This joint exhibition takes us on an exploration of our vast Australian land from the ground, through the mist up to the wide open skies. Peter Barker, Kiya Kalem and Ben Sherar invite you to come and take in the new bodies of work they have put together. Opening 6pm Wednesday the 4th of September at The National Hotel Fremantle, this dynamic exhibition is on show until November.
Kiya is an emerging artist who has been experimenting and exploring different techniques and mediums and how they interact with each other. Blending her professional training with her natural expressionism she has reached a new peak within her art journey. Using heavy impasto layers of acrylic, with glazes of oil and embellishments of metal leaf Kiya brings new life to the classic subject of native flora. Symbolising the delicate beauty within the harsh Australian bushland, these flowers nevertheless still have a robust, explosive vibrancy about them.
Peter’s new body of work explores atmospheric effects inspired by a recent trip to the State’s Southwest. The tonal
ism of the work express an eerie feeling that pervades the scenes. Using a limited palette and multiple layers of oil glaze Peter has captured the feeling of inhabiting a mist covered landscape. A blue damp haze instantly evokes dreamlike scenes and throws the viewer back into the experience of exploring a different world.
Building on the talents and techniques garnered through years of realism within studio practice and recent forays into plein-air painting, Ben’s new found focus cuts through the chaff of potential subject matter and hones in on the dance of light across abstracted gaseous forms, allowing endless exploration of the vast potential of the open sky as a canvas to express the ever changing landscapes of the human psyche.
Together these three bodies of work reflect the next step in each artists journey but together tell a narrative of the Australian landscape through each artist’s perspective.
