Award Winning Local Artists
12 December – 22 January
Treat yourself, family and friends over summer, visit our exclusive high quality Art Collection by our award winning local artists.
Artworks and artisan gifts are for sale.
ArtSpace Gallery is open daily from 11am -3pm.
Find the exhibition pdf here
Open to Public Tues 31 Oct to Sun 10 Dec
Official Exhibition Opening Sun 5th November 1-3pm All Welcome.
Please read this PDF for more information: John Mutsaers Exhibition 2023.
You are invited to the ‘Ocean Messages’ Exhibition, a component of the Eco Arts project ‘For Our Future’. The Exhibition is showcasing artworks from a Creative Message Exchange taking place across the oceans between artists, children and First Nation Elders in Bass Coast (Boonwurrung/Bunurong Country), Norfolk Island and Turtle Island (Canada and USA).
The purpose of the Exhibition and the ‘For Our Future’ project is to inspire environmental stewardship. Susan Hall is curating the Exhibition which is opening on 13th August and running until 17th September 2023.
The Annual NAIDOC Art Exhibition at Wonthaggi Artspace showcases and celebrates local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. The exhibition is hosted by the Bass Coast and South Gippsland Reconciliation Group with support from the Bass Coast Reconciliation Network.
NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
This year’s Winter Solstice highlighted the concept of ‘UNCERTAINTY’ Artists were invited to submit up to three 2d or 3D artworks relevant to Climate Change Issues.
Tues 7 March to Sun 16 April 2023.
A series of pastel drawings based on nature as a vehicle to express her responses to the Covid 19 pandemic; the lock down, inner changes, the group difficulties and some of the pleasures and triumphs of working through times of great social/emotional change.
Meg Viney’s – Small sculptures ‘Seeds;Time Capsules of Life’ Exhibition. The joint Opening was on Sunday 12 March 1-3pm.
Meg Viney – Seeds: Time Capsules of Life
16 small sculptures in perspex boxes. A body of work that emanated from working with concepts and materials that evoke the essence, the ephemeral qualities and the experience of seeds.
Daniel Church was born on Darug Country in Liverpool, New South Wales, where his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and ancestors were also born. Now
based on Gunaikurnai Country in Gippsland, Victoria, his creative practice includes woodcarving, timber sculpting and painting – typically acrylic on canvas. He also creates wooden artworks, including full-size archways, timber birds, furniture pieces, shields and walking sticks.
Pelican Mudjin (Family), 2022, is an installation of carved pelicans representing mudjin (family), with each individual pelican representing wiyanga (mothers), biyangan (fathers), babana(brothers) and djuramin (sisters) along the south-east coast of Australia. Church describes the work as ‘one big mudjin, one big mob’, with the diamond motifs representing the connections between all Aboriginal peoples from the south-east coast, as well as his own Darug family.
For Church, carving is about sharing culture and passing down songlines through generations – in this case by transferring onto wood the images, symbols and stories he has witnessed carved on stone in Darug Country. A sculpture of his totem, the Brahminy kite, won the Lechte Corporation Acquisitive Award in 2021 and his sculpture Darug Archway was recently featured in The Torch’s Confined 12 exhibition. In his bird paintings and sculptures, Church conveys ‘on every feather how deep our culture flows through our hearts and souls’.
Experiences in Nature – artist Meg Viney
7 March – 17 April
Small sculptures of the essential form and ephemeral time of Seeds.
The Change – artist Carol Mercer
7 March – 16 April
Beautiful paintings of nature, a close friend in times of change during Covid19.
Official Opening Sun 12 March 1-3pm
Artist talk: Sat 25th March 12-2pm with Harpist Karla Whiteley.
Visit during Easter – Good Friday 7 April– Easter Monday 10 April
Tues 18 April to Sun 28 May 2023.
Artists interested should contact artspacexhibiting@gmail.com at least a week before.
‘Teatree Dreaming’ – Ursula Theinert
This year’s Winter Solstice highlights the concept of ‘UNCERTAINTY’ Artists are invited to submit up to three 2d or 3D artworks relevant to Climate Change Issues.
Selected works will be exhibitied at ArtSpace Gallery
Tuesday 30 May 2023 to Sunday 25 June 2023.
Official Opening Sunday 4 June 1-3pm
Prizes awarded
Open section: 26 years and over 2D $400 3D $400
15-25 years /emerging $200 each
An emerging artist can be aged 18-25 or if over 25 has practiced for the last 5 years and not sold an artwork over $200 or won a prize in an Art exhibition
Peoples’ Choice Award. $100
All works must be for sale.
