Address: Top Gallery

Presented by Jay Sykes

Opening event:

31 August 2023, 6:00PM

Daily opening times:

1 – 25 September, 2023

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Variations to Daily Opening Times :

Closed Sundays

“In and Out of Focus” addresses emotion, visual impairment, memory and landscape, presenting oil paintings of Tasmanian scenes that are both emotionally in and visually out of focus.

“In and Out of Focus” addresses emotion, visual impairment, memory and landscape. The pieces involved are both emotionally in and visually out of focus – the brushstrokes are intended the capture the enigmatic ‘feel’ of a landscape, where as the departure from realism hints at the fuzzy appearance of a scene viewed without visual aids.

The medium of oils was chosen because of its tendency to build a three-dimensional surface for a two-dimensional work, lending a kind of realism to even extremely abstract depictions. Oil paint also has the advantage of extremely evident brushstrokes, which have been executed differently for each landscape to represent the emotional quality of the place. This technique also hints at the ‘texture’ with which short-sighted eyes perceive the world around them, which is always the impression left in the artist’s brain.

Among complete paintings are unfinished works, ‘fallen’ to the floor, some with only a fraction of the canvas covered in paint. This is intended to add to the impression that the exhibition occurs somewhere within the artist’s mind, the unfinished pieces representing the degradation of memory over time.

Presented by Mark Lleonart

Daily opening times:

3 – 27 August, 2023

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Variations to Daily Opening Times :

Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm.

Except Saturday 5 th August 9 am until 6 pm.

Step into a world of tree climbing lobsters, mischievous echidnas, quirky street art, palm frond sculptures … and a musical flower cart.

With a degree in zoology and PhD in marine science my art practice is informed by the natural world, its inhabitants, and issues relating to these. Conservation themes and aspects of biology I find amusing or fascinating are topics of my art as, is the way we humans view our fellow life-forms. My major art & philosophic influences are David Attenborough, Charles Darwin and Dr Seuss.

The exhibition ranges over a diversity of media, playfully depicting native, non-native and imaginary fauna, vegetables & flowers … and through a combination of art and science: singing plants.

Incongruous echidnas and the occasional marsupial mess with European art still life tropes; “street art” fence paling works sit alongside sculptures combining storm-tossed palm fronds and tip-shop finds. There are unlikely signs (welcome to the Bahamas Dugong Polo Club) and adjustable gauges to monitor the performance of one’s vegetables!

In recent years my art practice has expanded from painting on canvas, painting on timber, and sculpture to interactive kinetic art using light, sound and occasionally vegetables. My plant music art is intended to bring the audience closer to the vegetal world through a mix of science, art & music. Variations have been exhibited in Science festivals and the parks of Hobart during summer.

Presented by Amalea Smolcic

Opening times:

Friday 30 June – Sunday 30 July 2023

Sunday – Thursday 10am – 5pm
Friday – Saturday 10am – 6pm

This exhibition addresses portraiture as a form of self-expression.

I am Amalea Smolcic, a twenty-six-year-old artist living on a farm in Richmond. The environment I inhabit influences my creative process, and I draw inspiration from the picturesque beauty of the land. To me, life is more than a mere transaction with time, it requires a touch of grit, and playfulness.

This body of work delves into the portraits of fifty strangers, seeking to capture the essence of being human—our thoughts, emotions, and dreams. Instead of fixating on appearances, I explore the imaginative side of what a face represents to me, though my own lens. I strive to break down the bias that separates strangers from our loved ones, recognizing the importance and inherent goodness in every person.

The fifty canvases are arranged randomly, echoing the arbitrary nature of their selection. Each portrait stands as a unique entity while contributing to the interconnectedness shared by everyone. Colour and light take precedence over realism in my work, transcending the confines of shadows and illusions. By embracing spontaneity in material selection, I allow for the unfettered expression of artistic freedom.

Daily opening times:

30 June – 27 August 2023
9AM-5PM

Showcase of Tasmanian Art Teachers artistic practice

The TATA Teachers Exhibition showcases the work of Tasmanian professional artists who work or have previously worked in the state as art teachers. As art teachers, who also engage in their own arts practice, there is an ebb and flow of time and space.

TATA recognises the importance of encouraging and giving art teachers the opportunities to take the time to engage in their own art practice. An essential component of a practicing artist-art teachers’ process is art making.

It enhances art teaching practices and processes and provides rich arts learning opportunities for students. Through its Teacher Exhibition, TATA aims to share the rich and diverse range of practicing artist art teachers we have in the state.

Daily opening times:

Friday 2 June – Thursday 22 June 2023
9AM-5PM

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.

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

Opening Event
Thursday 2 March 2023
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Oceans, lakes, pools, rivers.
Shallow, deep, still, flowing.
Blue, green, brown, golden, grey and white.

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.

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

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.

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.