Exhibition of paintings, arising out of life drawing classes exploring the ways of observing the line of the body in landscape and indoor settings.
The Body Observed
Inspired by my life drawing practice, visiting museums, and sometime experience co-caring for a person with disability, The body Observed explores the relationship between the body and the viewer, interrogating how the body may be [re]defined by the nature of its observation.
In doing so the works engage three variations on the gaze including the observant gaze, the fantasising gaze, and the mechanistic gaze.
The mechanistic gaze, looks and goes little beyond delineation, relying on line alone. The observant gaze looks and speculates…possibly about the relationship between the observed and her/his context. The fantasising gaze goes further hoping for a transformation for the body or the observer, or an outcome from observing.
These variations, in turn, have implications for the interplay between the body and its environment.
rory kay, 2023
Opening event:
Friday 28 April, 6pm
Daily opening times:
Friday 28 April – Saturday 28 May 2023 9AM-5PM
Welcome to everything is not oKAY, enjoy your stay
the debut exhibition of nipaluna artist Rory Kay, presenting for the first time a collection of Tasmanian Expressionism
Lynn Kelly. Awash (2021). Oil on canvas. 90cm x 90cm
Opening Event Thursday 2 March 2023 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Waterforms is a series that investigates natural design. The paintings are impressionistic interpretations of segments of water views from Tasmanian places visited by emerging artist, Lynn Kelly.
Natural elements interact to control energy and atmosphere. Conditions can change quickly. Our environmental experiences are affected by times of day, weather and our points of view.
Likewise, in a painting the visual components are combined and arranged to express mood and movement.
These works are sections from water views removed from their scenic contexts. They are square in format, making them somewhat ambiguous.
Rather than making pictures the aim was to explore how colours and shapes can be composed to evoke a feeling and create the impression of a place.
Lynn Kelly. Seethe (2022). Oil on canvas. 100cm x 100cm
Lynn Kelly. Quietude (2022). Oil on canvas. 100cm x 100cm
Lynn Kelly. Under the Bridge (2021). Oil on canvas. 90cm x 90cm
Corey Sparkes. Lilypad Pond. Digital Art.
Opening Event Wednesday 8 February 2023 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Hobart to Yaizu is a series of digital illustrations by emerging artist Corey Sparkes inspired by the little known link between two cities.
“Yaizu is the sister city of Hobart’ is something you don’t hear often, if not at all.
I remember learning about Yaizu in school and thinking to myself, “hey this is great!” However, aside from Kanjiro Harada’s stunning Japanese Garden that is located within Hobart’s Botanical Gardens, there is very little in the way of promotional material in regards to this fact. This body of work exists as a promotional piece for both cities, identifying their shared characteristics in regards to landscape and environment through a minimalistic approach that explores the use of colour, limitation and indulges the idea of “play” rather than work or accomplishment.
Overall these pieces intend to serve as a cleansing moment of simplicity in our lives that can often be overwhelmed by chaos and complexity.” – Corey Sparkes
Corey Sparkes. Sandy Bay. Digital Art.
Corey Sparkes. Mount Fuji. Digital Art.
Corey Sparkes. Hobart. Digital Art.
Opening Event Friday 11 November 2022 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Featuring works by Nolan Art‘s Adult Students, this annual exhibition features oil and acrylic painting, watercolour and drawing.
Rhys Cousins. (2022). Photography.
Opening Event Friday 2 December 2022 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Traces, by Rhys Cousins and Lucy Maddox, explores the historical, emotional, and tangible encounters between people and urban materials. Through two- and three-dimensional works, the exhibition examines the signs left by human interaction with surfaces. Collaborating across landscape and visual art, the exhibition generates conversations about viewers’ relationship to place.
The name connects to the ephemerality of objects, as well as of the lives of the humans that connect with them. These minute and often overlooked elements will take the fore in Traces, investigating the subject from both abstract and figurative perspectives. While the outcomes are often minimalist in outward appearance, the beauty of the work lies in the small details and textures. Moreover, the process of creating the work is a part of the work itself. Responding to the urban textural landscape of Hobart and its surrounds, the creation of Traces involves an interaction between the art and artists, both physical and conceptual. For instance, casts are made of surfaces in the local area, and the creation of these casts inevitably alters the material subjects, often in minute ways.
