Art News from the Gallery

Our current exhibition Beauty In the Beast, photographs by Gary Steer, opened on Wednesday 9th May. The keynote address was given by Stephanie Hart of the Taronga Foundation, who gave a wonderful talk about Gary Steers, particularly his work with the animals from the Zoo. The exhibition of animal portraiture and landscapes is part of the Head on Photo Festival currently running throughout Sydney and continues until Friday 18th May so if you haven't seen it yet make sure to come down and visit. 

Felicity Martin, Ruth Law, Gary Steer, Stephanie Hart

                                                                     Max & Linda Jones, Jenny Piper

Gary also gave an artist talk on Saturday 12th, taking everyone through his photography practice and guiding them around  his exhibition piece by piece. We had a great crowd and it was a wonderful way to see the exhibition and get an insight into all the intriguing places Gary has visited.

 Next Exhibition will be Pamela Fairburn's show, Water Stories, from the Shores of Lane Cove. Opening Night Drinks will be on the Friday 25th May from 6pm.Pamela is a Sydney Watercolour and Mixed Media Artist with over 30 years experience in Art and Art Education. She has a Bachelor of Education (Art), Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts and has taught Art in high schools, Special Education, Painting Workshops at Combined Art Societies Meroo Kurrajong, Bathurst Mitchell Art School. She formed the local art group “Woodford Bay Art Group” in 1986 and tutors in her studio at Longueville Sydney.

She has won many art awards and has been shown in many group and solo exhibitions. She is a Member of Lane Cove Art Society and is an Exhibiting Member of Royal Art Society. Pamela organises and leads art tours and workshops here in Australia and overseas. Pamela Fairburn’s recent mixed media paintings showing here explore the concept of Time and Tide, History, Place and Relationships. She is a “water person”, loves the beaches, surf, sailing and living close to the harbour, and water has always fascinated her. It is a recurring theme over her many years painting. In these new works her subject is based on the watery environments of harbour bays. The symbolism of floating leaves and harbour waters relates to the human condition, stories of past inhabitants and Impermanence, Fragility and Continuity of Life. Experimental watercolour combined with hot wax, encaustic, wax pastels, dry pigments and collage are used on handmade papers. These unite to form floating images and layered textures. Bush, mudflats, rockpools, flora and fauna of the Northern shores of Sydney are explored and celebrated. Her trip to Japan last year influenced her art work. She travelled there just after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. There was shock, sadness and disbelief there but the people still celebrated the beauty of the “Sakura”….cherry blossoms! The meditative atmosphere and Zen’s “being in the moment”, capturing the “Essence” and “Meaning” has become all important. It is also seen in her materials; the fine fragile handmade “washi” papers… rice, mulberry, wood fibres and bamboo. The compositions and formats are similar to scrolls and Japanese screens and much of her brushwork, monoprinting techniques, and use of gold and silver have close links to Asian Art. Her interest in textiles and hot wax Batik printing is also displayed in these paintings. Pamela loves exploring the foreshores of Lane Cove, Northwood, Greenwich, Longueville, Woodford Bay and Tambourine Bay. She finds sheltered rockpools, washed up treasures, flotam and jetsam, angophora gums dipping into the ripples on the water’s edge, light changing on the water and watches the wading birds on the mangrove flats so close to the city. The role of the story teller is an old one. Through her paintings Pamela paints the stories of her imaginary watery world, looking back through time to where others have been before, and where we are now. Nature and Life continues to flourish around our foreshores, quietly but celebratory…..the story continues.


The exhibition continues until 8 June, make sure you see the amazing talent of this local artist.

Gallery News

We have been very busy in Gallery Lane Cove. Teaching Art a curated exhibition of work by our teachers and artists from Centrehouse Arts Centre has just finished after a three week show along with some great free artist talks by David Pavich, Jane Blundell and Marie James. 

Coming up we have a packed schedule! First up is artXtra the annual show by the Lane Cove Art Society, it will be showing over the weekend of the 4-6th May for 3 days only so you will have to be quick. We will have the opening night with drinks on Friday 4th May at 6pm.

2011 Winner of the Lyod Rees Prize

Next up is a collection of photographic by Gary Steer Beauty In The Beast, which is part of the Head on Photo Festival which will be held throughout Sydney from May to early June and includes 200 events in 100 venues. The emphasis of the festival is on the genre of portraiture and Gary challenges the traditional idea of the portrait, using non-humans as the model or muse. 

Gary finds animals are excellent models as ‘there is no need to dress them for the shoot as they have their own fashion colours and some of them, particularly birds, have their own millinery’.  He wanted to show their intrinsic beauty, to capture their character, even the personality of some of them, and to present them with dignity.Working particularly at Taronga's Sydney and Western Plains Zoos and visiting the National Zoo Canberra, Adelaide Zoo and Mogo Zoo, Gary has captured the exotic and the fierce, from the baboon, gorilla chimpanzee, gibbon, zebra, giraffe, meerkat and lion.

Portrait of the King, Gary Steer

The exhibition opens on Tuesday 8 May, with the Drinks on Wednesday, 9 May from 6pm. The exhibition runs through to Friday 18 May and Gary will be available for a free artists talk on Saturday 12 May from
11am, where you can get the inside story to his art practice. 

We have just launched the new Lane Cove Library Sculpture Plinth which is part of the Lane Cove Council Public Art Strategy. We are currently displaying "Little Boxes" a mixed media sculpture by Laura Carey an artist and teacher at Centrehouse Arts Centre. If your interested in displaying work you can email us at: centrehouse@bigpond.com

We look forward to seeing you in the gallery over the next couple of weeks.