Current Exhibition 'Passing Through' by Fiona Barrett-Clark, from 23 September to 4 October

Fiona Barrett-Clark

'Growing up we’d regularly go on driving holidays, mostly through NSW. From the backseat I remember seeing the countryside whizzing by and occasionally we’d stop at a nice spot to stretch our legs. To this day there is still nothing I enjoy more than ‘passing through’ the changing landscape.'

Fiona Barrett-Clark’s paintings reflect the beauty of an uncomplicated, understated, remote landscape, void of people, but not always human presence. She cleverly embodies the sense of escapism we feel when on a driving holiday.

The sky is always a major element in her compositions and she has become an expert in capturing the moods these skies cast upon the landscape. That late afternoon, early evening soft magenta and grey-blue which reflect upon the ocean or the blurring of the landscape during a soft drizzle.

Fiona's use of plywood instead of board or canvas gives a fantastic grainy texture to the works which imbues them with the feel of old slides and photographs adding further to the reminiscent nature of the works.

Over the past 10 years, Fiona Barrett-Clark has exhibited her work in several group and solo shows throughout Sydney. She completed an Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts in 1999 and was a finalist for the prestigious Glover Prize in 2008.

Current Exhibition 3˚ from 9 to 20 September 2009

Work by Rachel Wells, Verity Roberts and Maryanne Parry

Rachel Wells is a Sydney based mixed media artist who works predominantly with encaustic (wax) and oil mediums. Her processes involve etching into the surface of the wax and applying paint in layers upon it. Rachel’s current work focuses on the built environment. She is fascinated by European, American and Australian architecture and an (architect) father obsessed with taking photos of buildings.

Verity Roberts’ recent series of work is inspired by her passion for travel. These “postcards” are painted in mixed media and contain acrylics, ink, shellac, bitumen, graphite, oil pastels and acetates. Verity has also used encaustic (beeswax) which helps suggest the passage of time.
This series represents the artist’s interpretation and reflection on these landscapes which she has passed through and over – the delicacy and oftentimes brutality which is reflected therein.

MaryAnne Parry is inspired by a constant fascination with the world we live in. The variety of environments and cultures, the miracle of growth, and the opposing nobility and folly of humanity, never cease to amaze her. Both the landscape of Africa, where she was born, and Australia, where she now lives, are evident in the burnt and intense colour featured throughout many of her paintings.