Exhibition Highlights of the Week: LIVING SPACE

#7. Barbara BATEMAN, "Looking out to Sea", oil on linen, 78 x 76 cm, $800
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This painting reflects the vibrancy of life near the sea with the variation of plants and rocks and the ocean view beyond. Bateman has used a varied palette of colours and energetic brush strokes to depict the life of all of the elements in her painting...the rocks, the plants and the changing mood of the ocean and sky.
The artist paints the environment surrounding her bush property near Lorne, Vic. She says “I paint the sensed reality I observe. I am not interested in painting a representational or descriptive view of the landscape; rather my paintings express my internal memories and subjective experiences.”

#13. William FERGUSON, "Place of Sacred Boards", acrylic on board, 64 x 72 cm, $2000

William Ferguson has had a personal interest and respect for the life, culture and desert environment of Indigenous Australians throughout his long career as an artist and teacher.
“Painting for me celebrates the mysterious, the Australian landscape and culture, providing a spiritual stimuli within which I am concerned……interpreting values in subjective expressions……the inner life or spirit, rather than describing facts.”
This work incorporates the personal emotional content of Ferguson’s works telling a compelling yet elusive story which somehow connects contemporary Australia with its ancestral past. The symbolism is recognisable but mysterious at the same time and the abstract nature of the composition echoes indigenous art but is of its own style.

#66. Ross MILLER, "Conversation", bronze on granite base, 43 x 15 x 23 cm, $1600

​“A lifetime of travelling and observation has been a catalyst for my sculpture. How humans have responded to their natural world, manipulating their environment to provide a basic existence is universal.”
Miller explores the built environment in his work with strong architectural elements creating a culturally rich living space for its ‘human’ inhabitants. There is a strong narrative in his works which draws the viewer in for a closer look and to engage with the work. The whimsy and movement of the figures beautifully counterbalance the fixed architectural structure creating a literal version of Living Space.

​LIVING SPACE is showing at the gallery until 19 December.
View the exhibition online at  http://www.quadrantgallery.com.au/living-space-2015.htm