On Saturday May 18th, Peter will share his journey of working with glass…….. design and techniques, trials and challenges, and the joys.  Arrive at 11 am for a quick morning tea, ready for 11.15 am start.  Break for lunch at about 1 pm, finishing at 4 pm.  This will be held in the gallery.  Cost $45.  Bookings are essential as there are limited places.

Producing this show has also been an important step in my attempts to achieve figurative representations in pure glass. While I still have a lot to learn, I can now at least conceive of the techniques which I will require to bring my work in glass and oils to the service of a single narrative. 

I hope you enjoy the pieces on display as much as I enjoyed producing them.

George Baldessin
Charles Blackman
Arthur Boyd
David Boyd
John Coburn
Laurence Hope
David Larwill
Sidney Nolan
John Olsen
Tim Storrier

 This group of highly inventive Australian modernist painters, sculptors, potters and print makers represent a collective of unique individuals whose artistic language has evolved from times of upheaval, conquest and exploration.

Each artist, either through abstraction or figuration, developed a highly refined symbolic language through experimentation of materials, subject matter, form, style and psychological emphasis. It is through a reinterpretation of the  natural order of the world around; expressed through unique visions and symbolism that new associations and understanding can be achieved.   Images capturing the spiritual and universal dimension of landscape and the human psyche are at the heart of these great Australian artists. Expressionism, romanticism, mysticism, innocence and evil, destruction and creation are key elements which convey universal themes.

George Baldessin’s sensual narrative of the figurative; Charles  Blackman’s intuitive evocations of vulnerability, menace and solitude; Arthur Boyd’s rich, painterly excursions into  mythical landscapes ; David Boyd’s inventions of innocence, fantasy, creation and destruction; John Coburn’s eloquent refinement of beauty, nature and spirituality through abstraction; Laurence Hope’s nuances of tragedy and isolation evoked through feelings of introspection and passion; David Larwill’s raw, primal, high- keyed delineations of encrusted figuration; Sidney Nolan’s spontaneous, experimental and sophisticated images inextricably bound to iconic motifs in legend and folklore; John Olsen’s journey through the spirituality and universality of Australian landscape and Tim Storrier’s explosions of colour, texture and atmosphere exploring the duality of decay and renewal are integral to the spirit of Australian Modernism.

Through their masterly illuminations, the legacy of each, individual artist has enhanced and enriched Australian Art.

The Frank Hargrave Special Award went to another friend of Gallery 34, local timber craftsman and artisan, Gary Male. Gary specialises in beautifully designed and handcrafted furniture, and has a permanent home at MannaFest Cafe Showroom.

Congratulations Julian and Gary! 

And congratulations to Yea Rotary Club for providing a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the arts in our community.

Local artist Marion Bruere has a long painting history with Yea and has enjoyed the Wetlands and the YeaRiver, which wends its way around her home studio on Craigie Street, as a painting subject.   Her watercolour paintings are enthused by her love of colour and the details found in and around the YeaRiver and are very much works on her home ground. 

Mary Hyde, a strong tonal landscape artist, has an ongoing enjoyment of painting on location here and has painted some works based on the Yea floods as well as some gentle scenes of the surrounding country side.  Her home ground comfort is the canvas that she paints on with all the responses found from many years of outdoor painting.

 Julian Bruere, the son of Marion and partner to Mary has been exploring aspects of Yea since his parents first purchased property in 1979. His watercolour paintings are directly inspired by the township and surrounding landscape with personal satisfaction to be found in paintings of snowgums, based on a number of visits to Mt Torbreck, a location and painting subject that he also considers to be his personal home ground.

Yea is the dominant subject of this Gallery 34 exhibition, however the phrase of ‘On Home Ground’ means something different to each artist and can be seen in their paintings, which invite you to enjoy and explore the nuances they bring to this expression.

In rediscovering the honest cork placemat and using laser cutting technology to repurpose them on iconic backgrounds such as kitchen cupboard doors, the hope is that these new artworks create opportunity to indulge memories of old Australia, the bush, the pioneers and of wildlife – living simply.  Waiting for Rain is a constant in the country, either waiting for it to come or hoping for it to come.  The ceramic works in this exhibition represent the earth and what can occur when you mix up water, clay and rock.

Joan Mullarvey

Waiting for Rain is a body of work based around an aboriginal canoe tree, an ancient man made aboriginal water hole and childhood memories.  My Leif motif linking these works is rain.  Water is dominate presence in our lives, we prayer, dance, celebrate and wait for rain. Whether it be  repetition of lines in the bark of gum trees, the texture of rocks or patterns in the land these works beg the senses to feel the texture of the land at the same time recognizing how man has worked in harmony with nature to his own advantage.  My work is directed strongly by my passion for travel, history and my local environment and expresses in a symbolic way influences from many cultures.  I encourage the viewer to look beyond the image into the essence of my work.

The concept for the exhibition started about 2 years ago when I was offered an old piano that couldn’t be tuned anymore and was going to be burnt. Even though I didn’t really want it, it was too good for a fire. So I picked it up, broke it down into manageable pieces and stored it away in the work shop. After moving it around several times I decided the best way to get rid of it was to build something from it.

From a Piano is an exercise in design. Most pieces are based on a single component and the limitations of the materials available. For instance, the entertainment unit was dictated by the size of the doors which are from the panel above the keyboard. The top is a side from the piano, but it wasn’t big enough to take a 1200 mm wide flat screen TV, so I extended it with some wings. The wings then needed support, hence the legs.  It was also important to keep in mind the need for the open shelves to accommodate a DVD player.

Towards the end of the process I was given a 2^nd piano. Unfortunately the condition of this piano had deteriorated.  Much of the veneer was cracked, and most of the hidden timber had had borers through it.  I was only able to make 2 pieces from it – the hall table and the baby grand jewellery box.

It was a challenging and enjoyable exercise, and I am very pleased with the outcome. I hope you enjoy the pieces as well.

TANG Ying

Ying started painting when she was 8 years old, as part of the cultural education offered in school inChina.  She has the high honour of being a member of the China Artists Association, just one of 8000 members from a country of 1.2 billion people.  Most people do not attempt to become a  member of the Association, has it is extremely difficult.  Artists (including sculptors, ceramicists, must meet stringent criteria of winning at least three prizes at a provincial and also national level.  This current exhibition, the Flower Series, was painted inChinawhere she is famous for her paintings of flowers.  Ying loves the simplicity of water colour and the challenge of taking the beauty in simplicity and presenting it in a way that is simply beautiful.  She can sometimes work from dawn to the early hours of the morning when she is at a peak of creativity.   Ying has calledAustraliaher permanent home since March 2011, and this is her second exhibition since arriving. She speaks to us through her website:-

Maybe in a minute
as you open the gallery, watch the images.
The watercolour vividly flows.
Does it cause you to
know that my heart is cordial to you?
I would like to imagine
that my quiet colour,
Swimming in your calmer mood,
might guide you to
come to the sun of morning summer.