Where the Light Fell 

Jean Fysh and Susan Shaw

27 April – 4 June 2017 

Mother and daughter, Jean and Susan began working in pastel in 2011 after attending a workshop by Warwick artists Nicole Wood. 

The exhibition features scenes maticulously captures from the artists everyday lives whether that be still-lives, portraits, or landscapes which have for some reason attracted our attention.

There is no consistent or considered theme in their works however the compositional decisions are surprising and enhance the everyday scenes to ones of intrigue and luxury..They attracted to the colour, texture and the relationship objects have between each other. Also tone, shadow and reflections play an important role.

This is the duo's first exhibition.

Images: Blue Jug Susan Shaw and Copper Jean Fysh

Morning Glory

Margaret Barnett, Lawrence English and Al Sim

13 July to 20 August 2017

The tiny town of Burketown was buzzing with an influx of visitors.

If you had a boat you would be fishing for barramundi. If you had a glider you were there for The Morning Glory.

The Morning Glory is a spectacular phenomenon that brings international visitors each year because Burketown is the only place in the world where you can have a chance of experiencing this wonderful thing.

If you had come by glider you would be out at the airfield by at least 5 am preparing to take off as soon as there is a hint of THE CLOUD.

If you are ‘just there’ you woke with the buzz of the pilots and helpers going, you also got up, gathered the water bottles, cheese and biscuits and drove out of town towards the open savannah.

Marg Barnett saw the images that Al Sim had taken of the Morning Glory and decided she’d like to transfer the images to fabric with Contemporary Shibori techniques. 

Lawrence English joined the ‘team’ after he was approached to compose a surround sound sonic space for the installation.

Barnett, Sim and English are Queensland Artists, with international reputations in their respective fields.

Four years of planning has produced an installation where the videos are on the walls and the textiles hang across the space and electronic sounds represent the surreal atmosphere of the Morning Glory cloud experience.

Walk into this installation with the grey cloud over your head, imagine you are on the mud flats and  surrounded by the colour and shapes of the Gulf Savannah.

ANCORS

An Exhibition by Ann Fogarty, Corina Graham, Sue Jacobsen

8 June to 9 July 2017

ANCORS is a play on words derived from ANn, CORina and Sue. This trio are all self-taught artists with different styles. The common thread between them is that “Art has been their anchor” in life.

Each of them have had various life experiences that led them to discover the “healing power” of art. They came together through the Demented Artists Group Inc ( DAGs ).

Ann Fogarty is a contemporary artist who enjoys abstracts in acrylic, using mixed media and experimenting with a variety of mediums.

Corina Graham is a multi-faceted artist who chooses not to limit herself to any one style or medium, but with a tendency towards Realism.

Sue Jacobsen is a contemporary artist, primarily using coloured pencils, whose work has been inspired by tattoos as well as Realism.

Fifty Years of Flower Power

An international yarn collaboration coordinated by Prudence Mapstone

7 July to 11 September 2016

This 7 metre long work has been hand stitched together by textile artist Prudence Mapstone and comprises hundreds of bright floral motifs in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours reflecting the theme of Flower Power.

There are more than 207 contributors from over 24 different countries, many sending in numerous pieces that have been included in the installation. This is one you can’t miss!

It has been 50 years since the term 'Flower Power' was first coined in Berkeley, California, and used as a passive resistance slogan for non-violent protest against the Vietnam War.  By the 'summer of love' a few years later, the movement had spread; the term 'flower child' was synonymous with 'hippie', and a counterculture had sprung up embracing psychedelic music and art. 

This art style is often recognizable from its simple, graphic, brightly coloured, poster-like designs; and as many flower children sought a return to basics and simple living, crafts had a resurgence, and a distinctive style of no-rules crochet sprang up as a small part of the hippie, grass roots ethos.

Colours of the Country III

Alice Springs Beanie Festival travelling exhibition

7 July to 21 August 2016

For those who missed it the first and second time around, a third touring exhibition is on the road! Due to the demand for Beanies and the outstanding success of the first and second tour of the Alice Springs Beanie Festival exhibition “Colours of the Country”, we look forward to another fabulous showcase of an icon of Australian headwear.

