LOCAL - A New Group Exhibition for sala at fleurieu arthouse

Saturday, 24 August 2024, 2:00 pm
Sunday, 22 September 2024, 9:30 pm

LOCAL at Fleurieu Arthouse - Exhibition for SALA 2024

LOCAL is a new group exhibition inviting the viewer to explore the rich tapestry of the place we call home through the work of 5 artists who have come together to share their visions and their take on what LOCAL really means.

In no particular order, they are -

Bernadette Woodward

“My work begins with an idea or a question and is always about observing and exploring. My artworks are inspired by my experiences, roads I have travelled, people I have met, gardens and gifts. A South Australian living near the coast, my work often reflects the influence of Place.”

Country Drive - Bernadette Woodward

Cat Leonard

Adelaide based artist Cat paints vibrant portraits and animal art in addition to urban and scenic paintings. With a distinctive expressionistic style, her work is dynamic and full of movement.

Milo - Cat Leonard

Linden Edwards

South Australian visual artist Linden works with “wax, fibre and textiles to create contemporary works with an interplay of texture and local iconography.” Linden’s work often features text and the focus is on environmental issues, nature and memory.

RMG 4 Linden Edwards

Kathy Doley

“I paint in oil and acrylic and enjoy painting all genres. My subject and style are varied, combining a technical approach towards experimental. I love painting big bold colourful work and use an intuitive process that allows me to explore different ways to express my subjects.”

Kathy Doley

Simone Linehan

Simone’s passion for character is apparent in her work. With Jim Henson (the Muppets) and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) among her very earliest influences, her work is reflective of the playfulness with which she views the world.

Artwork 1 - Simone Linehan

It could be said that any art conceived through inspiration found in and around an artist’s home environment would fit neatly into the theme of “local”, but when the locality is as vast and as varied as the Fleurieu Peninsula, then things can truly go in any direction.

This is what is apparent in this new group exhibition from Bernadette, Cat, Kathy, Linden and Simone - the lens through which each artist sees their local environment, is as individual as their personal style and the result is a spectacular show filled with beautiful works that range from the moving, to the unconventional and the celebratory.

We caught up with the artists involved and asked them what LOCAL means to them, what informs their practice and what inspires them.

TALKING TO ARTISTS

Fleurieu Arthouse - “How did you come to know the other artists participating in this group exhibition?

Bernadette - “I met Kathy and Cat when we worked together as tutors at Splashout Art Studios. Linden joined us through Splashout also. My connection with Simone came via Kathy, her friend, who had studied and worked with Simone. I feel fortunate to have these lovely ladies and fabulous artists in my world now and count them all as friends.”

Kathy - “I have been very fortunate to meet all these wonderful women, we have been friends and colleagues for many years…Simone Linehan – both our boys rode downhill bikes, and I attended her art classes where we connected as friends, I now teach at her studio in Unley. Bernadette Woodward and Cat Leonard – we all worked at Splashout Art Studios and have since become dear friends and painting buddies. Cat and I still teach at Splashout. I met Linden through a dear friend when we all went on a day of SALA -ing about 10 or more years ago. Recently we spoke of having an exhibition together and here we are!”

Fleurieu Arthouse - “How did the title LOCAL come about? How did it resonate with you and your work?”

Simone - “Given most of my work is more ’surreal’ than traditional, originally I was very torn with the title and how I could express my work in a way that resonated with it, however three years ago I had a magical experience seeing whales from a boat tour in Fowlers Bay. I am quite terrified of water so it took a decent amount of courage to go on the trip, but the pay off seeing these utterly magnificent creatures bursting into the air close by was astounding. Currently being in whale season it felt like a perfect union of my desire to express that experience and the show title ‘Local’.”

Linden - “Each of our work is quite distinctive and individual in subject matter and approach. The shared interest we have is an exploration of elements within our local environment and our personal expression of it. My work has been exploring the deliberate marking of trees called arboglyphs, these have been used throughout history to mark territory, events and spontaneous emotions scratched into trees. The collected images in the exhibition are from local trees, mainly eucalyptus found on my walks. Often fragmented as the bark renews itself has connections with the environment, sustainability, regeneration, and transformation. The fibre works are extensions of organic forms created from found and recycled materials.”

Fleurieu Arthouse - “Tell us about your earliest influences/early experiences in art.”

