Exhibitions

Vicki Varvaressos’ works emphasize her inner feelings and emotions over objective depictions. Her dramatic figures contrast with a limited palette applied in broad, loaded brush strokes. After twenty years as a renowned figurative artist, her style eased its way into abstraction, and since then Vicki continues to work in both styles, with some paintings seemingly transitioning in-between.

Kaye Johnston's bug drawings come from a weird part of her brain in which her bug community reside. They are based on biology and have biomorphic forms. They are all individual with different personalities and could live in all geographical locations from extreme hot volcanic niches, the desert, to cold polar areas and even under water. They are often concerned with social and political issues such as sexism, racism, homophobia, misogyny and the environmental.

?The streets of the Japanese port of Uno were the starting point for this exhibition based around roads, pavements and distinctively crafted manhole covers. Japanese design and iconography are blended in works which are visual hybrids of cast iron, concrete, tarmac and weathered paint.

Nature and memory meld in the works of Warwick Francis and Judy Panucci, two great friends who enjoy sharing their art practice and its connection with their lived and imagined worlds. Through collaboration, experimentation, contemplation and frustration both Shoalhaven based artists explore these personal yet universal themes.

For Guy Warren personal experience and memory are vitally important, intertwining with subject matter across his works. Certain events and places had such strong impact that they appear constantly throughout the paintings, prints and drawings Warren has produced over the past six decades.
A canoeing trip down the Shoalhaven River Warren undertook in 1939, at the age of sixteen, and a block of land at the head of the Jamberoo valley on which Warren built a shed have both been integral to his practice. Images of the river, canoe and the ‘hut on the hill,’ all imbued with memories and fantasies, are a strong presence throughout his works and the complex overlapping of form found within the rainforest has impacted depth and patterning across his entire oeuvre.

Do people create place or places create people? Perhaps we exist in a constantly evolving conversation with our environment. Do places have to exist physically or can they be imaginary? Plaception presents new and past works by Shoalhaven artist Elyssa Sykes-Smith that translate the expressive qualities of the figure in relation to architecture, exploring form, space and movement.

Paper, Scissors, Rock explores the nuances of the ancient Chinese hand game. Although there appears to be a distinct hierarchy among these three objects, neither is more privileged than the others. The outcome of the game is always dependant on the juxtaposition of the objects. The artists were invited to push the boundaries of traditional jewellery and to utilise their diverse sculptural practises to translate their work towards ‘wearable art’, presenting their final works in the medium of their choice.

Faces Behind the Music is a series of black and white portraits of contemporary Australian singers, songwriters and musicians. The majority of the portraits were shot in the subjects’ homes or surrounds, allowing the artists to portray themselves as they wished to be. In this series, Budge aimed to capture the person, not the celebrity.

Curated and presented by Shoalhaven residents, Jenny Robertson, Sue McCauley and Michael Buckley, Shared Pathways: Reimagining the Wool Road, emerges out of many years of research, community consultation and creative exploration. Drawing on personal histories, this exhibition explores the largely unknown story of how the Yuin people assisted the European Settlers. Their help guided them to discover the best place to establish the road from the mountain to the sea.

An exhibition showcasing 2018 HSC Visual art from across the Shoalhaven. NEW HORIZONS presents exciting, innovative and high quality art in diverse mediums. Shoalhaven Regional Gallery is proud to continue an ongoing partnership with the Department of Education and Communities. Schools participating this year are Bomaderry High School, Kiama High School, Nowra Anglican College, Nowra High School, Shoalhaven High School, St John the Evangelist Catholic High School and Vincentia High School.

Five textile artists interpret the theme Off the Beaten Track, providing a starting point from which the concept of difference can be explored. The works produced have historical and contemporary references. Some artists use unusual techniques in a traditional manner, while others use traditional techniques in unusual ways.

A bi-annual open art competition that helps to raise awareness of mental health and illness in the Shoalhaven region. This competition is open to all living in the Shoalhaven region regardless of having a mental illness or not. The aim is to reduce prejudice, discrimination and stigma in the community and create hope for persons with any mental health issues. The theme for 2019, Vital Connections highlights the importance of people and connections in personal recoveries .

The Forest stands quietly in the Gallery space, reminiscent of a forest after a fire or the stillness found during an early morning bush walk. An installation of freestanding Sumi Ink and paper tubes 2 metres high form a forest. This exhibition highlights Hancock’s concerns regarding deforestation and the subsequent loss of rainfall associated with the practice of clear felling. These works of immense beauty create a moving memorial to the lost Great Forests of the planet.

Unspoken Words is a series of figurative paintings and drawings which explore an emotional response to the female form and the landscape. An imagined narrative is entwined in the landscape and a recurring theme of animals, music, and women run through the works. The imaginary joins reality in this quirky, illustrative exhibition. The artist’s technique of using a limited colour palette helps to create an underlying sense that we are all alone in some way, that there is a secret part of us that no one knows.