Entry form must be submitted no later than Monday 22 May
Payment and delivery of works no later than Sunday 28 May 2pm
Enquiries and application forms:
ArtSpace Gallery Wonthaggi 56725767
Ursula Theinert artspacexhibiting@gmail.com
ArtSpace is open seven days a week 11am – 3pm
Artist Susan Hall
Open to public Tues 27 June to Sun 6 August 2023
Open to Public Tues 19 Sept to Sun 29 Oct 2023
Official Opening Sun 24th Sept 2023 1-3 pm All Welcome
Artist – Susan Hall
Daniel Church John
Darug Yellow Mundie (storyteller)
This Is My Story
Exhibition 24 January – 5 March
Official Opening Saturday 28 Jan 1-3pm
All Welcome
Visions of beauty, song lines and storytelling from Daniel’s ancestoral family connection to the ocean and country.
These creative expressions and stories are revealed in highly skilled paintings and wood carvings.
Daniel shares his art as a necessary form of cultural continuation for First Nations People.
With artworks exhibited in the National Gallery of Victoria, this is an opportunity to purchase original and unique paintings and wood carvings by Daniel Church.
SUMMER ART
A stunning exhibition from our renowned local artists
Make time for yourself, family and friends to visit our summer collection of high quality art and artisan gifts.
Paintings * Limited Edition Prints * Photography * Glass Art * Ceramics *Sculpture *Textiles * Jewellery *Handcrafted Wood * Literature *Artist cards
Artworks and artisan gifts are for sale.
Information and maps on sight seeing, beaches, walks, bike tracks, tours, activities, wine and food brochures also available.
Friendly service
ArtSpace Gallery is Open daily 11am -3pm ( Closed Christmas Day)
Exhibition runs 16 December to 23 January Grab a copy of our flyer here
Heather Murray Tobias
A Retrospective Exhibition
28 Sept -30 Oct
Official Opening Sunday 2 Oct 1-3pm
A childhood immersed in art, singing, dancing and theatre has been the foundation and integral part of the life of Heather Tobias.
A great grandfather percussionist accompanying Dame Nellie Melba, a grandfather passionate in classical music, a family library brimming with eclectic literature, a mother who filled the house with song and a pianola at the heart of the home became the inescapable rich core of arts for Heather.
Melbourne based Heather became involved with children’s musical productions under the tutelage of her Grandmother Leila Browning then studied Latin before seeking early employment.
Meeting Làszlò Tobias, a Hungarian refugee, in 1966 and marrying him in 1967 Heather’s life became further enriched by the Hungarian customs and influences.
As a serious a visual artist during 1970s, Heather studied with Tonal Realist , Barbara Beasley Southgate, 1976-79 and developed her artwork in the Meldrum Method, with Roy Griffiths and Alan Martin @1979 – 1984.
Heather’s subject matter, in particular still life and landscape, echo the intense and tonal style of Meldrum influences. Soft edges, rich colour and deep moods of Heather’s paintings envelope us in the warmth of nostalgia.
As a writer Heather also reveals love and endurance as sensitive journeys and experiences. Her multicultural Hungarian references mingle with her quintessential Australian and feminine qualities.
Bass Coast Reconciliation Network – News Release
Bass Coast Reconciliation Network announces NAIDOC Week celebrations with two community events including the Annual Indigenous Art
Exhibition and a Reconciliation Bridge Walk that was rescheduled from National Reconciliation Week.
NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This year’s NAIDOC Week runs from 3 to 10 July and the theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! the inspiration for both the events.
The Annual Indigenous Art Exhibition at the Wonthaggi ArtSpace showcases and celebrates local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. The 2022 exhibition is hosted by the Bass Coast and South Gippsland Reconciliation Group from 29 June to 14 August, seven days a week from 11.00am-3.00pm.
The official opening of the Exhibition is on Sunday, 3 July from 1.00pm-3.00pm but you will need to register to attend for RSVP and catering. www.trybooking.com/CAEVM
The Exhibition opening will begin with a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country by the Bunurong, artists guest speakers and the visual arts
exhibition will be open for viewing. You can also see the virtual exhibition by visiting: www.naidoc-art.com.au
We are excited to confirm that additional to the art show we have rescheduled the Reconciliation Bridge Walk to 15 July. The Bridge Walk will start from 11am at the San Remo Foreshore with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony and then, from 11.30am, we will make our way from San Remo and across the bridge to the Graydens Reserve, Newhaven, on Millowl (Phillip Island) for a BBQ, flag raising, banner painting and yarning.
