Patrick Sutczak
We are delighted to announce the emergence of a stream of new pieces by one who is a vital part of the fabric of Raincoat. Patrick Sutczak is the other third of the running of this place. He has been, even before the lease was signed, our inspiration, our anchor, our friend and our curator extraordinaire. He has an uncanny, intuitive approach to what goes where, sets out the most disparate of groupings on the floor, and when all those art works over which he has cast his spell move upwards onto the walls, suddenly the whole place starts to hum ! The only thing missing has been the continuation of his OWN art practice, which has taken a back-seat to many other things going on ... but he recently announced that he "just had to answer to that need to put hands on paper"; things were moving and we waited and here you have another three examples of the creative talent of this man.
Called "Void - II, III and IV ", they are sensitive and enigmatic drawings - delicate tracery in acrylic pen on archival paper, bearing perhaps resemblance to calligraphy - at any rate, telling their own story - but also with something universal about them !
Richard Barker
A rare opportunity remains to view and purchase original Eggmen Comic pages, finely rendered in pen and ink on paper, an expression of Richard's quirky, brilliant mind and its observation of the Human Race! Each drawing is presented at A3 size and priced at $125. Please enquire, either by email or at the Gallery for access. For those interested in exploring the series further, a small selection of Eggmen comic books is also available at $25 each.
Chris Morgan.
Chris Morgan's new piece,"Two Trees" probes the essence of Tasmania's untamed areas .. Having spent decades in partnership with analogue cameras and darkroom practice, Chris now transfers that "more human" element to digital technology and creates moody, expressive pieces that search beneath the surface of the subject matter and are somehow in touch with that "undercurrent" that is always present when out and about in the Tasmanian Wilderness... This is what brings so many to our shores - and what draws many to Chris' work.
Sarah Walters
Sarah continues to inspire as our dedicated producer of extraordinary artwork. Her quirky little houses that seem to move and speak to each other, her mugs, plates and bells are already bringing delight to so many who live with and use her creations on a daily basis.
In all of Sarah's ceramic pieces you will find her unique feeling for the use of unusual and beautiful clays and for the application of exciting glazes. Sarah's cards, too, are still with us - all unique, handmade little art works in their own right - some hand-painted, others gel-printed !
Prices are as marked. (All of her works have been made in Tasmania, are available for immediate purchase and can be taken home straight away). I
David Pullen
Three of David Pullen's exquisite watercolours have been on our walls this year. All three impressed those who have seen them with their fine detail and expressive use of a paint brush. These two pieces, one of Hobart's Elizabeth Street Pier and the other, of the end of a day on a Canberra Street, are still with us, so we thought another period of exposure (before David manages a return trip to Launceston) might be a very good thing!
David was born and educated in Launceston, and his art-work, even as a high-school student, was remarkable! Now living and working in Canberra, he has begun to concentrate on a serious return to using the gifts that we, as his teachers, recognised in him so many years ago. David's connection to family here and his love of the island where he grew up bring him back to Tasmania whenever he can get here !! We are hoping to see more amazing work on his next visit!!
Ryan Rivers
A rare young talent has come into our space .. Ryan Rivers is well worth a climb up those 22 stairs of ours!
Ryan's passion for our native creatures and the flora within which they live shines from within all of his creature portraits. This time we have a larger work, "Banksia Buds", where Ryan explores that connection between animal and plant with the keen understanding of a highly-tuned artistic intellect. We are again excited to have one of Ryan's pieces on the walls and expect to follow a career that must surely take off. The fine brush strokes, the talent for breathing life into his subject, link Ryan's work to the paintings of the best of the Old Masters - work informed by a vast treasure trove of Art History, but the image is of the present, here in Tasmania.
Audrey Bilston
Earlier this year, a very young and exciting talent came to the Gallery. Audrey Bilston's four images of Paris, drawn from her mind's eye on an iPad at age 17 were amazing! Since the beginning of that exhibition, Audrey's involvement with painting, with Raincoat and with learning anything and everything about Art that all of our generous "older" artists have to offer has been a joy to behold.. From her growing body of work, we chose this delightful bunch of flowers in their purple vase. Like everything Audrey creates, this has life; it has energy and it attracts the viewer to investigate and think about something unexpected.
Trish Alexander
Trish has been a welcome visitor to the Gallery since its inception. Conversations with her established her as a valuable Friend of the Arts and an intelligent, caring and supportive friend of Raincoat. What we did not find out until very recently, however, is that Trish Alexander was an Art Teacher for more than four decades of her life and is an artist of some standing in her own right. We chose these two pieces for Raincoat's walls. The first is a small, sensitive print in archival ink on board - "River's Edge"- a work she created since choosing Tasmania as her home, some twenty years ago... The second, "Chang Ping Village" is an enchanting little diptych, painted many years ago in acrylic on board. Trish spent two of her early years as a teacher working in China and this is an image of one of the villages where she spent a memorable twelve months !