Working under the collective Tangere, meaning “to elicit emotion through touch,” Rhys and Lucy are a transdisciplinary duo who challenge the boundaries between their practices for new artistic and creative outcomes.
Rhys is a creative practitioner working across design, art and landscape architecture, exploring new possibilities of experience as informed by materiality, space and light in public space. Lucy is a visual artist working in a variety of modern and traditional mediums, including painting, printmaking, and digital art. Her practice investigates the emotional associations made through touch, body language and gesture.
They will respond to the concept of Traces through two different perspectives. Rhys will approach the concept abstractly through volume and space, his work unveiling the city narrative as texture. In contrast, Lucy’s painted and drawn works will capture the intimate, emotional experience of touch. These two artists’ works will be intermingled, conversing with one another to explore the richness of ‘Traces,’ but juxtaposed in technique, style and medium to challenge conventional viewership.
In addition to their individual work, they will also collaborate on an installation to explore the interaction between audiences and the work. By providing visitors with magnifying lenses, this visual dialogue will aim to allow audiences to respond personally to the local texture and signs rather than simply pass them by.
Rhys Cousins. Grounding (detail) (2021). Plaster and urban material remnants. 3 x 2.5m. Photograph by Cassandra Hogan.
Rhys Cousins. Grounding (performance) (2021). Plaster and urban material remnants. 3 x 2.5m. Photograph by Cassandra Hogan.
Rhys Cousins. Untitled (detail) (2021). Plaster, stone.
Earth and Land presents lutruwita/Tasmania’s natural beauty, captured within the clay of Angela Reiher’s sculptural forms and Caitlin Love’s canvas.
Opening Event Friday 30 September 2022 5:30pm – 7:30pm Top Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre
Emerging artists Angela Reiher and Caitlin Love met in 2020 after taking ceramics classes together. They soon realised their shared ambition to produce a body of work to exhibit. Angela and Caitlin’s interest in the natural landscape and obsession with the Tasmanian wilderness was the subject of many conversations which lead the pair to recognise the many ways their works speak to each other. Angela collects wild clay from different locations in lutruwita/Tasmania, to use within her work. Caitlin represents the natural environment in her paintings, including some of locations where Angela has sourced her clay from. Their work embodies the landscape in more ways than one.
Angela and Caitlin have nurtured a strong friendship over the last couple of years, consistently supporting and encouraging one another to follow their motivations as artists. Together, the pair launched their work for Earth and Land with a trip to Tasmania’s wild and captivating West Coast, early in 2022. This is the first time that Angela and Caitlin have exhibited their work.
Caitlin Love. South Cape Rivulet. Acrylic on Canvas. 38 x 82cm
Angela Reiher. Untitled (2022). Clay. Photographer: Sid Scott
Angela Reiher
Angela Reiher is an artist based in nipaluna/Hobart. Angela was born in Warragul, Victoria and moved to lutruwita/Tasmania in 2018. She came on a holiday to Tasmania in 2017 and fell in love with the amazing and diverse landscape as she travelled around the state. She has recently retired from a life of teaching to release her dreams and passion for the arts.
Angela has a deep-rooted connection with the natural world and her works reflect this. Angela’s work is inspired by what she sees around her, or literally includes elements from the environment. In her ceramic work, she uses items such as rocks for tools in shaping, trimming, carving and finishing work. Angela uses shells, rocks and leaves and other found items as inspiration and to emulate colours in glazes and in the finishing effects. Her handbuilding reflects the organic shapes in the environment and incorporates aspects of natural elements such as wild clay.
Angela loves connecting to the earth by collecting and hand processing clay found in the wild. Everything is done by hand until the final firing stage, including collecting the clay, picking up or digging out the clay with a small handheld shovel or shell. Clay is broken down and squished by hand, from large lumps into a smooth mix. Angela then pushes it through a sieve and dries it out to a usable degree, wedges it and makes it ready to use. Angela uses wild clays as finishing effects on ceramic pieces that she has either handbuilt or wheel-thrown. Angela likes her artwork to ‘create itself’. She begins with an idea but has learnt to have no boundaries. She likes the work to take on its own form and, in a way, to create itself.