Bernadette - “There was always pencils and paper at home growing up. Mum found a local kids art class for me and my brother. I loved it. Also, my grade five teacher, Mrs Marchant, actually always found time in the week to include some form of art lesson. Her enthusiasm showed us that it was something to be valued. Impressive when you knew she had forty plus grade 5 and 6 kids in the room.”

Linden - “I grew up in New Zealand and attended art school there before returning to Australia. Art has been a lifelong love and was always the path I wanted to follow. The last few years have offered an opportunity to dedicate more time to creating, which has been fabulous. Early artists who influenced how I saw the world were mainly New Zealand artists in particular Colin McCahon and Ralph Hotere and Australian painter John Olsen. Coming to Australia in my mid 20’s I worked in theatre, Arts administration for the Fringe and Adelaide Festivals. The most significant community art projects around then was the Swimming Lake mosaic in Naracoorte covering 80 square metres.”

Cat - “We use to holiday at Wool Bay on the Yorke Peninsula with my grandparents and every Christmas holidays there was an art show at the Coobowie hall which we would go to with my grandpa. I use to look forward to it, loved looking at all the paintings, pottery, jewellery and textile, and would spend my holiday savings there. Grandpa would buy a painting every year and hang it up at the house which became a bit of a gallery. He collected all kinds of art, watercolour, oils, etchings, copper enamel work, drawings, tapestries and weavings, sculptures. Perhaps that’s where it started for me. I chose art as a subject in senior school, then went to art school, so dad built me a studio in the garden, and a work room in the garage when I started my own art business. I had a lot of encouragement.”

Fleurieu Arthouse - “Tell us a little about your working process and about your studio set-up.”

Cat - “My studio is at home and I get up early and do an hour or two of painting before breakfast on most days…in my PJs… and usually a few more hours during the day, every day. My painting philosophy is - make a mess then fix it with a series of corrections.”

Kathy - “I am lucky enough to have a home studio, this allows me to have the space to have many pieces on the go at once as I love to paint large. My process is very intuitive, I have a very loose plan but ultimately the painting morphs until completed.”

Simone - I currently don’t have a super studio set up… I have an excellent studio for my students in Parkside however given it is quite busy with classes there so I generally choose to work from home. For this exhibition I cleared my lounge room, popped my combustion fire and worked in there on the larger pieces. I have a spare bedroom that has currently become my studio... it’s not ideal however once the music, heater and lights are on I am in the zone so it’s doesn’t much matter then where I am! I found I was most efficient between 3pm and 9pm, although I work anytime between teaching art classes and running my business and home whenever I can.”

Linden - “I work primarily with Encaustic painting. A technique I came across many years ago in “The Artists handbook of materials and techniques” by Ralph Mayer, which sounded interesting. Knowing little about it and it not being a common medium at the time a lot of experimentation took place. Encaustic paint is made from pure beeswax blended with anatural resin called Damar Gum and pigment which makes it durable and shiny. It is applied hot and fused by heating creating multiple layers and textures to create opaque and transparent elements. Predating oil painting artworks still exist in museums from 3000 years ago. I worked for many years in a spare room inside but a lot of wax got spread throughout the house..... so now have a dedicated studio built at the end of the garden.”

Fleurieu Arthouse - “What is most important in your life for you to be able to produce your work/find inspiration?”

Bernadette - “My husband’s support and my ‘arty’ friends questions, ideas shared and joy in the privilege of this work.”

Kathy - “The most important aspect is that I am continually playing and experimenting in my practice. I am interested in producing work that has energy and connects with an audience but more importantly with me.”

Simone - “Peace! I live mainly alone (at the moment) so I have plenty of ‘me’ time which has been wonderful to be able to create without distraction or having to explain what I am working on to others. I feel large blocks of time, meditation and looking after myself both physically and mentally the best recipe for my artistic joy to express itself.

Linden - “Enough time to bring together a multitude of ideas to fruition.”

Kathy - “The most important aspect is that I am continually playing and experimenting in my practice. I am interested in producing work that has energy and connects with an audience but more importantly with me.”

Cat - “Family is important. Inspiration is everywhere, and I find that walking my dog helps me focus on ideas and clear my mind of all the clutter. Getting paint out causes me to produce because I don’t like wasting paint and I do enjoy the painting process.”