▶ JEWELLER SPOTLIGHT: PUSHMATAAHA

Pushmataaha’s new edgy Andera Range is now available in the Gallery alongside their other big, bold and beautifully handcrafted jewellery. A dominant feature of this unisex collection are the chunky skulls that are either hung from matt onyx beads, are the stone to fiercely impressive rings or are upon crystal beads with fluorescent cord, adding some punchy colour. These ‘Skully Wag’ necklaces and ‘Skull Monarch’ rings are accompanied by the striking motifs on the ‘HiHo’ and ‘Leepar’ beads. The Andera Range is a dynamic accent to their existing collections that contain an abundance of semi-precious stones in gorgeous settings, uniquely elegant earrings and showy beaded neckpieces.

Some highly unique pieces include Pushmataaha’s take on a classic drop, the ‘Masai’ earrings, and the individually hand carved ‘Bellis’ earrings. The ‘Bellis’ earrings are innovative in their design as the studs and cups are interchangeable, meaning they not only complement but also incorporate anyone’s current jewellery collection. A Gallery favourite are the ‘Monarch’ rings that are in Pushmataaha’s Core Collection. These sterling silver and gold plate embellished pieces accentuate their bright and brilliant stones with the lavish frames their two available settings provide.

Recently seen draped on the likes of Jessie J and Ruby Rose, Pushmataaha continue to impress with their fabulous and funky designs. Combining an amazing ability to capture the feel of various ancient traditions from Egypt, Native America, India and elsewhere, and a flare for colour and texture, Pushmataaha are sure to add a touch of exuberance to anyone’s jewellery collection.

▶ PRESS: TODD FULLER ON THE ART LIFE

The new work by Todd Fuller for his upcoming exhibition 'Tense' was featured in New Work Friday #87 on the art life blog by Andrew Frost.

Fuller's exhibition will be on view starting Tuesday 2 August at Brenda May Gallery.

▶ TODD FULLER, OPENING 6 AUGUST

The much anticipated exhibition by TODD FULLER will be on view starting Tuesday 2 August 2011. Please join us for a drink to celebrate the launch of his first major solo exhibition on Saturday 6 August from 4-6pm.

Fuller's work is drawn from his own personal narrative as an untraditional Australian male, however his figures engage with the everyday pitfalls that are relevant to us all. Fuller's tiny, rotund men are many things, but mostly they are just in need of a good hug.

'Tense' is a show which brings together the artist's ongoing investigation into the notions of masculinity and a showcase for the cast of misfit male characters who have resulted. His leading men are potbellied, schadenfreude worthy ceramic figures who are also the stars of Fuller's captivating hand drawn animations.

Todd Fuller 'A Single Moment' 2011 bronze patina and ink on terracotta 47 x 29 x 17cm

▶ PRESS: TODD FULLER ON AUSTRALIAN ART COLLECTOR WEBSITE

▶ FOCUS ON: WARATAH LAHY

Canberra based artist Waratah Lahy creates works that parody human nature and cultural obsessions. In her last exhibition at the Gallery, entitled ‘Look’, Lahy presented scenes of people viewing artworks or taking photographs, but removed the object of their gaze. This interesting case of the observer becoming the observed reveals a humour in the way people interact with objects that they consider worthy of their attention, or even a photograph. Lahy explains “I am particularly interested in moments where a physical change is wrought through the mediated gaze of the camera, especially when people let their cameras capture an experience for them and their bodies twist and contort to capture the perfect shot.” In her work ‘Looking at a Work of Art II’ the fascination and bodily contortion that Lahy describes is present and reveals the hilarity in this obsession with capturing a moment. Also, in her work ‘Looking at the Mona Lisa II’, Lahy’s humorous approach to her subject matter is apparent as the image is a crowded group of heads, which is the view of the Mona Lisa that most people experience. The majority of these works were painted onto perspex, which is set forward from the wall, causing a shadow to appear that gives a physical depth to the work.

Lahy managed to fuse the iconic and the ironic with a collection of works featuring scenes of typical Australian culture. Caravans, road signs, ‘blokes’ and attractions are all given a new life on a small scale. In this series Lahy painted each image directly onto or inside glasses of varying shapes and sizes, utilising the convex nature of each glass to either insinuate distance or make the images seem as if they are jumping from their surface. The work ‘Big Mango’ is a perfect example of her technique and subject matter coming together to question stereotypes in a humorous way. Not only is Australia’s obsession with ‘Big’ tourist attractions characterised, but the clever use of both opposite sides of the glass’s surface means the Mango is small in size due to the sculpture’s physical dimensions, and even smaller as it is depicted as the backdrop to a holidaying woman. The big becomes small and the small becomes tiny revealing the power of the miniature, even when exploring subject matter of a huge scale.

