Current Exhibition

"You and I"

Mother and daughter Leigh and Nell Pearson have been sharing a studio for the past several weeks with the intention of producing a new body of work for this, their first joint show. If daughter credits mother for inspiration in her formative years, mother more than repays the compliment.We can all join Leigh in being inspired and intimidated by Nell's enormous talent and by the sensitivity she shows her subject - this all the more remarkable since she is still so young.Both artists credit their "adored teacher and greatest mentor" Michael John Taylor as their most valuable source of inspiration and wisdom, and so it is not surprising that both create romantic, narrative compositions. Themes of love, longing and connectedness run through the work of both artists. In Leigh's case the lone figure speaks volumes. She is ill at ease, awkward in a world where objects take on a less than benign presence. In Nell's paintings, the discordant tangling of limb on limb, the erased mouth, the 'misplaced' eye, point towards an elusive meeting, a transient connectedness.This a powerful show not to be missed. 

Opens Friday 27th November. 6.00 pm for drinks

See Leigh Pearson's work here and Nell Pearson's here

Nell and Leigh painting in their studio

Forthcoming Exhibition

"Small Town Girl" 

Bring on the fanfare, beat the drums, a small town girl is going to make a big splash at Art Piece gallery next Friday 11th December.
Now don't expect a sparsely hung, spacious show, all hush, hush and posh. No, no, no. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, paintings stacked up six deep - that's what it will take to contain (wrong word, wrong word), the prolific work of Mandy Nolan.
And if you want to know how she does it - stand up comic, columnist, compare and auctioneer, mother, cook, cleaner, office manager and artist, well I am privy to all the secrets and on Friday 11th I shall tell you a story.
Suffice it to say that all those glossy mags, stylists and interior decorators have got it spectacularly wrong. You want to be a creative genius? Well keep a saxophone in the bathroom, an easel in the kitchen, a voice recorder in the bedroom and a dance floor in the spare room.
So here you go - this is an invitation to all you secret painters, you budding novelists and night time poets, you bathroom divas and itchy footed dancers. Friday 11th December, we're having us a party, a xmas shindig at Art Piece Gallery, in the larger than life company of our beloved Small Town Girl, the one and only Mandy Nolan.
Small Town Girl - dozens and dozens of paintings by Mandy Nolan at Art Piece Gallery Friday 11th December at 6.00pm, if not earlier.

 Previous Exhibitions

"About a Tree"

An exhibition of paintings and prints by three local artists inspired by and about trees…..
Exhibition runs from 17th September till 30th September

David Kas, Robyn Sweaney and Christine Willcocks present their response to trees, alluding to matters ecological, mythological, allegorical and spiritual.

Robyn’s heart shaped trees and topiariesbring romanticism to the conversation, while the stark beauty ofChristine’s austere and sparse works resoundingly point the finger at anecology under siege. David’s work calls on the romantic and abiding spiritual symbolism of trees– the Persian Haoma in which the sap confers eternal life, the Tree ofKnowledge with its painful implication of lost innocence and itsChinese and Biblical apogee, the altogether more vital and affirmingTree of Life.

The power of the tree as giver and sustainer of life is an inspirationfor all three artists and all celebrate its function as a symbol bothof renewal and of connection – connection between heaven and earth, asmuch as connection between life in its myriad forms.

In the analysis of dreams, trees typically symbolize a need for protection and stability and one may sense in some of Christine’s fragile, windswept images, an echo of our own fragility.

Rooted securely in the earth, trees reach toward the heavens. Allacross the planet, trees – in a wonderful profusion of form andfunction – literally hold the world together.

Trees are among Earth’s longest- lived organisms; their lives spanperiods of time that extend far beyond our existence, experience, andmemory. Trees are remarkable beings. Yet they stand like extras inlife’s drama, always there as backdrops to the ever-changing actionaround them, so familiar and omnipresent that we barely take notice ofthem. 

