Resilience - install and opening

Resilience exhibition is now open to the public!
(plus Kym Barrett's Into the Blue)

Serenity II (detail), 2015 - Limited Edition 2/6

A huge shout-out of thanks to the install team - their professionalism and efficiency in hanging the work is second to none!

Strictly white gloves only when handling the supposedly 'stainless' stainless steel - I've found methylated spirits the best method for removing any greasy residue ...

(photo courtesy Cathy Money)

L-R; Cathy Money (Gallery Coordinator, Butter Factory Arts Centre) with the lovely Julie Hauritz (Public Art Officer, Sunshine Coast Regional Council) officially opening both exhibitions.

A lovely crowd attendance ... thank you to all who could make it and those who were there in spirit ♥

Handing the keys back to the community, L-R ; Cathy Money with Tex Pipke (President, The Cooroy Future Group - formally, the Cooroy Lower Mill Board) accepting the keys from Nina Shadforth (Director, Noosa Regional Gallery) to the Butter Factory Arts Centre.

(photo courtesy Sam Vatovey)

The final word and thanking one and all for coming... L-R; Kim Schoenberger (me), Kym Barrett, Cathy Money, and Julie Hauritz

(photo courtesy Sam Vatovey)

A link to my website for anyone wishing to view the works in more detail - please direct all sale inquiries to the gallery while works are on show - exhibition runs until Wednesday 17 February, 2016.

Butter Factory Arts Centre 
11A Maple Street,
Cooroy Q 4563
07 5442 6665
bfac@iinet.net.au
www.butterfactoryartscentre.com.au

Gallery Hours: 
Tues – Fri 10am – 4pm
Sat – Sun 10am – 3pm
(Closed Mondays and on public holidays)

Resilience exhibition

It gives me great pleasure to extend this warm invitation to my next exhibition ...

The opportunity for this exhibition literally came out of the blue, however, I am really happy with the thread I've created between the works - the two larger works, Resilient I and II have been previously exhibited - Resilient I in Living Change, the Flying Arts Alliance Inc touring exhibition of the 2013 Queensland Regional Art Awards, and Resilient II in Reflections, Friends Noosa Regional Gallery Taste of Art 2015 group show at Noosa Regional Gallery. I've wanted to showcase these works together for some time now and it's great the opportunity presented itself.

New works also featured are the prototypes for my recent commission, to design and make the 2016 Sunshine Coast Australia Day Awards Trophy - four unique designs were created for the Trophy with one exclusively chosen, the remaining three designs (executed differently) feature in this exhibition.

Held at the Butter Factory Arts Centre, Cooroy the exhibition opens on Friday 8 January, 2016 at 6pm with guest speaker Nina Shodforth, Director, Noosa Regional Gallery, and officially opened by Julie Hauritz, Public Art Officer, Sunshine Coast Regional Council. It would be wonderful to see you there, if you can make it. My work will showcase in the Foyer, and Kym Barrett in the Creamery who is also exhibiting - both exhibitions open on the same evening.

Exhibition dates: 8 January - 17 February, 2016

And, to compliment the exhibition the gallery has provided Public Program of events:

Please direct all inquiries to the gallery

Thursday 14 January 2016 at 11am

Guided Tour with both myself and Kym

Please RSVP by 13 Jan bfac@iinet.net.au or 07 5442 6665

Saturday 16 January - Sunday 24 January 2016 10am - 3pm daily (closed Mondays)

APT8 Kids on Tour - no RSVP required - please click on this link for all the details.

Butter Factory Arts Centre

11A Maple Street,

Cooroy Q 4563

07 5442 6665

bfac@iinet.net.au 

www.butterfactoryartscentre.com.au

Gallery Hours:

Tues - Fri 10am - 4pm

Sat - Sun 10am - 3pm

(Closed Mondays and on public holidays)

QRAA touring exhibition Brissy launch

This coming Saturday (16 Nov.) see's the Brissy launch for 'The Essential Character of Queensland', Flying Arts touring exhibition for the 2012 Queensland Regional Art Awards and also marks the final leg of the 12 month Queensland tour.  

Throughout 2013, the selected works travelled far and wide to galleries in Roma, Gladstone, Mundubbera, Texas, Chinchilla, and now the tour concludes in the Brisbane exhibition at The State Library of Queensland.

Exhibition festivities kicks off on Saturday (16 Nov) from 1pm with a public forum and a floor talk, then at 3.30pm the exhibition will be officially opened by Chris Saines, Director QAGOMA. With the previous venues being way to far to travel, I am really looking forward in seeing the exhibition.

Exhibition dates: Sat 16 Nov to Sunday 15th December, 2013.

Here's a link to the gallery for more details and gallery hours.

