Local exhibition reveals the essence of the bush
The Studio Gallery and Bistro captures the untouched Australian wilderness in its spring exhibition, The Essence of Art in the Bush, which opens today.
The exhibition features WA artists Di Taylor, Kay Gibson and Danica Wichtermann, who have captured the Australian bush on canvas, paper, porcelain and clay.
Gallery director Sandy Tippet said the exhibition offered visitors the opportunity to experience the essence of natural Australian bush from three starkly different perspectives and styles. “People that visit will be able to see the bush in so many different ways — there’s such variety amongst these artists,” she said.
Ms Tippet said Taylor had created her pieces while trekking through bushland, carrying her canvases and paints on her back and using leaves, branches and dirt in the creation of her collection, Bush Bashing.
Wichtermann’s porcelain collection was created meticulously on the pottery wheel in the Perth hills, encapsulating native flora and fauna carefully on each surface.
Margaret River resident Kay Gibson said her own techniques had evolved rapidly over her 13-year career, and drew inspiration from fire and natural regeneration.
“In the creation of my pieces, I used a technique called fumage, which makes impressions on the canvas from the smoke and soot of a lit candle,” she said.
“The result is this complex, delicate look to the work, which mimics the nature of fire in a way”. Gibson said many of her pieces depicted the birdlife she had been inspired by since childhood.
“I don’t portray people, but in the birds I capture individual characters and can see a personality in each of them,” she said.
Visitors have the opportunity to meet each artist tomorrow from 11am-2pm, during which time Taylor will give a demonstration.
Gibson said she was looking forward to meeting viewers and sharing her work in a more personal way.
“We’re all looking forward to speaking with people and sharing the story behind each work — artists don’t always get the opportunity to talk to the public, so it’s very exciting,” she said.
Ms Tippet said the open exhibition would allow viewers to connect further with the works and take away a new understanding of the bush and their natural surroundings.
“Some viewers may live rurally and are looking for artwork that embodies their surroundings, others may be from the city and want works which bring that gorgeous environment to them,” she said.
More than 30 pieces have been created especially for this exhibition and will be on display until October 7.
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