Lit - an exhibition by Warren Pickering and Anna Small
LIT at Fleurieu Arthouse – an exhibition by Anna Small and Warren Pickering
Anna Small and Warren Pickering have been working together from their home in Adelaide’s South for over twenty years now.
The innovative and inspiring couple has won many awards for captivating metal sculptures and garden art inspired by the natural landscapes of South Australia.
A Small Art Factory bears Anna’s name but it’s very much a partnership and the pair works collaboratively to produce pieces that can be seen in gardens and public spaces across the region.
Freestanding abstract sculptures are often presented on beautiful timber plinths, and the popular wall hanging range features many of South Australia’s most beloved floral species as well as native birds, insects and animals.
The process of creating these beautiful organic forms is fascinating and needs both Anna and Warren’s expertise.
“Concepts are formed by osmosis of the nature surrounding us or by a client’s ideas,” says Anna. “The process begins with a sketch which is then translated into a more linear drawing. The drawing is either plasma cut out of the metal or CAD drawn and then laser cut by a local company.”
Once cut, the pieces are further brought to life by Warren who bends, shapes and welds where necessary to create the curve of a petal, the fold of a wing or the lifelike twist of a leaf.
In LIT, Anna and Warren’s latest exhibition, their metal sculptures are presented as a medium for light.
The venue is Fleurieu Arthouse, Anna and Warren’s own gallery situated in the heart of wine country at McLaren Vale’s historic Hardy’s Tintara winery.
The gallery, which opened in 2017, has become a well-known local attraction; it’s a hotspot for people looking for unique pieces for their home or for one-off gifts.
It’s also a place where talented South Australian artists come together to collaborate, learn and create together.
Founding a beautiful gallery in the south was for many years a long cherished dream for Anna and Warren and it was perhaps fate that the venue became available at just the right moment for them.
The space, an old processing shed on the Hardy’s Tintara estate, was empty back in 2016 – housing nothing but a few antique presses and vast old brandy barrels.
In the spacious and well-lit building however, Anna and Warren saw great potential and after much planning. The Fleurieu Arthouse was born with Warren building most of the fittings and workshops himself.
The gallery, workshops and retail space offer not only the opportunity for visitors to see regular exhibitions and to buy art and artisan made goods but also to meet artists and see them at work.
Usually presenting the works of a variety of South Australian artists, the gallery is currently home to Anna and Warren’s own exhibition, LIT.
Visitors to LIT are enticed out of hustle and bustle of the shop and café area and through soft velvet curtains that obscure the darkness within the exhibition gallery.
The atmosphere within is magical as the only light available comes from the pieces themselves.
Vintage car bonnets are transformed into delicate, lacy showpieces, the rings from old wine barrels become frames for elegant wall lamps depicting banksias and other native flowers and plants. Beautiful hand-cut steel pendant lamps dangle along the entrance corridor, casting deep, filigree shadows on patrons as they find their way into the exhibition.
LIT offers a spectacular glimpse of what drives Anna and Warren in their larger practice - a love for the natural world and an affinity with metal, evident in each curling petal and finely cut stamen.
It’s fascinating to consider that such delicate designs are cut from such a tough material, but it’s perhaps a good metaphor for the way in which Anna and Warren have forged their way in the world.
Creating not one but two thriving arts-based businesses is no mean feat and yet they’ve done just that – and with enormous success.
A combination of skill, love and determination has ensured that both Fleurieu Arthouse and A Small Art Factory are thriving.
Anna, like many creatives, is a woman who is brimming with ideas and she says it’s been important for her to stay focused. She admits that she has to stay in her lane and “Try not to keep thinking up new plans until the ship is running like a well-oiled machine.”
The Arthouse is a testament to that as it provides a secure base for so many artists from which to work, collaborate and create as well as a hub for visitors and locals alike wishing to spend some time in a beautiful space among some of the very best art the region has to offer.
Anna’s advice to others considering making the arts their livelihood is to “have a really good team behind you, outsource, delegate and focus on doing everything well”.
Fleurieu Arthouse is open every day except Tuesday and Wednesday from 11.00 to 4.00.
A Small Art Factory are happy to take commissions and works are always available on the website or direct from Fleurieu Arthouse.
By Lindsay Nightingale admin@lindsaynightingale.com