Studio Visit and Interview with Nerrida Parfitt

In August, I had the privilege of visiting Nerrida Parfitt at her lovely home in Ballarat to preview the new pieces for her solo exhibition, Pause. Nerrida’s studio is a sun-drenched room perched on the top floor of her house. The bright and airy space, filled with natural light, is a stark contrast to the moody, introspective, and at times mysterious nocturnal scenes she masterfully brings to life on canvas. Each work reflects her unique ability to transport viewers into a world of quiet wonder and suspense.

Pause is an absolutely stunning exhibition by Nerrida Parfitt and is open to the public from November 6th through 16th.

Studio Visit and Interview with Naomi Lawler

Naomi Lawler has been a beloved artist at The Corner Store Gallery since 2019, when she won our inaugural Mini Series Art Prize. A self-taught and highly talented painter, Naomi brings a unique personal touch to her work, often exploring themes with a distinctive blend of modern surrealism and darkness.

We are excited to present her second solo exhibition, The Things We Collect, on display from September 25th to October 7th. We warmly invite you to join us for the Opening Night on Friday, September 27th at 6pm.

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.

Studio Visit with Jane Tonks

This September The Corner Store Gallery is proud to present the newest body of work by local landscape painter Jane Tonks, Refuge. Jane has been exhibiting with the gallery for a number of years and is a very popular member of the local arts community. Jane depicts the local bushland surrounding Orange in great detail with a deep, personal love of the landscape. Her attention to detail, colour and patterns found in nature is extraordinary and the viewer is tempted again and again to look closer and notice the detail.

Refuge is Jane’s first solo exhibition with The Corner Store Gallery and is on exhibition from September 13th to 23rd and we invite you to join us in celebration for the opening on Friday September 15th from 6pm.

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 Ana Anderson

Ana Anderson was the winner of our 2021 Mini Series Art Prize, and as a result is having her first solo exhibition with us this September. I’ve loved Ana’s work ever since I first laid eyes on it in early 2021 when she submitted an artwork to our Inside This Box Group Exhibition. Ana became part of The Corner Store Gallery family and has sold out every time we’ve had her work through the gallery.

This highly anticipated body of work includes a series of abstracted landscapes in Ana’s distinct style. The exhibition is titled Exhale and is on display from September 28th until October 8th with pre-sales launching online at 8pm September 27th. We’d love you to join us for Opening Drinks on Thursday September 29th from 6pm to celebrate!

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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.

Studio Visit with Liz Wickramasinghe

I’ve been a fan of Liz Wickramasinghe’s work for years now! I found her via The Design Files and have been following her magnificent practice ever since with keen interest. Liz first exhibited with us back in 2020 as part of This Place, a group exhibition which was a huge success.

Liz is one of six artists exhibiting as part of our next group exhibition FLORA opening September 14th. FLORA launches online at 8pm September 13th with doors open September 14 - 24. Join us for Opening Drinks on Friday September 16th from 6pm and meet the artists.

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.