -please click here
https://elvisrichardson.com/Slide-Show-Land-Dorothy-and-Jack

to see the 'gates' discussed at 20 minutes in
https://elvisrichardson.com/Settlement-the-Gatekeepers

 

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Thanks Nathan Hawkes for such a great chat - we loved talking with you. To find out more about Nathan's practice look at these links

https://www.instagram.com/n.a.t.h.a.n.h.a.w.k.e.s/?hl=en

b. 1980 in Bowral, NSW, Australia
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia

Nathan Hawkes is a Sydney-based artist whose work is grounded in the practice of drawing as a way of paying attention to and reflecting on the visual dynamics and sensations encountered in his daily life.

His large-format drawings involve scratching into the surface of paper and using rudimentary mark-making with fingers and hands, masking, sponges and a vacuum cleaner, to embody a rough-hewn euphoria and sense of renewal whilst gesturing towards an illusory perception of self in relationship to the world. It exemplifies his commitment to the exercise of drawing.

Hawkes states:

I am obsessed by the seemingly endless vitality and flexibility inherent to the act of drawing. Being arguably one of the oldest modes of communication there is something so deeply rooted, open, adaptive and non- exclusive about the practice of making marks on a surface in various ways to embody an idea or sensation.

In 2020, Hawkes exhibited in Real Worlds: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial. In 2019, Hawkes was a finalist in the 2019 Ramsay Art Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia. He has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, Marten Bequest travelling scholarship, and the Asa Masakusa Award. Between 2013 and 2015 he was an artist in residence at Australia House, Japan and exhibited at the 2015 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial. In 2017 the Australia Council for the Arts funded an extended visit to Sweden where he worked with internationally acclaimed artist Andreas Eriksson.

Collections: Art Gallery of New South Wales -
Chalk horse Gallery

represented by Chalk horse Gallery in Sydney and Sophie Gannon in Melbourne

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We had the great pleasure to visit the newly renovated Artspace studio and gallery space at The Gunnery, Woolloomooloo. Ten artists have successfully received a years free studio space. The studios are amazing, brand new and huge along with common spaces and a beautiful gallery space downstairs.

We interviewed Leyla Stevens, Julia Gutman, Latai Taumoepeau and David M Thomas about what they will do with their year at Artscape and their art practice.

The 10 artists taking the studios for the inaugural year are -

• Jack Ball 
• Brian Fuata 
• Julia Gutman  
• Tina Havelock Stevens 
• Jazz Money. 
• Thea Anamara Perkins 
• Gemma Smith 
• Leyla Stevens  
• Latai Taumoepeau 
• David M Thomas 

Artspace will have an opening on Dec 15th 5.30pm  and Dec 16th 11am following the government's transformation of the heritage building. Live performances, artist talks and DJ's. 

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Dougie Schofield 

Douglas grew up in Eden, on the Far South Coast of NSW, in his parent's rambling garden. This early immersion in Nature has resulted in a practice that reflects on the bodily experience in Landscape. 

Schofield is an emerging artist currently based in Sydney, NSW. In 2017 he graduated Fine Art (Hons) at UNSW Art & Design, with a major in painting and a minor in printmaking.

He has had solo and group exhibitions nationally and has been exhibited internationally in China, Spain, and the Philippines. He currently has work on display in the Macquarie Group collection, Sydney. 

Douglas is represented in Brisbane, QLD by Aster + Asha Gallery.

Schofield’s ongoing body of work journals and ponders on the bodily experience in landscape in relation to his gardening practice. As a gardener and horticulturist, the climate and weather are determining factors in daily activities.

Douglas notes, “We are witnessing dramatic, unseasonal and severe weather nation and worldwide. My practices of gardening and painting put me in contact with this change daily.”

Their work is abstract, gestural and layered. Douglas prefers to work abstractly in an attempt to give non-figurative visual language to the contemporary experience of being in Landscape.

Thanks Dougie, so great to meet you and talk about your art practice. 

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Natalie O'Connor and Jo Mellor are currently showing at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf so you can go check out their work right now!

Natalie O'Connor is an artist recently awarded her PHD at UNSW for her thesis, 'The Nature of Redness', which is also the title of Natalie's exhibition at Woollahra. 