Both community events are a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, cultures and achievements and provide an opportunity for each of us to make change, support community this NAIDOC, simply Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
The Bass Coast Reconciliation Network provides much needed support to make these events possible and is made up of members from Bass Coast Shire Council, Bass Coast Health, Westernport Water, Phillip Island Nature Parks, Bunurong Land Council, Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community members.
Bass Coast supports reconciliation and acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and waters on which we live, work and learn, the Bunurong. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community members.
Showcasing Twelve New and Established Printmakers of Gippsland.
Original limited edition works include wood engraving, engravings, linocuts, mono and silkscreen prints.
Over 50 Framed and Unframed artworks for sale.
Handmade artist books
The printmakers are Ros Atkins, Alanna Austin, Karen Barnes, Laurel Billington, Mandy Gunn, Jenny Hall, Susan Hall, Bob Hickman, Jen Manhal, Angela Newberry, Linda Senhenn, Amanda Thompson, and Valmai Todd.
17 August – 25 September
Official Opening
Sunday 21 August 1-3pm
17 March to 25 April 2022
Opening: Sunday, 20 March 2022 from 1 to 3 pm
Kiss the Sea exhibition and artist talks
A PhD in philosophy, Dr Donna Wright will be presenting two artist talks on her integrative experience of this shape shifting world.
Her exceptional exhibition of cross –medium works is Donna’s sensitive visual language response seeking to express the push and pull of the fragile shoreline environment of the Bunurong and Gunaikurnai People.
Her talks will be held at ArtSpace gallery Saturday 26 March and Saturday 9 April 1-3pm
18 August to 25 September 2022
Opening: Sunday 21 August 2022 from 1 to 3 pm
More information to follow.
3 November to 11 December 2022
Opening: Sunday 6 November 2022 from 1 to 3 pm.
More information to follow.
09 November to 19 December 2021
Multi Award Winning Photographer and Artist Trevor Foon presents his latest exhibition at ArtSpace Gallery, Wonthaggi.
Magical Images of Pure Silver
See Trevor Foon’s amazing and intriguing demonstration of creating images of pure silver on a sheet of glass.
Dating back to 1840s this was the new technology creating treasured portraits. Known as the wet plate collodion technique and created only with the care and craft of a skilled technician, Trevor demonstrates this fascinating process which still invokes awe today.
As part of Trevor Foon’s Silver Tracing exhibition, this demonstration will be held at ArtSpace gallery on Saturday 27 November 1-3pm.
From the conception of photography silver has been an integral part of the process. Silver Nitrate is a chemical that makes film sensitive to light. So until the era of digital cameras, photography could not function without it.
But beyond the creation of an image, the silver was removed in the developing process and contained in the process effluents. Once recovered from the waste, the silver could be returned to its metallic state once again. And with the need for silver nitrate to prepare hand-made sensitizing solutions, Trevor found a way to create this from the silver in hand.
A gem in the mix. When Trevor’s parents retired from their photography business, they took up a hobby in gemstone fossicking, which quickly escalated to lapidary and stone faceting. With many gorgeous gemstones accumulating they needed a way to give them a purpose. A short course in silver work opened up a new hobby of silversmithing and stone setting.
It soon became apparent that the recovered silver from our photo lab might have a new purpose. Trevor and his father, Morris soon made a workflow to turn the recovered fine silver into sterling silver for this reason.
A selection of beach and coast inspired silver jewellery pieces.
Along with a collection of photography work digital images, wet plate collodion tintypes, stereo photography, cyanotype & Vandyke brown historic processes. Most are framed but some are 3 dimensional presentations.
The collection of images are a range of retrospective work, eclectic subject matter, and recent studies made on our local coastline with a spotlight on the health of our beaches.
ArtSpace Gallery
Centennial Centre 1 Bent Street Wonthaggi
Open every week 11 am-3pm ,Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday
( closed Tuesday & Wednesday)
Conditions of Entry: QR coding or manual sign in, Proof of Double Vaccination and current COVID regulations on the day.
Open 11am – 3pm on Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October 2021.
Cup weekend: Thursday 28th , Friday 29th, Saturday 30th, Sunday 31 October, Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd November 2021.
Artist Ellen Palmer Hubble will be at ArtSpace on Cup Day, Tuesday 2 November, 11am – 3pm, to talk about any of the featured artworks by the four artists.
Masterful in their own specialised mediums, these four professional Gippsland artists explore and express their visual responses to create this delightful inflorescence of 2D and 3D artworks.
PAINT Karen Barber
Vibrant, strong, bold and brilliant colours create Karen Barber’s playful art series. The appeal of these uplifting artworks reflect and embrace her nature and positive response to life’s ups and downs.
