Third Annual Sculpture Show and Growing!

The Third Dimension

25 September to 20 December 2011

When Jayes Gallery decided in 2009 to create the first ever annual Sculpture Exhibition for Cabonne Country, they weren't aware just how big these events can be! Inspired by the thought of providing a viable and commercial space for sculptors to show and sell their works, Jayes Gallery set up the outdoor garden area to house these large pieces. The number of art lovers now coming to Jayes to see and purchase large works is inspiring indeed.

This year, although the number of sculptures remains the same, the stature and renown of the sculptors included in the exhibition has increased and the standard of works has therefore increased substantially as well.

Extending the exhibition to include 3D objects has added another dimension to this year's event. Jewelers Sarah Whitlock and Skye Bragg, each with their own beautifully crafted pieces will surely delight those coming along. Ceramicists Simon Reece, Sugden Hamilton and Marjo Carter have produced exceptional works for this year's event. Add to these, large glassworks by Joe Shalhoub to add to the temptation of coming to Jayes Gallery and Sculpture Gardens in Molong.

Just a sneak peek past ceramic blades by Simon Reece to the marble works of Hutchinson.

14 sculptors, 2 silversmiths, 4 ceramicists, 2 glassworkers - 22 3D artists in all!

The show will be opened by Orange Regional Gallery Director, Alan Sisley on Sunday September 25 at 2 pm and everyone is welcome on the day. We look forward to bringing another stunning show of sculptures and 3D works to the region for art lovers and alike.

"Elemental Sky" by Aida Pottinger

"Reflections" Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 50 cm x 70 cm

Artist’s Statement – Aida Pottinger

My mother was a Latvian refugee who fled the Russian invasion of Latvia into Germany and from there; she went as a refugee to England where she met my father. I was conceived in Lancashire and was born in Yorkshire where I was neither English nor Latvian. This exhibition tracks the landscapes linking mother and daughter. A powerful and emotional journey through war and migration, connecting Europe, England and Australia together. Land has a powerful hold over one’s identity. It is part memory, part anchor, part mystery. Peter Haynes, Director of ACT Museums and Galleries describes my work as “highly atmospheric, dream-like presentation with an air of mystery and nostalgia which captures the veils of memory”

I work in a variety of mediums including oils acrylics and ink and while working with a particular location in mind I am not bound by an exact recreation – I prefer to let intuition and the medium dictate what happens on the surface, exploring images which arrest the eye and are arrived at spontaneously. Working from life and landscape as a jumping off point. I like to push the source material to capture an atmosphere or mood visually echoing memories and emotions. My work emerges out of a landscape I may be working on and is a subconscious recognition of how the earth gives birth, nurtures, sustains and eventually reclaims the life on it.

My interests in composition, atmosphere and light reflect several of my artistic influences. First is the tradition of romantic landscape and the obvious influences of JMW Turner and Caspar David Friedrich.  A second direct influence on my work are the works of  Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, who explored spatial structure and resonant colours in their abstract works. My work continues in these traditions by constructing landscapes that directly and meaningfully resonate to the viewers’ presence and engagement.

"Birdsong" by Lucy Watts

"Quenching the morning's thirst" Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 45 cm x 45 cm

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

The beautiful Australian Magpie has always inspired me. As a young girl I clearly remember looking through an enormous arch shaped window of a very old building onto towering gum trees. I was searching for the group of magpies that were making the most heavenly sound. I had just started in the junior school choir at the time and we practised once or twice a week. I thought “These birds are incredible. Here they are throwing together a complex choral masterpiece on a whim from the trees when we, in the school choir, were struggling to hold a two-part harmony.”

Much later I learned that these stunning bird songs were actually battle tunes performed to assert territorial dominance but at the time their music seemed like a glorious celebration of the Australian bush. It’s hard to imagine a bush setting like this without the melodious warbling of the Australian Magpie. This idea of the magpie song celebrating Australia’s natural beauty is the inspiration behind this exhibition.

The remote property where we live is in the Central Western farming district of NSW. Our garden drops away to a patchwork of endless plains that move with the seasons. The quilt of paddocks is set against a backdrop of deep blue mountains. In the early morning members of the huge colony of magpies that have made our garden and paddocks beyond their home, play in the garden together. They teach their young to fly from the nearby power-lines. For hours they supervise their young as they copy the technique their parents have displayed earlier. They duck and weave among the trees, dance under our sprinkler and warble atop our Hills Hoist. Their antics never fail to entertain and fascinate me.

My intention with this body of work has been to capture the personality, energy and texture of these wonderful creatures.