ONLY HUMAN
An exhibition exploring contemporary figurative art through the work of 5 Australian artists.

7 – 25th May, 2018

COLLINS PLACE GALLERY
Collins Place, 45 Collins St, Melbourne VIC

 

 

KIM ANDERSON

This series ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ is a deeply personal journey of intense psychological scrutiny, exploring the physical manifestations of a psyche in turmoil.  This work is centred around my personal experience of eating disorders and mental illness over the past twelve years, as well as exploring wider themes of grief, yearning, confusion, despair and finally, hope.  Many of these works also contain a hint of dark humour, as the figure (myself) appears to struggle with various items of clothing as though in conflict with them.  This awkwardness represents the discomfort I feel within my own body, but it is also a broader metaphor for the disconnect between our inner and outer worlds; between the mental self and the physical self. – Kim Anderson

Kim Anderson completed Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) at the University of Ballarat Art Academy in 2003, and in 2007 was awarded a scholarship to study a Master of Fine Art at the University of Dundee in Scotland, one of the top-ranking arts institutions in the UK. Since then she exhibited extensively and undertaken a number of residencies around the world.

 

 

EOLO PAUL BOTTARO

Udepata – The Gathering Place (Study), 2017
Oil paint made from hand-ground pigment on canvas.
196 x 344 cm

This painting depicts Ellery Creek Big Hole, one of the main waterholes in the West MacDonnell Ranges in central Australia. The Aboriginal name for the waterhole is Udepata, and as a permanent source of water it is an important place for the Arrarnta people. Many visitors come here to swim in its cool waters, and the artist has depicted contemporary figures immersed in an ancient, primordial landscape. His influences in creating this work include the paintings of Albert Namatjira (1902 – 1959), who famously depicted the region. This work was created as a study for a large fresco painting of the same name, commissioned in 2017 for the Australian Events Centre, Essendon Fields, Melbourne.

Eolo Paul Bottaro is a mid-career artist who works across mediums of painting, printmaking, sculpture, drawing and fresco. Bottaro graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting). In 1997 he began working in fresco painting, a rarely practiced technique. He has exhibited regularly since 1999 and has works held in numerous private and public collections.

DAGMAR CYRULLA

My paintings are about what it is like to be human. They are an interpretation of experiences, choices and moments. The moments I capture are not staged, they are snapshots of time. – Dagmar Cyrulla

This series of self-portraits was created in 2016 and each was painted quickly from life. Cyrulla works with colour palettes often restricted to six or seven colours that can alter dramatically between works. Associated with varying emotional states, here the artist wields colour to evoke mood and atmosphere. Cyrulla describes the act of painting as a wrestle with the medium to achieve a certain feeling, while also convincingly capturing other essential elements such as space, light and form.

Dagmar Cyrulla completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts through the University of Western Sydney in 1987 and received her Masters of Fine Art via scholarship at Monash University in 2009. She has exhibited in group exhibitions since 1988, and has held solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, France, Perth and Adelaide. Dagmar is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne.

LANA DE JAGER

In the collection, “(un)Happiness”, my images deal with motives of loss, grief and unhappiness as experienced by optimists and other people who struggle to express negative feelings. The latest additions to this collection deal with two themes that have emerged for me much later in the grieving process.

 

 Firstly, the wish to communicate with my lost loved ones; the feeling that they’re somewhere around me and that there might be a way to contact them in the firmament. For people with faith, this wish is granted by simply praying, but what do you do when you believe their carbon has returned to nature? To that end, I’ve put in a request for communication and I’m waiting for a reply.

 The second theme is around the little wars we fight in our heads every day, specifically the emotional release that we experience when there’s a ceasefire. This bliss can be brought on by an inspiring movie, accepting a change, sudden and deep empathy for a friend’s situation, cycling on a beautiful warm night or something else that makes us swoon and forget about ourselves for a while. For me, this often short-lived ‘emancipation’ provides a willingness to step into the unknown depths of my own imagination and uncensored thoughts.

– Lana de Jager

Lana de Jager immigrated from South Africa to Australia in 1998 and settled in Melbourne. She is passionately committed to whimsy, Art Nouveau, and printmaking amongst a host of other influences. Lana obtained a BA Honours Degree in Advertising & Visual Communication in 1994, and has been a practicing artist in the field of printmaking since 2013, exhibiting widely in Melbourne and beyond.

 

 

GEORGIA STEELE

‘Doorways to New Places’ is a series of works that is inspired by escapism. Finding a place whether it be internal or external – a time for one’s self. The doorways are represented as a metaphor and reflect dreams of travel to escape and explore. The mask across the figures eyes represents personal growth and development internally. Nature is a key theme that is present in the works, as a place of sanctuary a time for development and growth. – Georgia Steele

Georgia Steele is a Melbourne based emerging artist. Her work is often ephemeral, based around nature, and executed through layering different mediums and collage. With a background in printmaking her work is process based, and frequently combines photographic elements with hand-drawn elements. Georgia is currently studying Fine Art at RMIT University majoring in printmaking practice.