Waratah Lahy, 'River Camp' 2007, oil on glass - 2 pieces

Extending beyond clear surfaces are Lahy’s drawings on brown craft paper, which manage to capture similar themes with a different effect, whilst still maintaining simplicity of form. As opposed to the figure either jumping forward from or receding into the circular glasses, or leaping from the shadowed perspex, these drawings cause the eye to fall down the page as if the drawing will drop out of the paper. This has been achieved through her sole use of vertical lines to create the image. Even though Lahy is using a more conventional medium that does not have the aspect of translucency to create movement and distance, these works do succeed in tricking the eye through technique. These drawings were also featured in her exhibition ‘Look’ and similarly characterise and focus on the viewer.

Top image: Waratah Lahy, 'Beer Bloke' 2006, oil on beer can on board, 21 x 8 x 1cm

▶ LUST - CURATED BY GORDON ELLIOTT, CLOSING 30 JULY

'Lust' an exhibition that presents a personal view of all that turns us on, curated by Gordon Elliott. Featuring Garth Knight's bound and suspended figures in his 'Change, Metamorphosis, Transformation' series, openly highlighting the sexual connotations associated with fetishism. In contrast, the ceramic and exotic faux fur 'LV' boots and bag by Julie Bartholomew and Daniel Linnet's brightly coloured photographs of fast luxury cars underlines our tendency to covet more material things.

▶ PRESS: TODD FULLER IN PEN & PAPER

Click the image above to download a PDF of the interview in 'Pen & Paper' magazine

Article excerpts:

What was your favourite thing to do when you were a kid?

Lets just say that sport and I did not find one another favourable. Instead, I remember spending a great deal of time doing similar things to what now constitutes my artist practice. I would construct worlds, characters and imaginative fantasies to keep myself amused (usually in the back of the family car at any number of my brothers sporting events). I would write and illustrate books as well as construct elaborate houses and cities for my toys. Most of all, there was always cartooning and drawing! You know that cool kid in the class who would dazzle everyone with a pencil? Well sadly I was not him, at least not to start with. But I was next to him, trying really really hard!


We LOVE your little men sculptures, are they the story tellers of your feelings and thoughts?

My little guys are many things, some are alter egos which I dare to let loose on the world, others are manifestations of memories or exaggerations of observations from life.They are all male and tend to be bald and round in all the right places.They are all absurd. After all, it is not everyday you encounter a fat man in a bunny suit or tutu sneaking around a park. On the other hand they are very average and are just express- ing the implications of experiences which are quite regular and everyday. I want people to experience a whole plethora of emotions as they spy on my tiny fellas, they are funny and they are cute, but they are also trapped in moments that are designed to trigger contemplation and speculation. Most of all, they are just huggable, loveable blokes.

Congratulations to your success on your upcoming first solo show at Brenda May Gallery! Could you tell us more about the show?

The show is titled 'tense' and is an ambitious exhibition which will span both spaces at Brenda May Gallery. I don't want to give away to many surprises but this show will see a section of the gallery completely transformed into a quirky cinematic experience. For a few years I have been developing my own style of animation, but never before have my films been screened in this way.This show will be the premiere for some new films, story lines and characters but it will also see some old favourites used in a new manner. Apart from the screening area, the remainder of the space will be presenting my sculptures and drawings. These drawings are created through this process of animation. while the sculptures are the leading men from my films in the third dimension. I have constructed this whole exhibition like a play or at the least, one of my films. It will be filled with moments of tension and melancholy and others of comic relief with protagonists and antagonists. It has been an exciting process pulling it all together.

▶ PRESS: 'LUST' IN SX MAGAZINE

▶ JEWELLER SPOTLIGHT: DEBRA TAYLOR

Some things are better left unsaid, and this is where Debra Taylor’s porcelain pendants are perfect to tell it like it is without a word spoken. Often receiving a bit of a giggle, Taylor’s pendants feature captions that range from sentimental and endearing to witty and cheeky, all offering a way to express one’s self or the opinion of another. Taylor is usually seen wearing one of her quirky pendants and remarks “Passers-by will strain to read what you have to say before you disappear into the crowd. I've often wanted to say 'Go on, ask me!'…” The black and white pendants are completed with industrial-looking stainless steel cords.

Accompanying the pendants at the Gallery are Taylor’s porcelain bangles that have a smooth matt finish, contrasted with coloured high-lustre dots. These concave dots flicker across the bangles, giving these chunky pieces personality and texture. 

Taylor has been working as a ceramicist for eighteen years and her jewellery range is only one section of her ceramic repertoire.  At the Gallery we stock her dimpled jugs and cups that also feature her sweet and tongue-in-cheek commentary. The glossy inside can be either coloured or plain, as with the text. The dimple-like grooves mean the pieces nestle comfortably between the thumb and the palm of one’s hand.  The cups, jugs and the pendants can be customised to display personalised text, making them ideal for gifts or marking a special occasion.