Mastering two distinct styles in oils and watercolours, Karen skilfully hones patterns, shapes, and broad flat areas of colour in her portraits while softer tones and gentle textures of peacefulness and kindness are found in her response to the abstract qualities of nature.
Colour, joy and optimism emanate from both her styles.
PAINT Ellen Palmer Hubble
Light, radiance and glow are the elusive elements which entice Ellen’s fixation in this series of emotive responses. Strong contrast and bright light create drama while soft tones and warm light evoke mystery in her visual excerpts from nature.
From her en plein-air watercolours and photographic studies, Ellen has captured the ever changing moods of light and atmosphere in these major oil and watercolour studio art works.
PRINT Amanda Thompson
Grimy, peeling, falling apart, provide the inspiration and essence in Amanda’s search for sublime in the most unlikely places and emulated in this series of drawings etchings and woodcuts.
The old neglected fence post is the featured subject used to record the entropic process at work on man-made objects while communicating concern for the destruction of the natural world.
Specialising in woodcuts, Amanda, echoes lovely textures and delicate nuances in colour through her expressive use of relief printing.
PLINTH Marlene Abela
Disposed, donated, foraged and found are the ingredients for this exciting series of Marlene’s fascination with glass.
This exquisite series of three dimensional forms reflects facets of our environment embedded in the organic flow and energy transfixed and poised in light.
Hand coloured and then kiln fired, the heat and firing process creates a magical reformation of colour shifts in this wonderful world of translucence.
Artspace is excited to announce that the return of our NAIDOC Week exhibition will be starting on the 27th June to the 6th of August.
13 April to 24 May 2021
OPENING on Sunday 18 April 2021 from 2 to 4 pm. All welcome.
Covid-19 restrictions apply.
Karen Chugg has lived in Inverloch since 2008, having previously lived for 2 years in the unique environment of Darwin, Northern Territory. With its consistent celebration of Aboriginal language, culture, presence and influence, the lack of meaningful recognition of that history, contribution and presence in this nation by the non-indigenous authorities and many of the population remains in contrast.
A regular walker on the beaches and surrounds Karen is constantly aware of the people, the families and the children, who have walked these tracks over thousands of years and descendants who continue to do so today. This gorgeous coast, part of Bunurong lands, has supported the lives of thousands of years of Indigenous families.
Karen has attempted to capture and convey some of the beauty of a small strip of these lands, and in so doing, honour the traditional owners. The land of the Bunurong clans extends from Mornington to Wilson’s Promontory.
13 April to 24 May 2021
OPENING on Sunday 18 April 2021 from 2 to 4 pm. All welcome.
Covid-19 restrictions apply.
Mandy Gunn has driven and camped through many of the vast tracts of landscape that comprise 20% of our landscape: the Simpson, The Gibson and most recently The Great and Little Sandy Deserts, through which runs the 1800k of the Canning Stock Route. A spectacular area of dunes, rocky escarpments and salt lakes, it is sadly now unoccupied due to Alfred Canning’s enclosure of the 50 plus natural wells. Once known and relied on by the traditional owners their locations were forcibly disclosed to Canning and became inaccessible to them.
Throughout this visit and others Mandy sits in her car and records what goes past in her sketchbook. She also collects sand and pieces of slate since added into studio paintings trying to create the feel of the land-the roughness, the vastness, the colour and the isolation.
09 February to 11 April 2021
Opening: Delayed pending further notice.
Relevant Covid restrictions will apply.
Balanced between the tranquil and tempestuous moods of an ever changing coastline, the visual responses by local artist Susan Hall, reflect the adaptability of natural chromatic incidences, a symphony of shapes and a timeless blend of textures.
Incredibly varied and equally changing skies predict the moods of Susan’s coastal scenes. The horizontals of vast and bright, subdued and passive stretch along the dramas of the sea, often punctuated by sculptural vegetation and heightened with bird-life. Masterfully painted in oils and acrylics, Susan’s collection of paintings captures these wonderful changing scenes to preserve them as pure moments.
Included in her exhibition ‘COASTAL’ are a set of limited edition prints created from Susan’s collection of native plants which beckon her attention on her daily walks. A prolific artist, Susan infuses her individuality into each image, a hallmark of the printmaker’s expression in this remarkable and versatile art form.
With such a diverse range of delightful art works, there is no doubt any viewer will be transfixed by Susan’s ‘COASTAL’ exhibition.
09 February to 11 April 2021
Opening: Delayed pending further notice.