Natalie O’Connor is an artist, researcher, public programs & education coordinator at Hazelhurst Arts Centre. Her experience in the international colour manufacturing industry has heavily influenced her practice. She holds a Bachelor of Education and Master's degree. Most recently, she was awarded a PhD at UNSW for her thesis, The Nature of Redness- A Practice-Based Research into Red Pigments to Offer a New Understanding of Material Colour.

Her practice and thesis are concerned with the permanency and fragility of colour and the technical innovations of the artist’s palette that result from a collaborative dialogue between artists and scientists since the early nineteenth century. She engages deeply with the colour red, investigating its materiality and revealing its inherent qualities of colour. 

By understanding and experiencing the delicacies of each red pigment, scientists explore the potential for colour-making in the future. This allows the new potential for contemporary artists to make informed choices with their palettes to interpret the world around them. 

 
Jo Mellor is also a graduate of UNSW recently a masters in Fine Arts research
 
'Jo Mellor is a recent graduate of UNSW Art & Design's MFA program. Her MFA project was guided by Aboriginal knowledge provided by Ngiyampaa Elder Aunty Beryl Carmichael. The project applied the methodologies of yarning and deep listening to an expanded textile practice as well as consultation and collaboration with the Menindee Ngiyampaa and Barkandji community. Emerging from this research, Jo's current exhibition, Cobalt and Rust (Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, 20 March - 14 April 2024) is a critical examination of the ecological crises affecting Broken Hill (Wilyakali Country). Through a textile-based, eco-feminist practice, the exhibition lays bare the devastating consequences of land and water mismanagement by government bodies and corporations who fail to consult with the Traditional Custodians of Country. The textile series in the exhibition presents dense clusters of embroidery that suggest textures of scarred earth, whilst hues of cobalt and rust echo chemical discord. -

Jo's exhibition at Woollahra is called, 'Cobalt and Rust'. 

Their shows are on until 14th April.

Thanks for talking to us!

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Jesse - The Empowered muse, life modelling for individual wellness and social sustainability. 

We've been eager to chat with a life model for some time, and luckily Jesse posed for Julie's Art class in Avalon. She's skilled and knowledgeable, exceeding our expectations. Initially anticipating a conversation about modeling experiences and anecdotes, we were pleasantly surprised. Jesse shared her reasons for life modeling, driven by a need to confront her fears. This journey led to enhanced self-awareness and body positivity, influenced by the artists' portrayals of her beauty. After mastering modeling, Jesse traveled across Australia last year, organising life modeling classes in rural towns. Her goal was to break barriers and demonstrate the benefits for both individuals and communities. It was an extraordinary conversation, and we're grateful to Jesse for her openness. Her story has reshaped our perspective on life modeling, offering a beautiful insight into her journey.

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Last year, we had the pleasure of interviewing the remarkable Tony Mighell. Unfortunately, our recording equipment failed to capture the second half of the interview. Determined to delve deeper into Tony's work, we returned for a re-recording session. Notably, Tony is a recent finalist in the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize and is represented by Nanda Hobbs.

Adding to the occasion, we were joined by Gary, a friend of both Tony and the podcast. Gary generously brought along a cake for after the podcast!

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Join us for the latest episode of @art.wank featuring the talented artist Nicole Kelly (@nk_nk_). Congratulations to Nicole on becoming a new mum! In our recent Zoom interview before the Xmas, we delved into her painting techniques, past exhibitions, and her unique approach to color. Nicole is a very generous artist and offers dedicated mentoring through workshops and classes. Visit her website today to learn more and reserve your spot.

Represented by Arthouse gallery in Sydney and Nicholas Thompson gallery in Melbourne

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‘Kelly creates paintings that linger between the essence of a subject and the experience of being. Clouded by the romanticism of remembering, her paintings are imbued with experience captured in vibrant strokes of colour and with swift brushwork. Kelly’s works, informed by an interest in literature and the discipline of painting, cast moments of shared stillness in an atmosphere of light. She says of her works “my desire is to push painting beyond a surface likeness of any subject and into the realm of poetics”.