▶ NEW IN THE STOCKROOM: MYLYN NGUYEN 'BOTTLE A TREE + GIRL'

Mylyn Nguyen, 'Bottle A Tree + Girl' series 2011, glass bottle, dirt, sponge, twig, w/c + ink on paper, 8.5 x 4 x 3cm variable each

Now available in the Gallery stockroom are twelve new additions to the 'Bottle A Tree + Girl' series by Mylyn Nguyen. The series was first shown as part of her 2010 solo exhibition Into the woods, past the giant, down the well, over the golden hay. The small sculptures embody Nguyen's sense of playfulness in her work and one features the greenish bear character that was introduced in her 2009 exhibition The amazing magicool journey of bear and me and the friends we met along the way. Both of Nguyen's pets (a cat and a dog) are illustrated in new pieces which are appropriately titled 'Bottle A Tree & Girl + One'

▶ STOCKROOM HIGHLIGHT: TANMAYA BINGHAM ‘AMALGAMATION’

Intricately detailed images perfectly executed are characteristic of Tanmaya Bingham’s artistic practice. An ode to this is her work ‘Amalgamation’, part of a 2009 series of the same title. In this work she unites the multiple stages of human life to create one all encapsulating form. This autobiographical work is laden with symbolism that combines her childhood, adolescence and adulthood into a hybrid human that, despite it’s distortion and personal connection, has a universal quality in its nature. The most salient feature suggesting a combination of selves are the eyes, which have shadowed multiple sets demanding attention through their direct gazes. This insinuates that this figure is looking at the world through the eyes of her past, present, and perhaps, future.


The luminescent body that extends across the stark black background in ‘Amalgamation’ simultaneously contains an alien, human and spiritual quality in its form and placement. A lead that extends from her belt is connected to a hybrid creature that her left hand affectionately hovers over. The other hand is outreached, acting as a vector line towards a small grave. On the figure’s left shoulder a manifestation of self is comfortably perched. A connection to place is visually revealed as the figure’s body melds into her surroundings, creating ambiguities between the body and the land through the use of colour and symbolism. Bingham has used coloured pencil across a painted black background to create this highly emotive and unarguably skilful amalgamation of her selves.

Left: Tanmaya Bingham, 'Amalgamation' 2009, colour pencil, mixed media on board, 242 x 120cm

▶ 'LUST' CURATOR, GORDON ELLIOTT, ON EASTSIDE RADIO

Tune in today around 5pm to Eastside Radio, 89.7 FM to listen to the curator of 'Lust', Gordon Elliot, talk about the exhibition. 

'Lust' is on view at Brenda May Gallery until the 30th of July.

▶ CONVERSATIONS: HAS SYDNEY LOST ITS PLACE AS THE ARTS CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA?

▶ NEW IN THE STOCKROOM: SYBIL CURTIS 'LOTS OF STEEL'

'Lots of Steel' by Sybil Curtis is a new addition to the Gallery stockroom that hails from the Inside Outside series and features her technique of layered perspective. Her compositions document without being literal and her work preserves the industrial spaces that are quickly disappearing. Within the contemporary visual arts, these buildings have particular relevance as they are often reclaimed as venues for public display with the famous example being the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern, London and local examples of the Biennale on Cockatoo Island and the Danks Street complex in Waterloo. In her recent exhibition, Curtis displayed paintings of the buildings on Cockatoo Island used by the Biennale (pictured left) within the Danks Street complex, establishing a metaphoric layering of artistic space much like the perspectival layering within her works.

Sybil Curtis, 'Lots of Steel' 2011, oil on linen, 100 x 100cm

▶ LEZLIE TILLEY NEWCASTLE MURAL PROJECT

Lezlie Tilley has recently designed and facilitated a mural project that was painted by second-year students of the Newcastle Art School. The murals are based on her series Pages from an A-less Novel, a methodical work that exemplifies the labour-intensive process that is central to her practice. The series began with Tilley going through the novel Casey and tracing each letter 'a' on paper. She then connected the dots to create abstract geometric shapes. The students reproduced her designs working freehand on the large panels using both projections and templates to recreate the series.

▶ JEWELLER SPOTLIGHT: IGGY & LOU LOU

Iggy & Lou Lou’s handcrafted jewellery collections incorporate images that range from delicate and feminine to humorous and bizarre. Both the series’ ‘Ships In The Night’ and ‘Love Bandits’ feature bluebirds that hark back to the traditional bluebird jewellery many people receive as children, but do so with a modern twist via the medium. These nostalgic pieces come in a few different variations on a theme, all equally as charming.

Accompanying the bluebirds in ‘Ships In The Night’ and ‘Love Bandits’ are bold coloured anchors, a cat with a heart-shaped patch and a gun shooting love. Other collections are similar in style, but explore themes of romance, masquerade, adventure, nature and the prehistoric.