Relevant Covid restrictions will apply.
Ken Griffiths’ Mélange Exhibition is a retrospective of small eclectic works, most of which have never been displayed before, some date back more than a decade and some created during COVID-19 lock-down.
The artwork is all mounted and ready to be framed by the buyer to provide an alternative, more affordable way of purchasing this award winning artist’s work.
22 June to 18 July 2021
NAIDOC Week 2021 will be held from Sunday 4 July to Sunday 11 July.
If you are unable to attend the gallery you can view the exhibition on line.
naidoc-art.com.au
The NAIDOC 2021 theme – Heal Country! – calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.
Country that is more than a place and inherent to our identity.
Country that we speak about like a person, sustaining our lives in every aspect – spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.
NAIDOC 2021 invites the nation to embrace First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia’s national heritage and equally respect the culture and values of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as they do the cultures and values of all Australians.
For generations we have been calling for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of our culture and heritage.
We are still waiting for those robust protections.
This year’s theme also seeks substantive institutional, structural, and collaborative reform – something generations of our Elders and communities have been advocating, marching and fighting for.
Healing Country means finally resolving many of the outstanding injustices which impact on the lives of our people.
It is about hearing and actioning the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which are the culmination of generations of consultation and discussions among our nations on a range of issues and grievances.
After 250 years, our children and our future generations deserve better.
We cannot afford to let pass the very real opportunity that now presents itself for reform based on a fundamental change in the relationship Australia has with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Heal Country, heal our nation.
25 May to 18 July 2021 — ON DISPLAY IN OUR BOARDROOM.
Opening: Sunday 13 June 2021 from 2 – 4 pm. All welcome.
To generate images for this series of paintings, I collected reference materials from vintage magazines, found photographs and old studio portraits of strangers, then manually collaged them, digitally manipulated them, or both, finally settling on satisfying images to turn into paintings.
By using surrealist techniques and limited, fairly arbitrary subject matter I try to let my unconscious instincts guide my aesthetic decisions, figure out what’s going on conceptually once I’ve already begun, then extrapolate on those themes, stretching them out until they feel resolved. I try to keep things strange and ambiguous.
29 July to 29 August 2021
The Opening Doors Portraits are a beautiful and powerful affirmation of the meaning people living with a disability associate with living independently in their own home and the foundation this provides for living creative and purposeful lives.
This exhibition also contains videos where people talk about their connection to the idea of ‘home’ and important issues around living with a disability. These were produced as part of the Opening Doors Project by Award Winning Filmmaker Lawrence Johnston.A video, screen and live presentations event.
Paul Dunn is a photographer and Lawrence Johnston is a writer, director and producer.
Click here to download the Opening Doors Exhibition poster.
Open at ArtSpace Gallery from 3 November to 13 December 2020
and viewable at www.naidoc-art.com.au from 8 November to 13 December 2020.
Everything’s a little different in 2020 due to COVID19. This year the annual NAIDOC* WEEK CELEBRATION OF INDIGENOUS ARTISTS is being held at Wonthaggi ArtSpace rather than the Inverloch Hub.
NAIDOC Week (8 – 15 November 2020) is an opportunity to showcase the rich and diverse cultures of our Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ArtSpace Wonthaggi is open to the public, under strict COVID19 protocols, from 10am to 4pm seven days a week. Please come along and be part of the Celebration of Indigenous Artists.
This year’s event will include an on-line, virtual showcase from 8 November to 13 December.
Details are available on the poster, the ArtSpace website and the Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group Facebook page.
*National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC). Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
We bring you the work created by many of our artists during the Covid-19 lockdown.
All art is for sale at under $1000.
Step 3 Covid-19 restrictions apply.
31 March to 4 May 2020
Virtual Exhibition – Please view the slide show below.
Physical Exhibition to be advised. The Opening has been cancelled as per health restrictions.
We will continue to take entries via email and will hold the physical exhibition at a time to be advised. Why not take the time to take some photographs now? The people in Gippsland need your help more than ever.
All entries will be eligible for judging and the judge’s decision will be final.
The Gippsland Fires have affected us all. It is the latest of many fires that have ravaged our country. Your photograph will show the effects of fire, the aftermath, the re-generation. It will be profound, thought provoking and tastefully brought together.
Your photograph will be framed and ready to hang with D rings but, for now, just email the image to artspacewonthaggipresident@gmail.com.
Awards
Three cash awards are given for the work that best demonstrates an overall artistic impression and uniqueness of concept. Consideration will be given to innovative ways of delivering the message, the clarity and quality of submission as well as colour, lighting, exposure and focus.
