Visual feast of landscapes, prints
LOCAL and regional exhibitions, including the annual Downlands Art Exhibition, offer a visual feast comprising vibrant paintings of haunting landscapes, still life abstractions, and portraits, as well as prints, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, and even a motor bike.
The 31st Downlands Art Exhibition kicks off tonight with its gala opening and promises to be ‘a show for all seasons’ with variety, versatility, and refreshing innovations by local, national, and international artists showing works for enjoyment and investment. The featured artist is local arts identity Charlie Boyle renowned for his soaring landscapes, abstract geometries, and exquisite printmaking, he will also be showing some sculptural woks. This year curator Evan Hollis has added a new dimension by including works that pay homage to the art of design and engineering such as a vintage Howard motorcycle. Just the ticket for a visit on Dad’s Day! Open tomorrow and Sunday 10am - 4 pm.
The Feather and Lawry Gallery, 4 Russell Street, is hosting “By Eyre to the Sea,” an exhibition by Lyne Marshall. The specific technique is saved from the brink of formulaic by the artist’s deft manipulation of the succulent painterly surfaces to achieve a spontaneous ‘in-the-moment’ immediacy. The washes, dribbles of colour, and soft tonal blending shape and define patterns of landscape that suggest memory and the feelings experienced in traversing place.
The Nest Cafe in Crow’s Nest has become a popular venue for showing work by local artists including Gordon Caie, Jane Hoffman, Kay Tyler, Zoe Anderson, and Doug Lane. The current display has an impressive special selection of paintings by Bill Morton. These new pieces by Morton are colourful explorations that allude to Cubism and the beginnings of abstraction in the early years of the twentieth century. The illusion of depth has been compromised by fragmented and fractured facets of still life objects that cling to the surface in shallow spatial proximity.
The Nest Cafe in Cabarlah is also featuring work by local artists such as Jane Arthars, Beronica Murray, Noela Lowien, Jennifer Czislowski, and Judi Powell. The paintings add a lively ambiance to the relaxed coffee-enhanced atmosphere. Both cafes will be regularly presenting exhibitions showcasing local artists.
The Warwick Art Gallery is highlighting the work of mother-daughter duo Naomi Trotter and Juanita Faint in the exhibition, “Different Perspectives.” Both have a background in art and design and each artist has a distinctive style that depicts personally significant imagery. Colour and decorative patterns play an important role for both artists and can be seen in detailed costume and heraldic studies, aspects of landscape and still life paintings, and even in the humorous narrative works such as Faint’s “Fun with Mum”.
The dramatic seascapes like “Moonlight becomes you” by Trotter sit in contrast to Faint’s bold statements as seen in her “Fancy Birds”.