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In another expansion of the studio residents' program Mount Majura Vineyard and CCAS are cultivating an exhibition that will grow at the Cellar Door as well as on line. Throughout the year the Cellar Door will focus on the work of individual artists, Leah Bullen, Meg Roberts, Marina Neilson, Kate Smith and Karena Keys. On Saturday November 3 during Days of Wine and Roses and All that Jazz, the exhbition in its entirety opens to the public. In the meantime keep an eye on this spot for an emerging exhibition of work by emerging artists. And keep Saturday November 3 free! CELLAR SHOWCASE 2008 June - July
Elegance is the word that immediately springs to mind when looking at the work of Saraina Noorhuis and her rarely seen paper cut outs of bird's nest are no exception.These works are part of her comprehensive research into the life of birds. Noordhuis’ compelling and lyrical representations of natural cycles remove superfluous context and concentrate with extraordinary intensity on that which is of consequence. The result is a point at which the natural world and artistic representation become one. While background information appears to be left to the audience’s imagination - her economical imagery undoubtedly provides insights into a natural world we may never have considered. February - March
Beatrice Thompson Woven Mandala Series It is the textures of the different weave structures used in these works that form the mandala motifs, the cloth and the designare completely integrated, and they are one. The woven works were created on the most primitive of looms and the complicated weave structures were produced by hand. The process of weaving involves the rising of the warp and the passing of the weft to create the cloth. This process can be composed of an infinite array of weave structures, similarly in life it is the rising and passing of every moment that leads to an infinite number of experiences creating the textured fabric of life. For me, metaphorically, the process of weaving communicates the following: the constantly changing phenomena of the material world; the concept of infinity; the transient and illusory nature of things; and finally non-duality and transcendence. (artists statement)
CELLAR SHOWCASE 2007 February - March
April - May Meg Robert’s work is concerned with physicality of the human figure as a mortal entity as well as an expressive vehicle. She has always been interested in the notion of physical self-awareness and understandings of the human body as a vulnerable, biological entity. Her works study the manipulation of the painted figure using awkward or expressive poses that emphasise the mechanics and tactility of the body. In 2005 Roberts received the Embassy of Spain Australian Young Artist’s Scholarship and she traveled to Spain to research 17th century devotional painting and sculpture. Drawn to the blood-filled, material representation of the human figure as a means to capture pathos and express spiritual intensity, her work transports the audience beyond earthly interpretation into a discomforting yet compelling metaphysical realm. June-July
Kate Smith is an artist who wears her heart on her sleeve. She expresses considerable discomfort (angst) through the work she produces and further, with the very idea of being an artist. Each piece seems to challenge its own existence and ultimately question the very act of making art, an act that she sees as being somewhat superfluous to life’s harsher realities. Thus a dynamic interplay between indulgence and counter indulgence is evident as Smith makes it clear that she is struggling with big ART issues such as the personal, the spiritual, the political, the social and how these might be successfully manifest in an artwork.Smith’s work is confident in its doubt. It might seem abject, banal and inane but it is also unapologetic in generating a highly engaging form off inbuilt self-critique. Through hindsight things change and there is a sense of flux in Smith’s work that emphases the fluidity of creative endeavor and the importance of a constant element of surprise. August-September
Leah Bullen’s paintings investigate how mediated imagery in electronic and print media might relate to the practice of contemporary painting, in particular her painting. Her work re-presents the ubiquitous images we see in news, gossip magazines, advertising, reproduced art works and on the internet. Each piece can be viewed as a three-way intersection of mediated image, painted picture and the artist’s observations. By removing details from the original image Bullen enters into an editing process that will ultimately make the work characteristically her own. The addition of new elements from the traditional painting palette renders a murky dream world in which bodies radiate a sense of warmth and mystery, effectively heightening the sensory over the documentary nature of the original photograph. Bullen’s interest in the ways that women have been represented in the history of painting drives the production of work that is often erotic, extremely seductive but never exploitative. While referencing old masters such as Velasquez, Degas and Ingres, Bullen’s distinctive style inspires a refreshingly new contemporary romance with paint and the ways it can represent the body. October-November
Marina Neilson is attracted to the materials she collects by the innate humanness she feels is contained within them. There is a sense that there is something wonderful about each one and yet, they also hold a slight disappointment. For Neilson, materials are more than mere media and she describes the moment of initial contact in terms of a delightful process of familiarisation and discovery. “I like to handle the materials, press them, poke things through them, pull them apart and reconnect them”she says. All the while she imagines what narratives can be generated and what feelings might be evoked. Or perhaps, where the liveliness, the humour and the pathos exist. Neilson creates a comprehensive and intimate experience of the object and then takes the audience through that experience to create something that is as much philosophical as it is physical. Decemeber - January
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