1st Prize is $300; 2nd Prize is $200 and 3rd Prize is $100.
Fees
A non-refundable fee of $15 per entry (once the physical entry is received) will apply with all fees donated to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund (GERF). Please click this link for Entry Form and payment details.
All works must be for sale. Any works sold are subject to a 25% commission. All commissions will be donated to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund. All payments for sold work will be made directly into the artist bank account via direct electronic deposit.
3 December 2019 to 6 January 2020.
Open to all artists.
All work needs to be in the gallery storeroom by Sunday 1st December.
Please contact Susan Hall – gesue@dcsi.net.au
Extended to 4 May 2020If you are considering purchasing any of the work please contact us via the following email address to arrange an appointment:
artspacewonthaggipresident@gmail.com
The Infinite Birdcage is my latest series of paintings exploring the human need for freedom.
I began developing this concept in 2015 and the more I worked with the freedom theme the more I desired to engage with this topic in a wider context.
The twelve paintings in this series are laden with symbolism, metaphors and themes using familiar everyday items.
I want to bring a broader understanding to the notion of freedom by enlisting the help of writers who will engage with my paintings at a public exhibition at ArtSpace Wonthaggi in February next year. Some of my works will be hanging in a special art installation like a small theatre setting complete with a writer’s desk, red chair and The Infinite Birdcage paintings featured for their inspiration and interpretation.
The writers will be asked to share their own understanding of Freedom in 2000 words, or less, using the paintings and themes depicted as a catalyst for their story. Their writing can be fiction or based on their lived experiences.
I am excited that such an artistic collaboration with writers will result in a meaningful and significant statement, which is eminently topical in our modern lives.
In the process three finalists will be adjudicated and published in the leading Gippsland lifestyle magazine and later published in a book about the Infinite Birdcage featuring all the paintings and selected narratives.
I have also commissioned Mark Finsterer, a composer who for the past twelve months has written music for each Infinite Birdcage painting. Mark will play at the exhibition and his CD of his Birdcage music will be available.
The Infinite Bird Cage series was presented at a public exhibition at the ArtSpace Gallery in Wonthaggi, Victoria.
The official opening was on 23 February 2020.
Writers are invited to come and sit in our special “theatre like” installation/work station and write a short story about what they read in the paintings.
Please click on the following links to download the Letter to Writers, the Writers’ Expression of Interest form, and the Press Release.
22 October to 2 December 2019.
Please note new exhibition opening time:
Opening: Sunday, 27th October, 12.30 to 2.30 pm. All welcome.
Click here for Exhibition Flyer.
Click here for Exhibition Entry Form.
2 April 2019 to 6 May 2019
Selected photographers.
OPENING: Sunday, 7 April 2019, 2 pm to 4 pm.
19 February 2019 to 1 April 2019
Opening: Sunday 24 February 2019 from 2 to 4 pm. All welcome.
My family first visited the Bunurong coastline about ten years ago on a trip to Venus Bay. We returned again and enjoyed exploring the area further. There is something quite unique about the dramatic changing tides, pristine beaches, natural wilderness, its native vegetation and fauna that make this ever-changing coastline hard to leave!
Whether bracing the chilling winds, or basking in warm sunshine, I have loved walking the beaches, scrambling over rocks, discovering the marine life and peering into rock pools with childlike curiosity.
I am drawn to its contrasts. The ancient, and timeless geology of this coastline. The bold rock formations, the graphic markings and the colourful strata of the cliffs; as well as the more fragile, transient ecologies within the marine environment, both natural and man-made – those intriguing driftwood Totems so unique to Inverloch beach!
I am particularly attracted to colours, textures and stillness within my environment and immerse myself in these details during the painting process. I’ve enjoyed showcasing these elements specifically through this body of artwork.
Click here to visit Jackie’s ArtSpace page.
4 March 2019 to 1 April 2019
Opening: Sunday 24 March 2019 from 2 to 4 pm. All welcome.
The fires that impacted our areas in South Gippsland left me reeling and ten years on, I’m wanting to remember how it affected us all through my set of abstract paintings depicting fire and damage, the emotions and the impact on us and how we all united to support each other.
I have memories of the sight of lost homes, fire damaged regions, the active fires, the artefacts and things left behind in fires and people crying; devastated over the loss of their homes. These strong memories are painted into the abstracts through symbolic shapes and collages applied through the painting processes.
In 2006 I became concerned about global warming after an extremely hot heatwave that lasted two weeks. The experience made me want to find out more why our world is heating up so much. I did a triptych in response to this and the artwork sold immediately, it was a strong subject that resonated with many.