Joyleene Abrey
We are delighted to welcome back Joyleene Abrey who has returned to Tasmania after having decided that it is, after all, the best place to live .. and she is now savouring every day in her new home near the sea. .. Well, you may ask: 'Why a Pig's Head ... and a Rhino??' She would respond:
'...because killing animals to decorate a room just doesn't sit well with me!' So, she experimented with trophy heads made of pre-loved textiles and has called them Stitchedermy! ... and the life-like button-eyes follow you around the room ... Something to bring a smile to each day?
Lynn Kelly
Lynn Kelly has shown work here from the early months of Raincoat and her large oil paintings of every imaginable aspect of natural waterways have always attracted attention. Many of you will remember those extraordinary works - some of you are living with them in your homes and being mesmerized by them every day. Lynn is still exploring that oil format, always seeking to perfect what she is producing - and being, like many of the best artists, her own toughest critic. For this exhibition she was actually happy to submit this small, new "drawing", ('Oasis'), using archival ink on mixed-media paper - a sensitive and enigmatic piece, in many ways linked to that concept of "water" which is still holding her fast!
Robert Ikin
Robert Ikin's Solo Show, "Ghost Ships", was stunning and certainly brought in many who were eager to see the result of nearly a year's work from a much loved legend of the Tasmanian Art Scene. Robert is as inspired and enthusiastic as he has ever been and his work is a testament to that. Despite the sudden spirit of recession which has certainly stunted the art-purchase scenario, two of Robert's wonderful works sold last month. We asked if we could keep the Hero Piece, "Ghost Ships",
on the walls for another round .. so here it is .. a unique portrait of Tasman Island - site of one of Tasmania's wildest and perhaps most remote Lighthouses, where, in earlier days, Lighthouse keepers lived and reared their families and the ships came through treacherous waters with essential supplies.
(Click on the image to see the full picture)
Richard Butler
Richard Butler is a Photographer whose premise is, firstly that of an artist with a lens, but secondly that of a constant observer of the human condition. Since coming back to Tasmania, his joy in being reunited with his Home-State led him to a need to express that reuinion. The result was a vast series of almost abstract photographs of views out over and across Launceston. You may have seen some of those works. They came into the Inner Gallery here, as a solo show, at the beginning of the year. This time we have a group of three smaller photographs - a sample of the tenderness with which Richard and his analogue camera treat the fragility and complexity of the human spirit.
Wal Sutherland
Wal Sutherland is a name that has been linked to that of Robert Ikin - and to George Richardson and Blair Gamble - for many years. The four of them began their careers as artists together, were well-known in Tasmania and elsewhere and continued their connections to each other throughout their lifetimes. Now proudly 90 years old and just as alert and creative as he ever was, Wal has been a bit of a beacon in this Gallery, bringing good humour and a touch of class into the space. Happily, he readily agreed to hang some work in the same Exhibition as Robert Ikin last month .. and we are hoping that can become a habit - to bring some enchanting things back to light! The two we have for this show go back to a time in France - impressions of Sacre Coeur in Paris and the Historic Church at Bonnieux.
"Cafe Paintings in the good old French Tradition!" were Wal's words ...
Kathleen Uko
We are very happy to have Kathleen back on our walls again .. and very happy to promote the connection, through her father and wonderful artist, George Richardson, between her, Wal Sutherland, and Robert Ikin in this exhibition. Art has a way of flowing through communities and families. In Kathleen's case, living with Art has always been just "normal" .. Her work speaks of the hills in the North-east of Tasmania where she grew up and which are present in her artistic soul! Last month's triptych went to a loving home.... "Oasis", a rework of the only remaining piece from her solo show at 'The Gallows' last year, has that same spirit of remote protection ... Enjoy!
Anne O'Connor
Anne is well known on these walls for her sensitive and innovative approach to photography.
Her 'signature work' has been a close-up exploration of coastal elements - shoreline treasures, the sea's surface in various guises, insightful glimpses into bush fauna. Tonally, these have been almost monochromatic and certainly subtle in their use of colour. The two works here are quite a surprise! - vividly coloured and strikingly different in their imagery, 'The Travelling Man 2' and 'Fire Spirit' evolved, as Anne explained, "from original photographs being randomly played with" on her computer.
Christine Davson-Galle
Christine Davson-Galle hand-sews garments from textiles which she eco-dyes, using all sorts of leaves, flowers and seeds. Before Christmas last year, Christine set up a "market " of her "Wearable Art" in the Inner Gallery. The garments were made of pure wool or kimono silk; the designs were unique and quite beautiful and the market was a great success ! Early this year, there were queries as to when (some lovely ladies) could hope to see more of Christine's garments in the Gallery... and so, last month we had (by popular demand) a long flowing shawl, in the softest of Georgette Silk. It sold.... Now, again by request, one more beautiful shawl has arrived ... no one piece is like another - that is the true beauty of owning an 'Original' Art Work ....