As described by Iggy & Lou Lou, their process of creation is “drawing on the history of porcelain (as) each piece is fired up to four separate times.” The porcelain pendants that feature the sweet and quirky motifs are hung on delicate sterling silver chains, some accompanied with sterling silver ornaments.

▶ 2011 NOOSA TRAVELLING SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS

Congratulations are in order for our represented artist, Todd Fuller, and exhibiting artists Irianna Kanellopoulou and Jacek Wankowski who are all finalists in the 2011 Noosa Travelling Scholarship.

▶ INTERVIEW WITH GORDON ELLIOTT, CURATOR OF LUST

Lust is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and often carries a sexual connotation. What does lust mean to you and how is it explored in this exhibition?

Lust takes on many forms. We can lust after material goods, food, money, fashion, life itself or the one that generally comes to mind, the lust for flesh and the body.

By taking a wider view of the topic, it allows artists to explore their feelings, attitudes and concepts in creating their works and shows the inner self or the secrets we all have inside.


What was the first work you selected for 'Lust' and in what way did it inform the rest of your selection?

Rather than select a work for the show, my focus was on the artists that I wanted to include in the exhibition. I was looking for established as well as emerging artists and I had to be confident that the artists selected would be able to create works highlighting their talents and also make an appropriate work relevant to the theme. As I am fortunate to visit many places due to other work commitments, I am often able to visit galleries and artists studios across Australia and New Zealand. I am always on the lookout for exceptional art and keep files on artists I come across whose work I like. I draw from this bank of knowledge when I am thinking about curating an exhibition. I then draw up a list and approach the galleries that represent that artist and the process of inviting them to be part of the show begins.

With all the artists who are involved in ‘Lust’, I had previously viewed their work in galleries and visited their studios to see how and where they worked. I think this personal knowledge of the artist assists with bringing the show together.

Left: Bernice Davies, '1913 Nudes' 2011, acrylic on canvas - diptych, 167 x 182cm
Right: Dan Gladden, 'Cut Out 1' 2010, acrylic and spray paint on board, 121 x 83cm

What has been your biggest challenge while curating 'Lust'?

Time is always the biggest challenge for any exhibition. Planning ahead helps, as does good documentation which I find keeps me on track. I keep in touch with the artists on a regular basis, mostly to find out if they need assistance or information that I may be able to provide. I try to make it as easy as possible for both the gallery and the artists by keeping both informed and to attempt to collate all the information prior to the installation day.


What is your approach to the install of the exhibition?

Installation is a hard task at any time but for a group exhibition is it generally harder. As the works are by a variety of artists and the size, style and materials are all different, the trick is to work these components together to give the show the most visual impact for the viewer. Certain works will be located together to highlight part of the theme and others will need to stand alone. Size is not always the main issue as small works can give just as much impact to the show,

The works will be displayed differently: on the wall, shelves, plinths etc and these factors also affect the install process. Finally, each work needs the appropriate lighting so it shines.

Left: Julian Meagher (Represented by Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney), 'Hitting on all eight' 2011, oil on linen, 140 x 92cm
Right: Todd Fuller, 'Lust' 2011, flocked terracotta, 44 x 66 x 34cm

You have a very impressive art collection. Did you curate your own collection following similar themes you explore in 'Lust'?

I have been collecting art for almost 15 years now and the works I have at home are all pieces I love. Over time, both my eye has changed as well as the amount I am prepared to pay for the art I love, so the collection has undergone several lives. Loosely, the collection revolves around ‘Figure in a Landscape’ as a broad curatorial basis. One thing I make a point of doing is to follow the career of the artists I love and to select good quality works from a number of their exhibitions across all of the mediums they may employ.

It's rare a collector that can stick to the one theme and I am no exception. There is also a small side area of artworks with ‘Dogs’ as the theme. They are so much easier to look after than the real thing and they don’t even need walking! I have to add though, that it doesn't make up for the unconditional love a dog will give you every time you walk in the room.


What prompted you to begin collecting art? And what are some of your favourite pieces in your collection?

I had been interested in art for a long time but never had the opportunity to do much about it. I purchased a new house and decided that only ORIGINAL art would hang on the walls. After a long interval, the first few works were purchased and it has grown from there. Once I decided that this was a great path to follow, I did more and more research and have continued this search for knowledge ever since.

I have several works that are favourites as well as several favourite artists who I continue to follow. For me, it is a bit like selecting your favourite child, however, I can say that I have several works by James Gleeson, Rick Amor and Euan Macleod, who are all well established artists and several works by Julian Meagher and Todd Fuller who are extremely talented emerging artists. My collecting days are far from over and I expect the collection to evolve and change as I continue my journey into art.