The 2009 Victorian fires are still very fresh in my mind and it still upsets me; the devastation. The recovery has been a long process for many victims around here in South Gippsland and many other affected parts of Victoria.
8 January 2019 to 18 February 2019.
OPENING: Saturday, 12 January 2019, 4 pm to 5 pm. All welcome.
I am fortunate to live on the Bass Coast.
This provides constant inspiration for my paintings both abstract and realistic. I use oils because they provide me opportunity to be flexible and the depth of colour that I seek in my paintings.
I have been influenced by the Impressionist Movement and artists such as Jeffery Smart, Rick Amor and Brett Whiteley.
I have endeavoured to capture the changing moods of nature and the grandeur of the coastline.
My travels overseas have also provided a source of inspiration for my work.
16 October 2018 to 26 November 2018.
Opening: 2 – 4 pm Sunday 21 October 2108. All welcome.
4 September to 15 October 2018.
Opening on Sunday 9 September 2018. All welcome.
18 June 2019 to 29 July 2019.
OPENING: Sunday 23 June 2019, 2 pm to 4 pm. All welcome.
For existing and young or emerging artists. (An emerging artist is one who has NOT SOLD an artwork over the value of $300 and has NOT WON an Art prize in a public exhibition or art show.)
Artists are invited to submit up to 3 paintings in any medium no larger than 1 m x 1 m (including frames, if framed). See flyer for more details of prizes, delivery date etc.
Entries close 4 pm, Wednesday, 12 June 2019.
Click here to download Winter Solstice Exhibition Flyer.
Click here to download Winter Solstice Exhibition Entry Form.
8 May to 18 June 2018.
Creative Gippsland – ClimArt Exhibition – Groundswell.
Opening: Sunday 13th May 2018, 2 pm to 4 pm.
A few facts about Climate Change from the Bureau of Meteorology:
27 March to 7 May 2018.
Opening Sunday 8 April from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Features 15 local artists including Ursula and Werner Theinert, Mandy Gunn, Susan Hall (untitled image at left), Trevor Foon, Rob Manhal, Aleida Jansen, Leslie Monahan ,David Hubble and Kerry Spokes.
19 June to 23 July 2018.
OPENED: Sunday 24 June 2018, 2 pm to 4 pm. All welcome.
ArtSpace bringing light into Gippsland’s winter.
For existing and young or emerging artists.
WINNERS:
Under 18: Liv Richie for “Lunar Winter”.
Over 18: Fiona Bilborough for “Fejoas”.
People’s Choice: waiting for your vote until the end of the exhibition.
PRIZE MONEY: Winners receive $500 (over 18) and $300 (under 18).
People’s Choice Award winner will receive $200.
In Native American culture, the sacred and the secular are closely linked – one informs the other. Most Native American tongues have no word for art as an independent concept – there exists a high level of unconscious affinity with Nature.
The Hopi Indians believed that they were underground dwellers, and were ‘born’ when a Shrike (bird with sharp beak) pecked a hole in the earth’s surface and they were able to emerge.
It is understandable that they lived in kivas, underground dwellings which were lit by fire. In time, they also created above ground dwellings. However, the shaman (spiritual leader) remained in the kiva. A tribesperson wishing to see the shaman would descend though this hole which, due to the fire, was smoke-filled. The descent through this SIPAPU symbolized the transition from the secular to the sacred world. And emergence symbolized a new life.
The Sipapu became, for me, a wonderful symbol for containment, a concept central to my work. One is held and nurtured, close to Nature.
‘Native American art celebrates the continuity of a land mass and man’s absorption of its features…. By subtly altering, decorating, formalizing nature’s materials, the perception of the quality and role of plant or animal life as man’s spiritual accompaniment is enhanced … the art evokes a living treasure: nature. Its aesthetic draws us close to the earth.’
The first time I created a Sipapu was in the 1980’s. Over the ensuing years, I have dipped into this form in one way or another. It is now time to express it as an installation, with multiple media and a variety of scale.
I have also been influenced by Japanese culture, with the belief that all materials have an essence, which it is the artist’s task to bring, in almost a meditative way, into existence, akin to a midwife ensuring the safe emergence of a child.
Shibori is the Japanese art of dyeing with a traditional Indigo bath, achieving pattern and design via a variety of techniques, with the attendant ‘accidental’ changes that are an integral part of Shibori.
Whilst these two cultures are very different, both have a strong affinity with Nature, treating it with a certain reverence that captivates my aesthetic sensibility.
