Umbrella Event: SAC Resident Artists

Opening Event :
Friday 20 September 2024 @ 5:30pm

Daily Opening Times :
Wednesday 3 – Friday 27 September 2024
Monday – Friday – 9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturdays 10:00am – 2:00pm
Sundays CLOSED

An exhibition of works by Greg Wood, SAC’s current Artist in Residence.

Greg Wood’s paintings offer moments of reprieve and contemplation. At once both closely observed and deeply imagined, they depict landscapes not quite locatable. Records of light, colour, and atmosphere, his paintings are the stuff of memory itself.
–Amelia Wallin

Greg Wood is a painter of the earthy and ethereal. During the last 25 years his practice has involved the observation of landscape and the natural world. He paints places traversed through sensory impression
For Wood the essence of place is more important than specifics of location. He creates art that alludes to the mysterious impressions left by landscape, the emotional afterimages that endure. His delicate, layered canvases invite us to enter a felt sense of place, imbued with memory and emotion. Wood describes his work as a ‘slow release’ –the nuance of his paintings gradually revealing themselves to the viewer. A formative influence is Melbourne tonalist, Clarice Beckett, who has informed his use of thin, gestural layers of muted colours, flattened forms, merging tones and diffuse light.

Wood’s paintings are psychologically and visually alluring. The more we look, the more we are invited to come into communion with the subtle aspects how place shapes us, how we dwell in landscapes both literal and interior.

Exhibition Dates :
Thursday 3 – Sunday 27 October,2024
**Installation viewable 24/7

It’s a cake!

Celebrating Nolan School of Art‘s 25th Anniversary, and artists past and present.  

Workshop Dates :
Sunday 6 October 2024, 10:00am – 3:00pm AND
Sunday 13 October 2024, 10:00am – 4:00pm 

NOTE: If you’d like to only do one Sunday you can come along a single day class. There is $40 discount to book into both days.

Price :
$215 for a Single Day
or $390 for both Days
Includes all materials and personalised tuition.

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Sydney based fibre artist, Catriona Pollard, will be Salamanca Arts Centre’s Artist in Residence during October and will be holding a Workshop and Exhibition during her Arts Residency.

In this Workshop you will be learning and exploring four of Catriona’s favourite basketry techniques with materials you can easily access after the class so you can easily keep on weaving :
• random weaving with cane + inclusions;
• random weaving with long leafy plants;
• twining with jute with a pattern;
• looping with paper string;
• BONUS string / cordage demonstration.

By the end of this course you will be confident in multiple basketry techniques. Tapping into your creativity, like all of Catriona’s Workshops, it is so much more than just learning techniques, it’s an opportunity to tap into powerful creativity that is ready to surface. Learning at your own pace, in this hands on, practical workshop is all about exploration and experimentation not perfection. While learning basketry techniques, you will be reconnecting with your imagination and creativity.

It’s a small class so you get hands-on tuition from expert weaver, Catriona Pollard.

Suitable for beginners, or weavers who are looking to learn these techniques. If you’ve never done weaving before – perfect! You’ll love it and leave with finished basketry sculptures and the confidence to do more.

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About Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard is a contemporary artist who uses traditional fibre techniques to transform foraged plant fibres and recycled metals into evocative sculptural works which investigate human’s personal connection with the natural world.

Her practice has been recognised as a skilful exploration of ideas around nature and human’s relationship, the invisible forces and the movement of energy within it. Central to her work is the investigation of transformation and humanity’s connection, dependence, and the possibility of harmony with the ecological world.

Catriona has been selected for multiple solo exhibitions and exhibits extensively selected, group and touring exhibitions including the Australian Design Centre and Sturt National Craft Centre. She has been a finalist in many art awards including Australian Textile Art Award, International Art Textile Biennale, National Capital Art Prize, Environmental Art & Design Award, North Sydney Art Prize, Australian Fibre Arts Award, Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize and many more.

Her artwork is profiled across major art and design media and is featured nationally in galleries, high end design spaces and private collections. Watch her talk about her art at ABC TV and Gardening Australia and read in the feature in Good Weekend, SMH/The Age.  She is profiled in the Book: Woven Together: Weavers and Their Stories. See her website for more talks and media.

As a dedicated professional educator, she holds sold out sculptural basketry weaving workshops in Australia and internationally and teaches for design and craft centres. She holds demonstrations for organisations including Museums, and gives artist talks at galleries and community groups. She also established the online SchoolofBasketryArt.com with students from around the world.

Daily Opening Times :
Thursday 3 – Sunday 13 October 2024
Thursday – Sunday 11:00am – 4:00pm
Monday – Wednesday CLOSED

Contemporary fibre artist, Catriona Pollard’s tenth solo exhibition Where Stars Walk Upon The Mountain Top explores our spiritual connection to nature using woven sculpture to access the visceral and organic landscapes of spirit within nature.

The sculptures of foraged vines and recycled metal wire references the ancient basketry technique of looping that has been used across human cultures for tens of thousands of years. The looping creates patterns and a harmonious rhythm that the artist witnesses in nature.

The exhibition explores how the invisible, non-material realm can uncover the psyche of our place in the landscape, with the objective of reaching beyond the human narrative of the landscape.