Road Trip, 2012 Printed photographs on acrylic skin adhered to a perspex cube.

I took these four photos when I was about 8 or 9 (amongst 100 others!) on one of our many road trips up north, being a city slicker I was totally marvelled by the country, spanse of the land, the cane fields, the number of bugs hitting the windscreen attracted by the car headlights at night, the air was fresher, crisp and smelt different, the country was a totally different world coming from the city....fond memories etched deep in my psyche of family, fun and a simpler way of life.

To give you a little insight into the photos, the foreground, a man sees me taking the photo and waves as he drives past on his tractor, taken from our car window whilst in motion. Only years later did I notice, there are only two tyres on his tractor, classic! The photograph on the right, cane fields being harvested. The photograph at the back, cane fields littered the landscape and seemed to stretch for miles and miles, and on the left is a giant Fig tree, totally amazed at its scale, I asked to stop so I could take a photograph and saw a landmark noting the biggest Fig Tree in Qld, if only I had thought to photograph the plaque!

Artist Statement:

"In the eyes of a child you will see the world as it should be" - Unknown

This cube encapsulates the essential character of Queensland as seen through the eyes of the artist as a child on a holiday trip to Sarina, North Queensland in 1975.  The Field, the Harvesting and Transporting the Cane along with the towering fig tree.  Hovering in the heart of this cube is a piece of sugar, the defining moment of being a Queenslander in a simpler age where "one of the biggest trees in Queensland" was something to be marvelled at.

Finalist: Flying Arts 2013 QRAA

For a second year running... I am delight to be selected as a finalist into Flying Arts 2013 Queensland Regional Art Award (QRAA) Touring Exhibition, entitled 'Living Change'.  Curator Tim Morrell, Independant Curator and Writer (former Curator of Australian Contemporary Art at the Queensland Art Gallery) selected thirty three artists were selected into the Living Change Exhibition and will tour in 2014 with its launch at The State Library of Queensland on Saturday 1st February 2014 and will tour throughout the State to five regional venues including Dogwood Crossing, Miles; Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba; The Centre, Beaudesert; Grassland Art Gallery, Tamboo and finally Childers Art Space, Childers with the tour ending mid January, 2015.

Resilient, 2013 H700 W600mm 

Artist statement; In art there is a continuous wrestle with balance, texture versus form, line versus tone and negative versus positive.  In Resilient the sleek stainless steel is placed against the rusty iron, forming fragile lines contrasting with the bold gestures of the corrugated steel, creating a balance between the spaces.  The work reflects a narrative of survival, a balancing the question will mankind overwhelm nature, or will a tree's ability to change with its environment leave it to bare witness over man's demise.

The current touring exhibition Essential Character of Queensland and my entry Road Trip (pictured below) almost comes to a close with its final exhibition at The State Library of Queensland from Friday 15 November to Sunday 15 December, 2013, this venue being closer to home I am hoping to go and view the exhibition.

Road Trip

People's Choice online voting now open

This years theme for Flying Arts Queensland Regional Art Award Essential Character of Queensland my entry is inspired by childhood memories, from our annual road trips to Sarina, North Queensland.

I was a keen budding photographer as a child and each holiday I would pack my camera for the journey and document each road trip capturing those special moments. One vivid memory that etched in my mind was the acres of cane fields that stretched far and wide.  Being a city slicker and growing up in a concrete jungle, I was in awe of the vast landscape.  

The image below of four photographs were taken on one of our road trips documenting the cane harvesting season. The top left image; cane fields before the burn, top right; harvesting after the burn (of course these were the days of burning the cane prior to harvesting), bottom left; transporting the cane, bottom right; massive Fig tree landmarked as the largest tree in Queensland.  These photographs were taken in 1975, I wonder if the Fig tree still remains standing!

Below; exploring my options...clear cube made in plexiglass, enlarged transparent images etc., I had contemplated filling the cube with cane mulch, and beaming a red laser light to represent the burn.  After much contemplation I decided to suspend a sugar cube in its centre.

...and the final piece captured below, the transparent images worked really well and tell of a story, one family road trip some 37 years ago!

Title: Road Trip

My artist statement:

"In the eyes of a child you will see the world as it should be," - author unknown.

This cube encapsulates the essential character of Queensland as seen through the eyes of the artist as a child on a holiday trip to Sarina, North Queensland in 1975. It depicts the field, the harvesting and transporting of the cane and the towering Fig tree. Hovering in the heart of this cube is a piece of sugar, the defining moment of being a Queenslander in a simpler age where "one of the biggest trees in Queensland" was something to be marvelled at.

If you would like to view all the other entries please click > here,  People's Choice online voting continues until 17th September, 2012 - anyone can vote, so please feel free to do so.