-  David Suzuki from Tree a biography by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady

Click to download exhibition catalogue

"5 Baths a Day in Shades of Paynes Grey"

NikkyMorgan Smith presents a series of delightful and amusing paintings in acombination of raw and worked surface, colour and expressive line. Nikky is wrestling with the ideas of ambiguity - absence or presence,reality or imaginings - and a state of overwhelm, expressed through thesymbol of overflowing waters. The inability to constrain emotion issuggested by the overflowing bath. But does this emotional releaseprovide respite, or does it on the contrary lead to ever-deeper waters?Waving or drowning…. These are questions posed by Nikky’s paintings.

Nikky Morgan Smith has grown up surrounded by art.  Her father, JohnSmith is a senior lecturer at the School of Arts at the Southern CrossUniversity and her mother is Shelagh Morgan, a well respected printmaker and mixed media artist.

But Nikky is already making her own mark in the art world, with successful exhibitions in Brisbane and Melbourne under her belt.

Her abandoned tricycles, ghost birds, rain and bathtubs are a visualpoetry that seems at first glance witty and whimsical, but mask a moredifficult, unsettling story.

5 Baths a Day in Shades of Paynes Grey opens at the Art Piece Gallerywith a preview evening at 6pm on Friday 22 May and runs until Friday 5June 2009

View Nikky Morgan Smith's exhibition gallery online

"Trinity"

Easter is a good time to reflect on the three principles of mind, body, spirit.  Our religions and philosophies, our longings and our loves, our music and our art: all are an attempt at bringing us inexorably back to ONE. The exhibiting artists were asked to respond to the idea of trinity. They were at liberty to take the word at face value and simply play with the number three, at the most basic level by providing three works of equal size, which can be looked at independly of each other, or together as one. Or they were free to explore notions of unity and division and thereby aim - glorious aim - to tap into the power of art to reveal blessed moments of wholeness, harmony and radiance and so fulfill art's ultimate possibility - to transcend, to transform, to enlighten........

"Celebrate"

A celebration of the gallery's second birthday, featuring a series of birthday cake paintings by  Hilary Herrmann, as well as a motley assortment of joyous works by supporting artists, Lei Lei Joy, Heidi Tansey, John Giese, Stephen Phibbs, Nikky Morgan Smith and more

View the online exhibition gallery

"Erosion of Memory"

September 2008 saw the return to Mullumbimby of a long lost son.Internationally recognised artist and academic, Dr Kurt Brereton isholding a solo exhibition of paintings at Art Piece Gallery.

Kurt's parents Kevin and Janet taught art at Mullumbimby High Schooland opened the first commercial art gallery on the far north coast inthe 1960s. Kurt has followed in his parent's footsteps teaching atvarious universities in Australia. In 2000 Brereton resigned as a fullacademic to concentrate on his art career. With now over a dozen soloexhibitions around the country Brereton's work is in high demand fromlocal and international collectors.Recently returned from a New Yorksolo exhibition, Brereton will be showing paintings focusing on hisearly years growing up at New Brighton beside the beach. The exhibitiontitled Erosion of Memory is made up of large and small abstract andfigurative works. Kurt notes that the title of this show is his homageto the memory of his late mother Janet who won the National Craft Awardin 1975 with a fibre artwork by the same title. "A flood of vividmemories come back to me every time I return" Kurt says. Growing up ina creative family meant that a constant stream of influences fed hiscreative and intellectual education. "Famous artists, poets, musiciansand even politicians were frequent visitors to our home and gallerythroughout my childhood."

Brereton's luscious oils draw on the beauty of the local coastalenvironment. What is historically forgotten with the passage of time isalso a driving force throughout this show. Rich colours pull you intothe fine detailed layers composed of half remembered people and halfforgotten events. Brereton's paintings are iconic and yet intimate.Close forensic inspection is rewarded with small fragments of imagesbeing revealed. Brereton's paintings also remind us of what is beinglost with the rapid impact of global warming on sea level rise, beacherosion and climate change. Growing up amongst Pandanus palm groves,mangroves and littoral rainforest on the Brunswick River, Brereton iskeenly aware of what has already disappeared or is under threat. Yetthis is not a gloomy exhibition. There is a healthy sense of humourrunning throughout the show. "There were many funny and bizarre eventsin my childhood" Kurt remembers. "My father once dressed me up as JesusChrist complete with Crown of Thorns and a life size wooden cross whichI had to drag around the front yard while he sketched me for The 14Stations of the Cross". The neighbours must have thought we werecompletely bonkers!"