Winner of the prestigious Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (2009) and the Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize (2018), Kelly is well recognised for her landscape, portraiture and still life painting. She has undertaken residencies in France (2019, 2018, 2017, 2010) and Spain (2016) and has completed major public commissions for the Sutherland and St George Hospitals in Sydney. Her work has been selected for inclusion in the Lester Prize for Portraiture at the Art Gallery of WA (2019, 2018, 2017, 2015), Portia Geach Memorial Award (2021, 2020, 2019, 2015, 2014), Salon des Refusés (2023, 2020, 2019) and Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW (2015). ‘

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Thanks Nicole! Listen wherever you get podcasts or link in bio 

:

#Podcast #artpodcast #artwank #abstract #art #artistsoninstagram #artwork #artist #artgallery #nicolekelly 

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Many thanks Evie for your time and sharing your stories and experiences about your life and artwork. Evie is inspired by her environment.

To find out more about Evie and her artwork you can see on her instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/evie.adasal/?hl=en

To see the artwork of Evie's from Paddington Art Prize 2023

https://www.artgalleria.com/folio?p=cb840d31-507c-457c-9439-0d7fe04a31bd

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Many thanks to Jasmine for chatting to us on zoom - great to talk about your art practise.

Jasmine is a professional practicing artist whose work is best described as the meeting of exploration and refinement. Jasmine has taken her art to a number of mediums – sculpture, large-scale public works and intimate paintings for private collection. She is not afraid to venture outside an established comfort zone. Whatever her choice of art form, Mansbridge brings a refined and meticulous hand to the work; her deliberation and contemplation are evident at all times. 

The work provokes thought and wonder and gives the viewer the chance to apply their personal storytelling, as they unpack the geometry and portals of Mansbridge’s imagined world.

You can find out more about Jasmine on her website or social media https://www.jasminemansbridge.com
https://www.instagram.com/jasmine_mansbridge/

Jasmine will be showing at Michael Reid Gallery on 4th May 2024

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We had the great pleasure of interviewing artist @elle_beaumont_ at @michaelreid.northernbeaches last weekend just before the opening of the group show, ‘Country’, as featured in this month’s @countrystylemag. Elle also has a solo show in October at @michaelreid.southernhighlands so keep an eye out for that. 

‘Elizabeth Beaumont (b. 1989) is an emerging artist living on the remnant bushland of the Ngambri/Ngunnawal people in the Southern Tablelands, NSW. Elizabeth grew up in the Southern Highlands, NSW. 
Elizabeth is self-taught, with a background in criminal law and psychology. Elizabeth has always painted, but has dedicated time to her practice since 2017. Elizabeth’s paintings are predominately abstracted landscapes and expressions of the bush, with recurring interrogation of the ecology of the southern tablelands, wallum heathland, the central Australian desert, and Southwest Tasmania.  ​​
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Thanks so much for talking to us, Elle, good luck for the future and happy painting! 

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Thanks to Nick Vickers for speaking to us from See Street Gallery at Meadowbank TAFE. 

Phillip Martin's exhibition, 'Paintings 1952-1972', is on at See Street until 16th May. 

'Nick Vickers BA Visual Art, Dip. Ed, M.Art Admin

Nick Vickers has been involved in the Australian art industry for over 30 years when he established his first gallery through UNSW Art & Design in 1984. Throughout Nick’s career he has championed the works of emerging artists by establishing a number of galleries through universities and art colleges. He has presented, curated and hosted national and international artists and he has lectured in tertiary, intermediary and secondary institutions.

Nick has contributed to the curatorial expanse of the University of Sydney Art Collection where, through his expertise as Curator of the University Union art collection, he added works of some considerable cultural significance. He established the Sir Hermann Black Gallery & Sculpture Terrace through which he hosted and curated ten years of highly rated art exhibitions and prizes that included The Blake Prize and The Freedman Foundation annual exhibitions.

On a local government level Nick has served on curatorial panels with the City of Sydney, Willoughby, North Sydney (Creative Spaces/ Spaces for Creatives) and Woollahara Councils (Creative Paddington and The Oxford Street Shopfront Festival). He was invited to co-ordinate The Art of Shakespeare, a fundraising touring exhibition of some of Australia’s leading artists that launched in the Sydney Opera House.

On an international level, Nick has served as President of the Slovenian/ Australian Institute that has hosted a program of international art ex- changes and touring exhibitions. In this role Nick negotiated sponsorships and partnerships at ambassadorial and ministerial levels.

During his career Nick has developed a strong network of arts and business professionals. He is panel member with The Freedman Foundation, advises on the artist studio for Curwoods Lawyers and has served as a board member with The Blake Society for over ten years and lectures in Museum Practices.

