Drawn Threads, The Absence of Drama and The Bird Room
Drawings by Lee Shelden;
Paintings, Linocuts and Drawings by Ian Clark;
Etchings, Aquatints and Mixed Media by Bridget Farmer and Kyoko Imazu
Lee Shelden’s ‘Drawn Threads’ comprises a new series of exquisite coloured pencil drawings of fabrics. Each is a delicate and subtle study of the surface, warp and weft of various fabrics – satins, silks, mohair etc.
Lee describes her inspiration as “.. being generated largely by the need for quiet, solitary spaces in a world where we are bombarded by noise and busyness. The drawings are primarily about intimacy, focusing on small, simple everyday things. Drama and mystery can be found in the way the light changes the folds in a piece of fabric, or warmth remains in a tattered moth’s wing.” [L.Shelden 2013]
Each drawing demonstrates Lee’s intense concentration and focus, and each invites the same serious examination by the viewer. The subtleties and suggestiveness of the works are aesthetically pleasing, and as well meditative, evoking a mood of quiet contemplation.
Upstairs, Ian Clark’s new exhibition ‘The Absence of Drama’ also encourages quiet contemplation.
Ian Clark was born in Kamilaroi lands, North Western NSW where he spent most of his early years. He recently completed the TAFE Visual Arts course at Bendigo as an adult student, during which time he developed his distinctive and powerful painting and printmaking style.
He doesn’t draw, plan or design his canvas: instead he begins painting in one place and lets his story or subject ‘construct itself’. The act of painting for him is often spiritual, a form of prayer or meditation. Sometimes the work is completed to his satisfaction; other times he halts midway, overpaints the work and begins again.
He describes painting as a positive force in his life and states ‘Sometimes I am the kid; constructing again’. He works slowly and methodically in acrylics on canvas depicting stories to do with nature and his own life and philosophy. In 2012, one of his linocuts was exhibited in the prestigious Silk Cut Printmaking Award and was acquired by the Australian National Gallery.
He states: ”To me, art is like prayer. There are only two important things to remember…to start…and to continue…”[I. Clark, 2013]
The resultant dots and colours of his paintings and the linear patterns of his linocuts pulsate with intense and rhythmic vibrations. They are the spiritual creations of a contemporary artist with a powerful, storytelling heritage.
The exhibition on show downstairs is entitled ’The Bird Room’. It is the work of two young printmakers Bridget Farmer and Kyoko Imazu. who have collaborated to create etchings, aquatints and mixed media works depicting birds – finches, starlings, Lidth Jays etc.
Both artists were born overseas, Bridget in UK and Kyoko in Japan. Both completed post –graduate studies at RMIT in Melbourne. Both share a love of nature and each admires the other’s work.
Although their bird subjects are similar, their way of depicting them are quite different. Bridget’s etchings are spontaneous, loose, and vibrant with interwoven, incised lines suggesting flight. Subtle colours are applied using a la poupee technique.
A master printer, Kyoko’s etchings and aquatints have a velvety quality with exquisite detail, tonal realism and a studied atmosphere. Her birds sit amidst branches and twigs and appear to belong in their environment.
All three exhibitions will be on show 3 October until 24 November.
The artists will be present Saturday 5 October from 2 – 4 pm