This exhibition clearly displays a fascinating childhood spent in asubtropical paradise setting. Kurt adds that he feels very privilegedto have grown up in a place and a time that saw the emergence of avibrant culture that now attracts thousands of people to the regionevery year. "My parents were young Beat Generation visionaries fromMelbourne who saw the potential of the region as an art and music hubin the early sixties" Kurt reflects. "The later 70's Hippy invasionfollowed in their footsteps and I remember the first prime movers ofthe Aquarius movement visiting my parents for survival tips". Now basedin Sydney and Wollongong Kurt Brereton is Adjunct Professor in CreativeArts at the University of Technology and the University of the SunshineCoast. Kurt Brereton is represented by De Havilland Gallery inAustralia and Rivergarden Gallery in New York.

"One for the Boys"

One for the Boys is an exhibition featuring art, textiles and sculptureinspired by fast cars, star guitars, best mates and more. There is nosugar or spice to be found here.

The art will include dogs from renowned artist John Giese. Undeniably striking paintings, they represent canines as metaphors forhuman beings and our journey through life.  They are decorative andindividual and at once scarred but possessed with a physicalconfidence.  The works address issues of maleness and aspects of self. 

Stephen Phibbs will be exhibiting some of his oil paintings of thestricken vessel, ‘the Cherry Venture’ which grounded at Teewah in acyclone in 1973.  Having been fascinated with the vessel for manyyears, Stephen says, “its hulking, rusting, yet sleek shape became anirrestible draw.”  The resulting artworks depict a grand vessel thathas succumbed to the elements, while after lying on a beach for 35years. 

Exploring the notion of what may be considered stereotypical and ‘boy’sstuff’, Kellie O’Dempsey draws on 50’s memorabilia with fun, flare, asense of irony and play in her ‘Girls, Cars and Guitars’ paintings. These mixed media works on canvas are tightly cropped vignettes thatinvestigate memory and desire.  Kellie’s passion and energy for her artis palpable, there is a visible life and energy in these pieces thatdraw the viewer’s attention and contemplation.

Those of you with a sense of humour will love Vitor Dos Santos’paintings.  The work has an ironic and sarcastic disposition and eachpainting follows a separate narrative.  Hairy bathtubs, metamorphicfigures, exploding words and distorted maps add to the absurdity.  Thisexpressive series of paintings with its childlike irreverencehumourously explores themes such as social alienation, hygiene,exploitation and paranoia.  The paintings are created using a widerange of materials such as charcoal, pencil, graphite, newspaper andacrylic paint.

Inspired by the 1950’s and the extravagance of the time, ChristineJohnston’s unique and arresting style of photography capturing the postwar era with its accompanying obsession of ownership and passion forcreation and invention sits perfectly alongside the paintedcounterparts.   The built environment with its integral, oftenunintended design is the catalyst for her work.

Need some new ‘old’ threads? Jesse McDonald’s clothing range issilkscreen printed onto recycled clothes.  Savvy and streetwise, itfeatures skulls and skeletons and turns conservative attire intocutting edge, modern street wear. Shirts, trousers, funky ties anddefinitely not conventional laptop bags.  Humourous and provocative,boys can look smart, without looking like bank managers!

'One for the Boys' opens with a preview evening at 6pm on Friday 5th September and runs until Friday 12th September 2008. 

"Loose Threads" - a tactile show

Art Piece Gallery is pleased to present Loose Threads, bringingtogether textile works by local artists Lucille Martin, Shyama, KirstenIngemar, Lae Oldmeadow and more. 

Loose Threads provides a unique opportunity to witness the diverse range of high quality textile art the region has to offer.