Currently, Nick works as an independent art curator and is a pro bono board member of the Sydney Art Zone. In 2016 Nick co-curated an exhibition called WAR – A Playground Perspective at The Armoury at Sydney Olympic Park and this year has been invited back by SOPA to curate an exhibition from the studio residency programme entitled Mining Pyrite. This year Nick has been invited to the panel of judges for the Paddington Art Prize.'

Ray Hughes: Africa

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Many thanks to Armando for such a great chat on the podcast we really appreciate hearing about your art practise and how you have developed your career.

Find Armando on his website

https://armandochant.com

or social media

https://www.instagram.com/armando_chant/?hl=en

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Fiona and I are currently showing at Stella Downer Fine Arts Gallery in Waterloo, NSW, and so we thought it was a great opportunity to speak to Stella about her illustrious career as a Gallery Owner and Art Valuer. Our work is on show until June 8th 2024. 

'Stella Downer is a respected art dealer, consultant and valuer. Stella has worked with leading contemporary galleries for over thirty years. Stella was the manager in Sydney of Roslyn Oxley 9 gallery, Macquarie Galleries and Australian Galleries before opening her own gallery in 2001.

​Previously Stella has worked in the auction industry managing sections of Christies London and Christies Australia. Stella has been a member of the S.H.Ervin Art Advisory Committee Sydney for over twenty years and was also on the board of the South East Area Health Service. Since 2001 she has been a member of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Committee helping organise their annual shows. Stella’s other board commitments have included the Australian Centre for Asian Art and Archaeology, University of Sydney. A supporter of the National Art School Sydney, Stella was on the Accreditation Board to assess their standing for BA Fine Arts. 

Stella is a valuer for the Australian Governement Cultural Gifts Program. Her extensive knowledge of, and experience in, the Australian and international art world ensures that she is regarded as one of the top valuers within this organisation.'

Thanks for speaking to us Stella and having our work exhibited at your gallery. 

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Thanks to this weeks guest on the podcast, Zoe McPhail Prineas, an MFA student that Fiona met at NAS. we interviewed her at her solo show at Laila gallery in Sydney. 

'Zoë graduated from the National Art School in Darlinghurst in 2023, having completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, Zoë was awarded the Bird Holocomb Foundation Master of Fine Art Scholarship. Her postgraduate studies in a Masters of Fine Arts will commence in 2024.

“Art has always punctuated my life, though it wasn’t until I went to NAS [The National Art School] that it became my dominant language. One month into NAS, I was calling myself an artist, and seeing the world with a new perception and sense of freedom. I’ve always had a lot to say, and art allows me to express things visually.

I chose printmaking as my studio specialisation, and was introduced to the field of expanded printmaking by our head of department. The field of expanded printmaking strips back the medium to the basic idea of the “trace”. I began to understand that print was anything that left a mark. Printmaking also has such strong ties to culture, as it has historically been a means for cultural production (think newspapers and billboards). I love to use this insight as a foundation of my practice.”' - UTSVERTIGO 2024 by Raphaella Katzen

Thanks Zoe and all the best for your Masters, we cant wait to see what happens next for you…

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Amanda Penrose Hart is an artist, represented by King Street Gallery, Sydney, Phillp Bacon in Brisbane and Yallingup Gallery in WA.  Thanks for talking to us and for the wonderful lunch at your place! 

'Brisbane born artist Amanda Penrose Hart is predominantly a landscape painter. Penrose Hart graduated from Queensland College of Art in 1983 with a Diploma of Fine Art, and then again from Griffith University in 1991, with a Bachelor of Visual Arts.

Travelling, and en plein air practice is intrinsic to Amanda’s work; she extrapolates the significance of a place through her work. Dr Andrew Frost suggests she evokes a familiarity with landscapes unseen, by connecting the audiences personal experience with her interpretations of (to date) Australian and European landscapes.

Penrose Hart has featured in numerous selective group exhibitions, more often than not following artist trip’s or artist-run projects such as Your Friend the Enemy, and Salient (both commemorative exhibitions of the Great War), and River on the Brink: Inside the Murray Darling Basin, which aimed to raise awareness for the impacts of drought and climate change in Australia.