This collection of Beanies, from the Alice Springs Beanie Festival, demonstrates the growth of the Beanie as an art form over the years and the imagination, creativity and fine craftsmanship presented in each piece. The colourful exhibition encapsulates the whimsical essence of the Beanie Festival and also highlights the works produced by Indigenous artists from the Central Desert region who are regular collaborators in this cross-cultural event.

An exhibition embraced by a broad cross section of the community, the collection will inspire audiences to laugh, don crazy headwear and bring out those knitting needles all over again.

Image: 'Spirit ladies from the desert', Sharon Alice, 2010. 'Galahs', Betty Conway, 2012. ‘Hanging out the washing’, Rhonda Napanangka, 2012.

Image Courtesy of: The Alice Springs Beanie Festival

Reminiscence: Celebrating 100 years of Australian visionary Judith Wright

Fiona Rafferty and Francis Smith

8 December 2016 - 15 January 2017

Artists Fiona Rafferty and Frances Smith commemorate the centenary of the birth of Australian writer, poet and activist Judith Wright in Reminiscence, in an exhibition touring in regional Queensland during 2016 – 2018.

Reminiscence is comprised of paintings, works on paper and ceramics by Rafferty and Smith. These artworks respond to Judith Wright’s work as a writer, poet, environmentalist, and advocate of human rights.

Rafferty was inspired to create a body of work to commemorate Judith Wright when she spent five months living at Calanthe, Judith Wright’s former home on Tamborine Mountain. Rafferty says, “The issues that Judith fought for—such as indigenous land rights and protecting the Great Barrier Reef—are issues that are still relevant today; through this exhibition we celebrate and continue her work in an effort to inspire the generations that proceed her”. “When I resided at Calanthe I felt Judith Wright’s presence everywhere, and after further researching her work I was instantly inspired by her intelligence, compassion and strength” 

Reminiscence was developed as part of the Flying Arts Alliance Curator Development Program ‘Curators in Space’. ‘Flying Arts selected five emerging curators to work under the banner of ‘Curators in Space’ to develop Reminiscence with a suite of public programs and learning resources that invite participants of all ages to engage with Judith Wright’s life and work. The ‘Curators in Space’ team worked with the artists to bring this timely exhibition to life; its first showing inspiring a mini-festival at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Brisbane, in late 2015.

Reminiscence is a Flying Arts Touring Exhibition.

Featured Image: Endangered I & II, 2015 Frances Smith

Brushes and Flashes of the South Burnett

1 February to 26 February 2017

The Brushes and Flashes  exhibition will showcase artists from the South Burnett.

Eleven artists will exhibit works in pastel, watercolour, oil, drawing, acrylic, pottery, sculpture, paper tole, photography and indigenous art.

Participating artists: 

Anthony Donas – Indigenous artist
Megan Cridland, BFA – Drawings
Garry Eyre, Cert of Applied Arts – Abstracts
Ina Patterson, Cert of Commercial Illustration – Watercolours
Judy Forrster – Photography
Karren Bolton(Currently in 3rd year of BA Fine Arts & Visual Culture) – Sculpture & Pottery
Lyn Felsman – Pastels, Water colour, Oils
Rosemarie Matthews-Fredericks – Paper Tole
Thelm Archibald – Threaded Acrylics
Summer Brooke-Jones – Sculpture, Felting
Paul Craddock – Various

Featured artwork:

Chooks by Lyn Felsman

No Human Being is Illegal (in all our glory)

Deborah Kelly

2 March to 23 April 2017

Deborah Kelly’s acclaimed exhibition No Human Being Is Illegal (in all our glory) is set to shock and delight visitors when it opens at Warwick Art Gallery as part of a regional tour to galleries and cultural centres across Australia.

Originally created for the 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014) by teams of public participants over the course of many months, Warwick now has the opportunity to see this incredible community project following a successful first outing at the Murray Art Museum Albury.

The exhibition comprises 20 life-sized photographic portraits realised through ongoing discussion, exchange and art making between the artist, the subjects and the contributors. The collaboration centres upon nude photographic portraits that were collaged over time as workshop participants added layers of archival and contemporary imagery specific to the subjects’ interests, attributes and vision.

The subjects represent a fascinating cross section of contemporary Australia with each portrait telling an intimate story of the subject’s life.