Meg Viney-Bell
20 February to 26 March 2018.
Opening is from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday 25th February 2018. All welcome.
ON DECEMBER 1, 1955, the frenzy over ‘The Wonthaggi’s Monster’ mystery began, and it was on that day that Tom Gannon, editor of the Powlett Express, began writing ongoing articles about claims of sightings of a strange animal by those living or passing through the area surrounding Wonthaggi.
At first, the newspaper reports of Wonthaggi’s ‘Monster’ were mocked, but in later years the tone changed and many people in the area began admitting to sighting the animal. These reports described an animal resembling the characteristics of the extinct Thylacine.
According to Editor of the Bass Coast Post – Catherine Watson: “Gannon was mostly having fun with the Monster stories. Some said that if he were ever short of a story in his paper, he would add something about the monster to get things going, but the tone of the articles changed in the late 1960s when Gannon began to declare his seriousness about the existence of the monster. He referred to it as a Tasmanian Tiger-like animal, “light fawn coloured, short-haired and striped on its back and hindquarters …” In the ‘70s people began talking seriously about Tasmanian Tigers or Thylacine, as they are more commonly known now.”
Thylacinus cynocephalus had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before British settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species. The last known Thylacine was known to have died in a Tasmanian Zoo in 1936. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, hundreds of sightings are still reported, though none has been conclusively proven.
Proven or not, newspapers throughout Gippsland were reporting sightings of the Thylacine without any of the hysteria that accompanied earlier sightings. Mostly people were excited and impressed with what they had seen. Gannon continued to be inundated with information about sightings. Usually, it was people seeing it cross a road in an uninhabited section along the coast. Many sightings occurred near Bass/Grantville area. There have been over 106 newspaper articles written about the ‘Wonthaggi Monster’ as a result.
This exhibition attempts to visually re-imagine the stories of sightings and the ways these become cemented as part of Australian folklore, myths and legends over time. Many are still circulating amongst the locals of Wonthaggi. Australians are known for being able to tell a good yarn to the rest of the world and ongoing reports of Thylacine sightings sensationalised though news reports and social media keep the world riveted. Perhaps it is the vastness of our country and the mysteries easily hidden in our landscape that ideally contribute to Australia’s sense of identity. The ‘Wonthaggi Monster’ is indeed an intriguing example of the ongoing mysteries found in the Australian bush and its stories have inspired this collection of works.
22nd August to 2nd October 2017.
To be opened on Sunday, 27th August, from 2 pm to 4 pm, by renowned print-maker, Rosalind Atkins.
Entries closed 15th July 2017. Work to be delivered to ArtSpace Wonthaggi, ready for hanging, by 11 am Monday, 22nd August, or anytime during the week before during ArtSpace opening hours (10 am to 4 pm).
9 March to 17 April 2017
“A major part of my painting has been influenced by the Aboriginal/Koori culture and this aspect of my development is evident in my work. I prefer to express a feeling in my art which expresses the needs of people in general – to make an art statement. The aim of creating art works is aimed at sharing thought processes developed through visual and psychological experiences with the viewer. I hope that my love of rhythm, movement and music can flow freely within the framework of this type of expression. This exhibition will hopefully display fragments of my timeline with ideas and concepts I have experienced during my time as a painter – over sixty years!”
Click here to see more of Julia’s work on her Artist page.
The Inaugural Bass Coast Climate Awareness Art Show:
18th April to 29th May 2017
Due to a planned power outage on Sunday 30th, Oral Works have been rescheduled for presentation on Saturday April 29th, with times depending on number of entries, but starting at 2 pm.
Groundswell Bass Coast is collaborating with ArtSpace Gallery Wonthaggi to hold an Art Show entitled “ClimArt” on the theme of climate-change.
The exhibition was hung on the 18th of April and the exhibition and can be viewed until May 29th.
The exhibition was officially opened by Councillor Geoff Ellis on Sunday 23rd of April with many in attendance.
There will also be a LATE NIGHT opening for Creative Gippsland Come and Play on Saturday 13th of May 6 – 8 pm.
All unsold work will need to be picked up between 1 – 3 pm on 29th May 2017.
If you have any queries please contact Bron Dahlstrom 0423545677 or by email brondahl@gmail.com
The ArtSpace Wonthaggi Winter Solstice Exhibition 2016 exhibited until the 27th of June. The Winning entry in the over 18 (years) group is Ellen Palmer-Hubble for her painting “Cowgirls 1”. The Winner of the under 18 group is Zoe Johnson for “Disposition”. Ellen Palmer-Hubble also won The Peoples’ Choice Award for “Cowgirls 1”.