By sharing dialogue with the materials and allowing them to inform the narrative of the artwork, it means that stories are formed and shared from the landscape in transformational ways – in a language that provides new meanings and relationships with spirit, nature, humans, and the landscape – and the interconnectedness of all.

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In conjunction with the exhibition and Arts Residency, Catriona will be running a Two Day Basket Weaving Workshop teaching four basketry techniques.

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About Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard is a contemporary artist who uses traditional fibre techniques to transform foraged plant fibres and recycled metals into evocative sculptural works which investigate human’s personal connection with the natural world.

Her practice has been recognised as a skilful exploration of ideas around nature and human’s relationship, the invisible forces and the movement of energy within it. Central to her work is the investigation of transformation and humanity’s connection, dependence, and the possibility of harmony with the ecological world.

Catriona has been selected for multiple solo exhibitions and exhibits extensively selected, group and touring exhibitions including the Australian Design Centre and Sturt National Craft Centre. She has been a finalist in many art awards including Australian Textile Art Award, International Art Textile Biennale, National Capital Art Prize, Environmental Art & Design Award, North Sydney Art Prize, Australian Fibre Arts Award, Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize and many more.

Her artwork is profiled across major art and design media and is featured nationally in galleries, high end design spaces and private collections. Watch her talk about her art at ABC TV and Gardening Australia and read in the feature in Good Weekend, SMH/The Age.  She is profiled in the Book: Woven Together: Weavers and Their Stories. See her website for more talks and media.

As a dedicated professional educator, she holds sold out sculptural basketry weaving workshops in Australia and internationally and teaches for design and craft centres. She holds demonstrations for organisations including Museums, and gives artist talks at galleries and community groups. She also established the online SchoolofBasketryArt.com with students from around the world.

Installation by Halima Bhatti

Exhibition Dates :
Wednesday 31 July – Monday 30 September 2024
**Installation viewable 24/7

Whispers of Heritage showcases Arabic calligraphy through vases and an umbrella adorned with intricate symbols. The vases celebrate Arab culture and history, while the Silent Whisper umbrella symbolizes protection against unseen threats (as Islamophobia). This exhibit highlights the enduring legacy and contemporary relevance of Arab art in a captivating manner.

This exhibit showcases the profound beauty and significance of Arabic calligraphy through meticulously crafted vases and a unique umbrella, each adorned with intricate Arabic symbols and motifs. These pieces not only highlight the aesthetic allure of Arab art but also underscore its cultural and historical importance in the contemporary world.

The vases, with their elegant curves and detailed script, narrate tales of Arab heritage and wisdom, celebrating the timeless essence of Arabic language and art. Each motif is a reflection of a rich cultural tapestry, inviting viewers to explore and appreciate the depth and intricacy of Arab traditions.

These pieces form a harmonious dialogue between past and present, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the poetic and protective nature of Arabic art. Whispers of Heritage is a tribute to the enduring legacy of Arab culture and its profound relevance in today’s world.

Daily Opening Times :
Friday 5 July – Sunday 11 August 2024
Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm
Closed most weekends / Weekend Opening Hours TBC

“A residency within a residency. A glimpse into my creative process.

I often get the impression that a lot of the general public views artists as elusive and mysterious. We hide away in studios for hours, weeks, or months and eventually emerge with a creation. Let’s get things out in the open.

For five weeks I will move my practice out of my studio and upstairs into the studio gallery. Recent works will hang on the walls as usual, alongside my current projects. One such project is a large drawing whose subject is as tall as I am. On the days I would have otherwise been downstairs in studio 126, I’ll be in situ, working in the studio gallery. Unfortunately, this will not be every day. But on the days I am not present, my work will still be there for you to see.

I invite people not only to see what I’ve made in recent months but what I’m currently making as well. Come and watch me work, have a conversation with me, or both. You can ask me questions about my process and materials and get a glimpse of how I turn a blank surface into a hyperreal drawing using just graphite, brushes, and erasers. 

My process is a time-consuming one. The large drawing is not a project that will be completed in the course of the exhibition. You will get a glimpse of the beginning of the project in action, and the beginning of a form will emerge.”
– Katelyn Geard

Installation by Anne Buckingham

Self(ies) in Nature considers how the natural landscape is compromised by our desire to capture ourselves on screen. Displayed as images in phone cases, the delicate relationship is explored through abstracted cyanotypes and stitched sketches.

The installation Self(ies) in Nature explores our delicate relationship with nature and how that relationship can change focus when viewed through the lens of a phone.

Being in nature benefits us physically and emotionally, and nature in turn benefits from our understanding and respect for it.

This balance can be disturbed when we turn the lens to include ourselves and the perspective changes from nature in the spotlight, to merely being a backdrop to self.

Our need to be centre stage can diminish our ability to be truely present with nature. The artwork questions what is lost when we become the focal point and nature is the accessory.

The abstracted cyanotypes are a collaboration with nature and combine found natural objects and repurposed fabric. Cyanotypes are a form of camera-less photography which rely on the sun for processing and ultimately give nature the final say in the outcome.

The design of the installation highlights our tendency to display our achievements of being in nature. Sketched profiles suggest, however, the fleetingness of humans in comparison to the natural landscape, despite any attempts to dominate it. They are accompanied by thoughts of nature writers, who too, grapple with our complicated relationship with the environment.

The installation follows an Arts Residency at Salamanca Arts Centre.