LOCALS MASTER ART OF SHOWING OFF THEIR WONDERFUL WORK
DON’T be fooled – these colourful characters aren’t art thieves caught in the act.
They’re incredibly talented visual artists who belong to a unique collective of local painters, sculptors, potters, weavers and more who’ve spent the past three years pulling together to run the Urban Paradise Gallery in the heart of Surfers Paradise.
The gallery, on the ground floor of the half-vacant Piazza on the Boulevard building, on the corner of Elkhorn Ave and the Gold Coast Highway, provides a much-needed space for gifted but often overlooked local talent to display and sell their artworks.
The gallery’s prime location in one of the city’s busiest precincts – and its iconic sentinel Marcel, a life-size sculpture at the front door – have made it a popular destination with tourists and visitors as well as locals.
All proceeds from each sale go directly back to the artists, who take turns at working in the gallery.
“Urban Paradise gallery is the only art gallery in Surfers and only sells locally made art direct from the artists,” sculptor Frederic Berjot said.
Mr Berjot said up to 10 local artists a month exhibit ed their work in the space.
“We rely on the artists to run the space and in return they don’t pay any commission on their work,” he said.
The artists are on the hunt for new premises after the Piazza’s new owners outlined plans for an $11 million revamp of the four-level centre, first opened in 1985.