6th May – 22nd May 2016
Opening: Friday 6th May at 6pm.
Back to Back Galleries Presents new work from Newcastle’s Athena group of Artists:
Faye Collier, Helene Leane, Jeanne Harrison, Julie Anne Ure, Pat Davison, Sandra Burgess, Sue Stewart, Varelle Hardy and Bronwyn Grieve.
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in-what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Miserable
A defining feature of our group is its diversity, both the variety of media its members work with and, consequently a broad range of approaches. In the Exhibition “From the Garden” Athena artists explore a range of ideas inspired by gardens, interpreted through a variety of 2D & 3D works including ceramic works, collage, painting, printmaking, soft sculptures and works using fabric and wax.
Sandra Burgess works in ceramics influenced by the forms of leaves, pods and flowers, and the way in which shoots spring from seeds.
Faye Collier explores the shapes and textures from her wild and eclectic garden (in which she loves to play) using Keane’s Lumina clay.
Helene Leane creates prints inspired by native flowers.
Jeanne Harrison uses collagraph prints to show her love of the garden where, as plants grow, animals and birds visit, she watches and lives in the present. ‘In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death’ Sam Llewelyn
Julie-Anne Ure investigates these ‘fertile themes and historic roots’ with three paintings of very different kinds of gardens with sylph, siren and guardian entwined with our distinctly Australian flora and fauna, explores the very elements of life (including sex, death and beauty) which are endlessly played out in the duel and duet between human beings and nature.
Sue Stewart has made vases, many Ikebana style, to encourage people to follow the advice from Margaret Ollie ‘You can spend your whole lifetime cleaning the house.If the house looks dirty, buy another bunch of flowers, is my advice’.
Pat Davidson explores with fabric and wax the deceptive changing, contained perfect world of the waterlily pond and its’ layers, patterns of plants, found at The Hunter Region Botanical Garden where she works as a volunteer.
Varelle Hardy used various papers, fabrics, and drawing to produce a group of mixed media collages ‘From the Garden’.
Bronwyn Grieve through soft sculptures presents some of the birds we love to encourage into our gardens.