Amanda won the Gallipoli Art Prize in 2017 and the Clayton Utz Award in 2019. Amanda has also been a finalist in the Tattersalls Landscape Prize, Kings School Art Prize, the Salon des Refusés and NSW Parliament en Plein air, as well as the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Kedumba Drawing Award, Muswellbrook Art Prize, and the Kilgour Art Prize.' - Amandas website 

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We interviewed Tony Twigg, artist, who has been running Slot Window Gallery for 25 years! We had a great chat with Tony about his art practice, running the gallery and the art world. The current exhibition at Slot is a collaboration between tony and artist Alfredo Aquilizan which runs until 5th July 2024.

Thanks Tony, we appreciate your time. 

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'Mook Simpson, a Sydney artist known for his unique blend of humour and quiet social commentary, is about to launch his latest exhibition, "Pretty Unsettling," at Damien Minton Presents. The show features a collision of iconic Australian landscapes and fantastical creatures, challenging perceptions of history and memory. Simpson's studio practice reimagines classic works from the Heidelberg School, inserting unexpected monsters into these beloved Australian scenes. This results in works that are both
familiar and strangely unsettling, prompting viewers to question their own recollections of the past.

Simpson's artistic endeavours aren't bound by Heidelberg incursions. After completing murals in downtown Los Angeles, Simpson returned to Sydney and embarked on a series of “unauthorised nocturnal en-plein-air" painting sessions on building site hoardings. After a brief encounter with the law – and subsequent positive collaborations with the city council and the building sites themselves, we have the large scale pieces at the centre of this show.

The exhibition, "Pretty Unsettling," brings together eleven of Simpson's reimagined works, alongside the two hoarding murals and companion ceramic sculptures. The show promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of Australian identity, memory, and the anxieties lurking beneath the surface.

Simpson, a former creative director in the animation industry, has garnered attention for his distinctive style and finalist placements in the Adelaide Parklands Art Prize and Maritime Art Prize. "Pretty Unsettling" marks a significant step in his burgeoning artistic career.'

Exhibition Details:
● Title: "Pretty Unsettling" By Mook Simpson
● Opening Event: June 25, 2024, 6pm-8pm
● Open: June 26th - July 6th 2024. Wednesday - Saturday. 11 am to 6pm.
● Location: 50 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, Sydney - Damien Minton Presents
● Website: Damien Minton Presents
Media Contact:
Mook (aka Mark) Simpson
hello@mooksimpson.com
+61406470964
Folder of Images for your convenience

Link to China's Van Gogh's documentary - here 

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Gary and Julie spoke to Ross over zoom not long after his exhibition, 'Moonlight -Daylight', at King Street on William gallery in Sydney. Ross Laurie is represented by King Street on William Gallery, Sydney.

'Laurie has won the inaugural Norville Prize for Landscape Painting, the COFA Print Award at the Paddington Art Prize and the Kings School Art Prize. He has also been selected as a finalist in the Dobell Drawing Biennial and the Wynne Prize, both at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney. Notably, Laurie’s work has been selected for the Salon des Refuses ten times between 1995 and 2019.

The artist’s work can be found in numerous state and corporate collections such as Artbank, AGNSW, National Gallery of Australia, New England Regional Art Museum, Tamworth Regional Gallery, the Laverty Collection Sydney, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Macquarie Bank Collection and NRMA Sydney.

Ross Laurie’s 2020 solo exhibition at King Street Gallery ‘engaged the drought and it did so deeply. Many of the paintings in “Dry at Walcha” were suffused with the glow of pink light. But it was the arid stain of ash rather than nostalgia or eros that made these works glower’ (Anna Johnson, 2022). Lauries last major body of work and solo exhibition ‘After Storms And Rain’ 2022 ‘found a harder, brighter palette but also bolder geometric forms’ (Anna Johnson, 2022).

“It might be accurate to say that my work echoes the structure of the land. The verticals in tree forms. Multiple horizons. Forms and shapes embedded from childhood memories. I don’t draw in order to paint. If I do draw I’m after a way to help me see. There is no scaffolding.” (Ross Laurie, 2022)

Ross Laurie joined King Street Gallery in 2014. He lives and works on his family farm, Rams Gully, in Walcha NSW.'

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We welcome you back to a new season of Art Wank, hosted by Julie Nicholson and Gary Seller.

