Artspace Launches Three Powerful New Exhibitions

Artspace Mackay will unveil three compelling exhibitions this Friday, September 26, celebrating the diversity and depth of contemporary art across Australia and beyond.

Artspace Mackay Director Tracey Heathwood said each of the three exhibitions were deeply personal and depicted the artists’ relationships with people and the world around them.

“In the Main Gallery, En Plein Air traces the artistic pilgrimages of a unique collective of contemporary Australian and New Zealand painters,” Ms Heathwood said.

“The exhibition showcases more than 100 works, depicting scenes from the alpine regions of New South Wales to the tropical landscapes of Central and Northern Queensland,” she said.

Featuring artists Tim Allen, Rhett Brewer, Julia Griffin King, Michelle Hungerford, Chris Langlois, Euan Macleod, Ron McBurnie, Charmaine Pike and Bradley Short, the exhibition includes a stunning series of landscapes capturing Mackay and its surrounds.”

As part of this exhibition, Artspace Mackay is also offering a Curator’s Floor Talk, where Artspace Curator Nathan Schroeder will talk to three of the artists from the exhibition: Tim Allen, Rhett Brewer and Michelle Hungerford, on Saturday, September 27 at 10.30am.

In her first solo exhibition in Mackay, local artist Leonie Wood presents aMuse, a deeply personal exhibition of ceramics and works on paper inspired by her lifelong fascination with Asian art.

The exhibition, in the Foundation Gallery, explores Leonie’s relationship with her mother, whose decorative preferences she credits for subconsciously introducing her to these influences.

aMuse marks Leonie’s return to ceramics following the passing of her husband and collaborator, Rick Wood, in 2007.

Ms Wood will host an Artist’s Talk on Thursday, October 9, in the Foundation Gallery.

Drawing from the Mackay Regional Council Contemporary Indigenous Art Collection, Ripples Through Time will feature in the Foyer Gallery.

Ms Heathwood said the exhibition explored the relationship between water and time.

“The exhibition reflects on themes of colonisation, journeys - by ships and other forms across the ocean - the landscape, cultural practices and knowledge,” Ms Heathwood said.

“All the works in the exhibition are connected through the narrative of water, each telling their own story demonstrating the importance of water in creating connections in our communities, cultures, journeys, landscapes, plants and animals and across our past, present and future,” she said.

Artspace Mackay Assistant Curator Dylan Mooney will host three free Lunchbox Talks on October 16, 23 and 30.

The three exhibitions will be open at Artspace Mackay until December 14.

All exhibition talks are free to attend but spaces are limited. To register, visit artspacemackay.com.au

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A beautiful landscape work, depicting Cape Hillsborough, by local artist Bradley Short will be part of the En Plein Air exhibition, launching in Artspace Mackay’s Main Gallery on September 26.

Euan MACLEOD Watching Sunrise Off Mackay  2024, oil on polyester, 90 x110 cm. Photos supplied

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