Artist Susanna Bauer

June 17, 2015 in Inspiration

I'm always enchanted when I happen upon an artist with an interest in making works out of natural materials, like leaves and twigs, that are often stepped on and overlooked in the natural environment. Thanks to a friend, Jocah, I came across an artist named Susanna Bauer who resides in Cornwall England who originated from Germany, whose focus on creating artworks which represent tension & fragility are somewhat similar in tone to what I hope to achieve in my own work. People often ask me how long it takes to create my artworks and convey that I must have super-human focus and patience. I don't really. I've just decided to dedicate myself to feeling grounded in the environment and the landscape I'm in by immersing myself in 'play' for a few hours at a time. The materials lead me to an 'arrangement' that somehow whisper to me ... 'this is it'. I imagine Susanna must feel the same way.

Susanna Bauer worked as modelmaker for advertising, television, film and artists in Germany, Ireland and UK and has studied Landscape Architecture as well as studying at Camberwell College of Art, London. Her acute observation and attention to detail produce these exquisite objects that remind us of the feeble and precarious nature of our own existence.

Susanna Bauer is represented by Badcocks Gallery and Lemon Street Gallery in Cornwall UK and is currently on exhibition until 27th June 2015. I look forward to following her work.

Exhibition '21 Grams' June 12th-14th 2015 Blackheath

June 14, 2015 in Inspiration

'21 Grams' is the title of the most recent exhibition of April White and Kay Bazley at Virgin Walls Gallery in Blackheath. April is showing recent paintings whilst Kay is exhibiting sculptural totems and metal work.

Kay Bazley & April White. Photography by James Blackwell

Fresh winners at this years Queens Birthday Weekend annual Bent Art exhibition in Wentworth Falls, April & Kay have curated a wonderful show to follow on from their success at Bent Art. April White was this years overall winner at Bent Art as well as winning the Painting category and Kay Bazley won the first prize for the category of sculpture as well as runner up for the Bent Art Prize. Both very worthy winners! Over the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to see the work of these two artists in several shows and look forward to future exhibitions.

April White has a B.F.A. Specialized Honours Degree, 1995, from the faculty of Fine Arts, York University, Canada and has travelled extensively, garnering inspiration and life experience for her full time studio practice which she has spent the past five years committed to. Her portraits are arresting in colour and imbued with a sense of veiled ambiguity.

Kay Bazley is an artist based in the Blue Mountains specialising in sculptural ceramics and welded steel. I'm looking forward to visiting Kay in her studio soon to learn more about her practice and inspiration. Watch this space...........

Sydney Moderns - Art For A New World 6th July - 7th October 2013

July 25, 2013 in Inspiration

Yesterday was an artist date scheduled in the diary to go visit the Art Gallery of NSW to see the curated exhibition titled 'Sydney Moderns'. I travelled by train to the city thinking how un-modern and antiquated Cityrail's 'rattlers' are. It got me to the city though (and a big thank you to Gordon for lending me his noise-cancelling headphones).

The exhibition has been curated into various themes such as; 'Colour & Light', Colour & Music' & 'Still Life' etc. Having the luxury of several hours and a day to myself, I took my time in the space; exiting & reentering the show whenever a rambunctious throng of school children bustled through with their clipboards & worrisome teacher.

There is a lot of artwork to digest in this show, but none which cannot be managed in a single bite. The colourful works of Roland Wakelin & Roy de Maistre are excellent examples of the modern aesthetic between the wars, capturing their interest in the relationship between 'colour & music' and 'colour & light'. Grace Cossington Smith's industrial depictions of the Harbour Bridge mid construction emphasised the rhythms of the modern age; a city in change, surging toward one of the most urbanised nations of the time.

Painting was not all about the changing face of a city however, artists such as Margaret Preston devoted many a canvas to the genre of Still Life. On the matter, she says-

“Why there are so many tables of still life in modern paintings is because they are really laboratory tables on which aesthetic problems can be isolated.”

— AGNSW Exhibition pamphlet

Meg Hitchcock

April 05, 2013 in Inspiration

Meg Hitchcock is a Brooklyn based artist using spiritual text from diverse faiths to create stunningly intricate artworks which seem to distill the essence of spiritual teaching and offer it back visually as a moment of stillness and contemplation.

The patience, tenacity and commitment to finishing these works which sometimes take years, is something I can relate to and find my practice can be mind numbingly difficult yet rapturously rewarding.

“In my creative work I weave together spiritual traditions by cutting up the text of holy books letter by letter and refiguring them to create passages from other holy books. I incorporate and ‘cross pollinate’ the sacred writings of all spiritual traditions, suggesting that all religions derive from the same source, and are sustained in the same unwavering faith.”

— Meg Hitchcock

'Mundaka Upanishad' 2012 Letters cut from the Koran