Caitlin Love
Caitlin Love was born in Ngunnawal country/Canberra and she studied Art History and Curatorship at The Australian National University. She moved to lutruwita/Tasmania in 2015 and based herself in nipaluna/Hobart to further her study at the School of Creative Arts, completing her master’s degree. Caitlin currently works as an art teacher.
Painting has been a lifelong passion of Caitlin’s. In this exhibition, Caitlin captures the essence and life of Tasmania’s diverse and pristine wilderness through her exploration of the colours and vistas that have captivated her during hiking and camping trips. These paintings reflect her personal connection to Tasmanian landscapes and the profound nourishment she receives from being in nature. There is a welcoming sense of solitude and peace that can be found in Tasmania’s unique landscape, which offers Caitlin both a sense of belonging and a feeling of remoteness.
Nick Hills. Darker Than Empty.
The debut solo exhibition by emerging Tasmanian artist Nick Hills.
Breathe pushes the themes of life and decay in the natural world to a new level. It’s a menagerie of characters and emotional states, everything from spiders tangled upon melting limbs to whimsically psychedelic animal portraits.
Originally inspired by a need to break through some mental health barriers, Nick’s work is a great insight into the artists mind and the 3-year journey involved in coming out of a difficult time and building up a whole new perspective on life.
Coming from a background in mountain biking and a love of hard metal music (the pieces are named after lyrics from Nick’s favorite bands and musicians), Nick’s unique style is both dark and brightly energetic.
All works are archival inkjet printed on 100% cotton rag museum grade paper by Papermill Printhouse (Melbourne) and Full Gamut (Hobart) and are all framed by Hobart’s finest Wagner Framemakers. All prints are available for purchase. Merchandise, stickers and other accessories are also available for sale down in Spacebar Gallery.
Nick Hills. Mind Over Matter.
Nick Hills. Fade Away.
Nick Hills. Grind your teeth.
Photo by Stu Gibson.
Nick Hills
Nick Hills is an emerging artist based on Tasmania. Nick specialises in digital illustration, creating colourful thought-provoking works.
A close up of molten orange glass in a circular form.
This event is part of Winter Light 2022 and is presented by Salamanca Arts Centre
A Warm Glow to Remember is a body of work that physically manifests Yumemi’s personal relationship to her Japanese heritage. It is her transitional journey in reconciling her place as a resident within cultural gaps while accepting the importance of letting go.
3 – 28 August 2022 Opening Event Friday 5 August 2022 6 – 8pm with performance happening at 7pm RSVP
Yumemi Hiraki is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Nipaluna. Her practice delves into the interactions between memory, nostalgia, history and connection to place, while re-examining the relationship to her Japanese heritage. Viewing herself as a resident of cultural gaps, her works evokes a familiar yet foreign sense of longing, belonging and holding on, while hinting at life’s inevitable continuity and ephemerality.
Yumemi is originally from Hiroshima, Japan. She completed her BFA(Sculpture and Spatial Practice) at the Victorian College of the Arts and has been an active Arts Worker while exhibiting and developing her practice in both Naarm and Nipaluna. Yumemi has a growing interest in community-based arts, mentorship and education, and currently also works as a Youth Arts Officer at the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre.
Whilst the wearing of masks is not mandatory it is recommended in certain situations by Tasmanian Public Health. Masks will be available upon entering our venues for those patrons who would like one.
If you’re unwell, it is recommended that you stay at home, and we look forward to welcoming you at Salamanca Arts Centre another time.
Sevé de Angelis. costal portrait (2022). Oil on canvas.
Opening Event Friday 1 July 2022, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
late for tomorrow, by emerging artist Sevé de Angelis, is a series about love and time, care and frustration. The water, the sky, the wood and the rock.
This is a series of process-based entries that have evolved through the alchemical properties of paint.
A process of morphology gives faces, figure and landscape an ability to rise.
Musings on our environment as an extension of ourselves, John Michell’s book Simulacra; a familiarity of human likeness in nature, and Daevid Allen’s Garden Song with its brief passage on us being an extension of the dreaming planet were the ideas for this series.
At the core, they are about love and time, care and frustration; about living with the water and sky, and the rocks and trees with voices and memories.
Sevé de Angelis is a Tasmanian visual artist. He is from Launceston and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2018 from the University of Tasmania. He lives in Hobart.
