We caught up with one of our all-time favourite artists Colleen Southwell before Heart Place, a new group exhibition with Skye Bragg, Georgia Bragg and Maggie Mackellar. Four artists with a shared history of common ground explore connection to place, the concept of feeling at one with a landscape, and the ways these bring us together.

Heart Place is on exhibition from May 22nd through to June 2nd. Online sales launch at 8pm May 21st. We’ll be hosting an informal “meet the artists” Q & A with Graziher Editor Victoria Carey on Saturday May 25th at 2pm, followed by afternoon tea and drinks sponsored by Heifer Station Wines. We’d love to see you there!

Q and A with Colleen Southwell

I still pinch myself every time I think about the fact that The Corner Store Gallery was the first ever space to exhibit Colleen Southwell’s work back in 2018. It took some convincing on my behalf for Colleen to brave the public sphere (she’s very modest) and boy-oh-boy am I glad she did. Colleen’s first exhibition sold out before Opening Night and her career as an artist has been on a steep upwards trajectory ever since.

I’m extremely proud to say that Colleen Southwell is a local Orange resident, a true regional talent. Her work is instantly recognisable and unique. The painstaking attention to detail and fine skill demonstrated is something to be revered. It is impossible to view Colleen’s work and not be impressed.

In Safe Keeping is Colleen’s newest solo exhibition and we are so excited to present it to you this November 17th to 28th. Pre-sales launch via our website at 8pm November 16th. Colleen will be in the gallery for most of the exhibition period if you’d like to pop in and meet the artist in person!

Studio Visit with Colleen Southwell

I visited Colleen at her AMAZING home studio just outside of Orange. Colleen’s also a garden designer, and quite a good one at that… Her studio is located in a gorgeous corrugated iron shed in the back garden that she shares with her husband. Dried flowers, grasses, berries and seed pods are scattered throughout the room providing inspiration and a beautiful neutral colour palette. Colleen tells me she works in monotone to draw your eye to the pattern, texture and structure of the plants she interprets.

We talk horticulture, history, inspiration, collecting, technique and materials, enjoy….