Nationally renowned Lucille Martin's beautifully crafted pieceshighlight and fuse traditional craft practices with modern technologyand contemporary languages.  She takes her viewers on an on an intimateand poetic journey.    Lucille has exhibited widely throughoutAustralia for over 20 years, inspiring and moving audiences.  Her workhas received awards, commissions, overseas residencies and is currentlyfeatured in the Led Zepplin World Tour Exhibition.  

 Kirsten Ingemar has been working with textiles in one form or anotherfor most of her life.  She works with a diverse range of materials anduses a variety of dyeing techniques – from simple plant dyeing tocomplex chemical treatments.   Kirsten loves fabric and the way itallows her to get completely involved, right to the core of its fibre,throughout her creative processes of dyeing, printing and stitching.  

View exhibition gallery

Over Land and Sea

Combining the works of two well respected local landscape artists, OverLand and Sea, is the latest exhibition at Art Piece Gallery.

Stephen Phibbs,  who appeared on the ABC's "Painting Australia"documentary series last year, will be exhibiting a series of oilpaintings relating to the shipwreck of  "The Cherry Venture". " Havingheard that the last remnants of The Cherry Venture had been cartedaway, I thought I would document the passing of a vessel that I alongwith thousands of others, had been fascinated by for many years. It'shulking, rusting yet sleek shape became an irresistible draw. I had topaint her – what was left of her. After lying on the beach at Teewahfor 25 years, she has finally succumbed to the elements and to theintervention of safety officers. The grand old dame is nomore.".....except in the majestic paintings of Stephen Phibbs. Don'tmiss her.
Marry this with John Turton, who barely pausing to draw breath afterhis latest show at the Redhill Gallery in Brisbane, will showcase moreof his bold and dynamic views of ocean, sky and surrounding hills,  andyou have a vibrant exhibition to warm you on a winter's night.

After the Rain – Celebrating the Sunshine

After the Rain, a group exhibition of paintings by artists Ivonne Mace, Lei Lei Joy, Heidi Tansey and Susan Simonini. 

After the Rain was conceived in the middle of the heaviest, mostconcentrated period of rain the shire has seen for several years. These four artists and nature lovers could not fail to be influenced bythe fact as they celebrate four months of rain with paintings steepedin the landscape. 

For Ivonne Mace, rain provides an opportunity for quietude,introspection and solitude.  You can almost feel the shudder ofIvonne’s delicate and sensitive birds as they sing out their relief andshake off the rain.   Sunshine has never been so welcome.

Lei Lei Joy who lives in some of the shire’s most flood prone hillswonders where the animals go when the rain just won’t stop.  The sheenon her paintings is reminiscent of the goat’s waterproof coat.

The joy we feel when the rain stops and we can take in nature at itsmost lush and luxuriant is palpable in many of these paintings.  HeidiTansey revels in the abundance that rain brings – her trees burstingwith exuberant colour and Susan Simonini’s figures dance and singamidst the rich and colourful flora.

Exhibition gallery

Hilary Herrmann 'Sixteen Angels Around My Bed'

When Hilary Herrmann was a little girl, her grandmother would place ahand over her forehead and recite a protective Hebrew prayer to heruntil she fell asleep.

'16 Angels Around My Bed' is inspired by that prayer, each painting representing one of the angels. But this is Hilary Herrmann,known for the immediacy and rawness of her painting, for her vitalcommunication and her wacky, engaging story telling, so expect nocherubic faces here, no gossamer wings. These are angels with attitude. 

Opening Friday 15th February 

View the exhibition gallery 

View the exhibition invitation 

"one piece"

one piece from 10 of the regions leading ceramicists

exhibition friday october 19 - monday october 29 

View the exhibition gallery

John Giese

An exhibition of recent paintings by John Geise

View a selection of the works exhibited, the artists statement and biography

Flowers for Mothers Day 

Works by Anna Del Zoppo, Ishta Wilson, Lynne Adams, Michelle Dawson, Hilary Hermann, Lei Lei Joy and more.