We interviewed three finalists of the 2024 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize at Manly Art Gallery and Museum. The finalist exhibition is on now at Manly Gallery, Curl Curl Creative Space and Mona Vale Art Space.

We interviewed artists Zorica Purjila, Julien Playoust and Janet Taverner about their finalist artwork and their art practice.

Enjoy the podcast and check out their websites below -

Zorica Purjila
Julien Playoust
Janet Taverner 

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A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of interviewing Rachel in her home studio in Newcastle, NSW. Thank you for having us and treating us to a lovely lunch.

'Rachel Milne is a professional fine art painter based in Newcastle, NSW. Rachel specialises in figurative and observational oil painting, in the style of the impressionists, mainly focusing on the genre Intimism. Originally from the UK Rachel now lives and works in Newcastle, Australia. Before leaving the UK Rachel exhibited regularly with the Royal West of England Academy and is now represented by the King Street Gallery on William, Sydney and the Sophie Gannon Gallery in Melbourne

Rachel paints in all genres but is best known for her Intimist impressionist fine art interior paintings – room paintings and studio paintings – paintings of the everyday clutter of a working and living space.'

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What an incredible collection! Gary and I visited their fantastic terrace house in Erskineville, where every wall is adorned with art. Tune in now to discover how they built their collection, the day jobs that support their passion, how they select each piece, and what they hope their legacy will be. It’s a great conversation with two fascinating individuals—thank you, Gordon and Michael!

'The Elliott Eyes Collection (TEEC) of contemporary art is housed in a private Victorian terrace house in Erskineville, Sydney NSW.

The collection of approximately 400 works (sculpture, painting and ceramics) focuses mainly on Australian and New Zealand art, but also includes work by German, Belgium, American, South African and English artists, all of which are on display. Four major outdoor sculptures extend the collection beyond the usual interior walls, tables, mantels and, in our case, even the floor of the house. 

The decision to open tEEC to public tours was prompted by a visit to Terry Stringer’s sculpture park “Zealandia” north of Auckland and by our inclusion in Skadi Heckmueller’s book, “Private: A Guide to Personal Art Collections in Australia and New Zealand” (Dott Publishing, 2015). It also follows the opening of the Lyon Housemusem and the Justin Art House Museum in Melbourne; both exceptional collections and buildings well worth a visit.

It is also motivated by the realization that once works become part of a private collection they can easily be ‘lost’ to public view. Sharing these works, and listening to other people’s comments and responses adds immensely to the pleasure we are lucky to experience as we engage with and enjoy the collection on a daily basis.

The wonderful experience provided by the recent trend of house museums, is that each venue is truly individual and unique; expressing the personal interests and character of the owners/collectors. Allen Weiss in "The Grain of the Clay" (Reaction Books,2016) has described collecting, or a collection, as an autobiographical statement. Unencumbered by the boundaries, rules and bureaucracy of public galleries, the house musem displays the passion of the collector – individualistic, subjective, imaginative and zany.

It is important to say that we live permanently with our collection. We are not a museum or a gallery. Artworks are displayed and incorporated into the everyday spaces of our house, working around the normal aspects and tasks of a standard household. We find ourselves drying off in the shower, trying to avoid knocking over Jim Cooper’s large ceramic flower and duck or, in quieter moments, spending endless hours trying to decipher just what is going on in Mark Whalon’s mysterious and deliciously perverse paintings. Some works are functional – Michael Snape’s security door - while others are more traditional, decorative pieces, acquired and admired simply because they are beautiful or significant works in contemporary (Australian) art history. 

While our collection is constantly growing, sometimes in divergent, unexpected directions, it’s central focus is on the figure in the landscape. This theme is only loosely adhered to, so an outlier work of art can easily capture our attention and find it’s way into the collection. Some works are ‘serious’ (e.g. our obsession with the 1950s and 1960s paintings by James Gleeson) and others are just ‘fun’ (e.g. Madeleine Child’s ceramic popcorn).'

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Gary Seller (co-host of Art Wank) wanted to interview us—Julie and Fiona—about our practices and the podcast. Its been a smooth transition as Gary joins the podcast, and Fiona steps back to focus on her commitments at NAS. Gary delves into the origins of the podcast and its future direction.

Fiona shares her experience of returning to university as a mature-age student and gives insights into life at art school. Julie discusses her evolving art practice over the past few years.

Enjoy...