“Without the barriers of language, culture, religion, sexuality, gender or race, this collaged imagery bombards the viewer with the human narrative, ‘in all its glory’.”
– Jacqui Hemsley, Director, Murray Art Museum Albury

For the better part of three decades, Kelly has created a prolific body of mixed-media artworks that are at once unexpected, humorous, provocative, and profound. Often politically motivated, Kelly’s artworks explore ideas of power in all its manifestations, negotiating racial, sexual and religious prejudices and histories.

Deborah Kelly has exhibited widely including the collaborative project boat-people.org, the prize-winning public artwork series Hey, hetero! (created with Tina Fiveash), and Beware of the God commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in 2005. Kelly’s work has been exhibited at the 19th Biennale of Sydney (2014) and the 2008 Singapore Biennale.

Got Mittens Too

Peter Osborn

15 September to 23 October 2016

Got Mittens Too is Peter Osborn’s first solo exhibition at Warwick Art Gallery.  Peter has a background in structural engineering design and has studied visual arts at the University of Southern Queensland.  His works include ceramic figurative sculpture and watercolour illustration.

The 100 year commemoration of the Anzac involvement in World War 1 became a personal journey when he read the diary his grandfather wrote while on service at the Western Front.  This brief document provided many poignant images of the conflict and devastating loss of life. 

“I became interested in my grandfather's WW1 experiences after my uncle sent me a scanned copy of his diary from that time,” said Peter, “ He arrived in France in mid 1916 as a sapper with the 13th brigade of the 4th Division AIF and somehow survived, particularly the third battle of Ypres where his younger brother was killed.

The title of the exhibit Go Mittens Too comes from an anecdote related by my grandfather when, after the German soldiers raised a banner proclaiming “Gott mit uns” (God is with us), the Allies responded with a banner “Got mittens too”

In addition to the exhibition Peter has designed a catalogue book featuring excerpts from the diary, text and images from the exhibitions.  The book is available from the Gallery during the exhibition.

TOURING

A travelling exhibition of work by Loani Prior and Mark Crocker 

Warwick Art Gallery was the producing gallery for the exhibition Portraits of a Tea Cosy. 

Work on this exhibition started in 2012 when Queen of Tea Cosies Loani Prior and photographer Mark Crocker travelled to six towns in three states meeting tea cosy guardians and recording their stories.    From these meetings Mark has produced 40 black and white portraits of the interviewees with their tea cosies in colour.  Their stories have been turned into an audio presentation and delightful quotes about family, friendship and the joy of owning something handcrafted. 

This exhibition also stars 20 exuberant TEA COSIES created by Loani Prior, author of three best selling books, Wild Tea Cosies, Really Wild Tea Cosies and How Tea Cosies Change the World.  They are knitted objets d’art, woolly sculptures; clever and funny, like nothing you will have seen before. 

The exhibition was displayed first in Warwick during Jumpers and Jazz in July 2013.  The tour includes the following locations: Mittagong, Northern Territory, Hervey Bay, Miles, Longreach, Bundaberg, Ballina and Canberra. The tour was completed in 2015.  Mark Crocker's prtraits are now part of the Warwick Art Gallery collection.

This project is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian state and territory governments and by Arts Queensland in the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.

This project has also been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Warwick Art Gallery, from time to time, organises one off events, residencies or community project outside of our scheduled exhibition program.  

Casting Off 

Alison McDonald residency

July 2016

Casting Off was commissioned by Warwick Art Gallery for Jumpers & Jazz in July 2016.

Warwick Art Gallery approached Alison to design a semi permanent artwork that reflected the Jumpers and Jazz in July festival vision and branding. The artwork needed to communicated the festival’s priority to provide visual art that is surprising and creative. Key inspirational themes included Humour, Wrapping, Disguising, Softening, Pattern, Texture, Repetition and Colour.

"The typical crocheted ‘granny square’ rug made from left over bits of wool is something we are all comfortable and cosy with, just like our relationship with plastic, particularly single- use plastics. The colourful Casting Off may appear cosy or even fluffy from a distance, but when you get close it is prickly, symbolising the continuing conundrum we all share about what to do with plastics at the end of their life. This artwork highlights the massive amounts of plastics that clog our waterways and draw our attention to the stewardship and responsibility we owe our sea creatures."  Alison McDonald

Warwick Art Gallery received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through the Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments.

The project also received support from Bunnings Warehouse Warwick and Celtis Grove Bed and Breakfast Warwick.