Q and A with Georgia Bragg

We caught up with one of our brand new artists Georgia Bragg before Heart Place, a new group exhibition with Colleen Southwell, Skye 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 them 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!

Studio Visit with Skye Bragg

Skye Bragg is a silversmith based in Peak Hill and is exhibiting as part of our new group exhibition Heart Place opening this Wednesday. Skye’s work is heavily inspired by nature and in particular the Australia bush. Immaculate silver gum nuts and leaves sit amongst the real thing in tiny cubed shelves in Skye’s studio. Skye is a collector of beautiful things, in particular dried leaves, pieces of bark, seed pods and gum nuts etc. These treasures are dotted through out the studio and provide endless inspiration. Scribbly gum bark is mimicked and emulated in silver using a rolling press. Many different techniques are used to create intricate representations of nature.

Q and A with Colleen Southwell

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!

Studio Visit with Pippita Bennett

Pippita Bennet is a wonderfully clever textile and fibre artist based in the Blue Mountains in NSW. Pippita has exhibited work with us over the past couple of years as part of group exhibitions and art prizes we’ve held at The Corner Store Gallery. I was immediately drawn to Pippita’s work due to it’s uniqueness, attention to detail and quality of work.

Pippita uses vintage and plant-dyed textiles with thrifted threads to create immaculate, stitched landscapes and other scenery. The colours and patterns are stunning along with the textures created by the different fabrics and fibres used. The incredible amount of work that goes into these pieces is evident, Pippita finds the process very therapeutic and finds herself with needle in hand most of the day.

Studio Visit with Amanda Holman

Local painter Amanda Holman has been consistently exhibiting with The Corner Store Gallery for a number of years now. We first discovered Amanda through one of our many group exhibition opportunities, as we do many of our fabulous artists. From one entry comes many, and her popularity has grown exponentially during this time resulting in Amanda’s first solo exhibition Beyond 4 Walls opening this April at The Corner Store Gallery.

Amanda Holman is a truly lovely and warm person, as well as a wonderful artist in her own right. Her quiet and beautiful depictions of the Australian landscape begin with field trips and drives across this beautiful country we call home. Sometimes painted within the landscape, sometimes painted form photographs back in her home studio. Amanda’s studio is the stuff of dreams, located on the ground floor of her home, accessible via a courtyard from the street. It’s here I first played eyes upon the new body of work for Beyond 4 Walls. Take a look and find out more about Amanda’s practice.

Q and A with Monique Fedor

We first discovered Monique Fedor through our Inside This Box Group Exhibition back in 2021. Monique submitted the most beautiful still life painting of a pear on a plate and has been part of The Corner Store Gallery family ever since. Every single painting she sends our way has found a loving new home immediately, they sell out every time.

We are absolutely thrilled to present Field Notes by Monique Fedor, her newest body of work. Exploring her immediate surroundings and the poetry of every day life, Monique paints moments in time with graceful determination and a conspicuous aesthetic.

Studio Visit with Emily Heath

Emily Heath is one of our favourite emerging artists here at The Corner Store Gallery and is fast becoming one of Australia’s most popular still life painters. She’s also, I might add, a hilarious person and we click very well. We first discovered Emily’s work back in 2021 when she was a finalist in our Inside This Box group exhibition. After being invited to join our stable, Emily’s paintings became hard to hold onto as they quickly started walking out the door with their happy new owners.

Emily’s work is beautiful, unique, skilled and deeply personal. Her natural talent and eye for colour and composition are apparent in each and every work. The juxtaposition of traditionally depicted household items against more modern and unusual elements is at once humorous and intriguing. This body of work is an exploration of what it means to be a working artist and a mother and wife in the domestic environment.

Studio Visit with Fleur Stevenson

Fleur’s process is slow and sophisticated, with many techniques, mediums and layers being utilised. Spray paint and stencils feature often, revealing the detailed layers beneath, creating a rich history and story.

This recent body of work was created for our new group exhibition FLORA, on display from September 14th to 24th. The brief was “abstract botanicals” and Fleur has risen to the challenge with a magnificent series of five soft, feminine, mixed media paintings.

I visited Fleur in her Rozelle home studio to see the new work, some final touches and a good overdue catchup!

FLORA is on display from September 14th to 24th with pre-sales launching online at 8pm September 13th.

Q and A with Andrea Hopgood

Hankering for a road trip during recent periods of isolation and lockdown, Andrea Hopgood has created a series of paintings that explore the natural environment and invite the viewer to pause and reflect.

The series of roadside views, symbolise a path forward, a journey ahead, the optimism in “heading out” and the anticipation of returning home.

Throughout a long career of teaching Art in Secondary Schools, Andrea has maintained her own Arts practice from her art studio/gallery in Berwick. Andrea holds weekly classes and workshops and creates works using a wide range of mediums, including; clay, wire, pastel, oil and acrylic.

Meet Misha Harrison

Misha Harrison is our newest exhibiting artist here at The Corner Store Gallery and my goodness I am so excited to have her! Misha's work is so incredibly unique, bold, and just plain funky! I did a Q & A with Misha (over email) so we could all learn a little more about her practice.

Misha Harrison explores materiality and process through intricately cut and assembled plywood artworks. Still life, portraiture, and abstraction are rethought and reimagined into contemporary formats. Each work comprising of carefully cut and layered plywood, painted with vibrant colours juxtaposed and highlighted with textile inlays and stitching.

q and a, studio visitMadeline Young3 September 2021The Corner Store Gallerymisha harrison, artist, interview, Q and A, studioComment

Podcast Interview for Art Wank

Exciting News! I was recently interviewed for the fabulously funny podcast Art Wank hosted by Julie Nicholson and Fiona Verity. It’d always a little nerve wracking but these ladies are so down to earth and hilarious I felt instantly at ease.

This really is a fantastic podcast for artists and anyone interested in the art scene with amazing artists, creatives and curators being interviewed. I’m in fantastic company among people like Fiona Barrett-Clark, Ken Done, Michael Reid and Amber Creswell-Bell! It’s a good one to listen to in the studio, on walks or long drives. Give it a listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

q and aMadeline Young25 August 2021podcast, podcast interview, art wank, interviewComment

Studio Visit and Interview with Melanie Vugich

There have been a few OMG moments in my l career since I opened The Corner Store Gallery in 2014, and one of those moments was when Melanie Vugich (THE Melanie Vugich) contacted me about exhibiting here at The Corner Store Gallery! I’ve been a fan of Melanie’s work for years and I am so excited to be hosting her for her first ever solo exhibition in Australia Familiarity.

Melanie’s work is instantly recognisable from her distinct textural painting style. The work seems to vibrate with energy and life, you can imagine Melanie’s skilful hand moving across the board. Her subjects are quite personal and in-still a sense of comfort, joy and “familiarity”.

I visited Melanie and her sister Lisa at Mel’s home studio in Bronte recently to see the work in person and learn more about the process and inspiration behind these stunning works.

Familiarity is on display at The Corner Store Gallery from June 23 - Jul 3 2021. The catalogue is now live on our website with Pre-sales launching at 8pm Tuesday June 22nd via our website.

We’d love you to join us to celebrate the Opening Night of Familiarity on Wednesday June 23rd from 6pm, all welcome.

studio visit, q and aMadeline Young20 June 2021Melanie vugich, still life, interiro, painting, painter, studio, interview, Q and AComment