Cowwarr Art Space

Neale Stratford: Small Reminders of Non-existent Events

2012-02-24T14:12:00.000+11:00

Opening Event Sunday 4 March 2:00pm.

The Perfect Wedding 122x81cm archival pigment ink
on canvas 2012 ©

Please join us and Simon Gregg Curator, Gippsland Art Gallery as he opens the exhibition and introduces you to Neale Stratford and his art.

It is an opportunity to gain an insight into Neale's complex world of unreal but plausible scenarios inhabited by familiar characters in unfamiliar roles that depict contemporary parables of the artists own making.
Link to Artist

Link to CV pdf

The Cowwarr Hotel is open for meals both lunch and dinner and the Art Space Artists Bar will be operating and light refreshments served.

Exhibition runs from the 2 March to 9 April 2012
Hr: Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, 11-5pm

Neale Stratford is a established artists living and working in Gippsland and is currently completing a Masters of Fine Art at Gippsland Centre for Art and Design, Monash University.

Rehgan De Mather starts the new year with a bang.

2012-02-07T10:38:00.000+11:00

Congratulations to Rehgan De Mather, on being selected as a finalist in the $20,000 acquisitive "Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2012". An exhibition of finalists will be held in March 2012 at the ADELAIDE PERRY GALLERY in Sydney.

De Mather’s major success of 2011 was the Sandra Bardas Studio Grant which provided for his residence at the Appleton Street studio complex in Richmond. You can see Rehgan De Mather’s current exhibition MNMLVMXML selected from the body of work produced during his Appleton Street Studio residency in Gallery 1 till the end of February.

Rehgan De Mather in his Appleton St Studio 2011

Since leaving the Appleton Street Studio he has joined Blender Studios and has recently had work collected by the Young and Free Contemporary Street Art Collection, and the Bardas Family Collection. In May of this year he will be showing at Art Melbourne and then in June, Gallery 577 in Fitzroy Nth.

Welcome to 2012 @ the Cowwarr Art Space

2012-01-03T10:31:00.002+11:00

Cowwarr Art Space has opened its doors for the 2012 Program
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 11-5pm from the 6th of January

We continue with MNMLVMXML paintings by Rehgan De Mather curated from the new work Rehgan produced during his Appleton Street Studio residency.

We congratulate Rehgan as he has recently been accepted to join the Blender Studios.

The Blender Studios at 110 Franklin St. Melbourne is part of the Melbourne street scene and is having an impact on the contempory art scene with some of its artists achieving international acclaim. Roh Singh, Emma Van Leest, Louisa Jenkinson, and Anthony Lister to name a few, are among some of the early alumni. The Blender has evolved from a Gallery into an art complex with 18 studios, an artist in residence program, the Blender laneway street art project, the Melbourne Propaganda Window, Dark Horse Experiment and The Melbourne Street Tours.

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-02T13:26:00.001+11:00

Wishing you all the best during the festive season and the coming year, we thank you for your continued support of the Cowwarr Art Space and exhibiting artists.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2012 and being involved in our exciting program.

We commence 2012 with the continuation of MNMLVMXML by REHGAN DE MATHER. Also in the first half of the year we have NEAL STRATORD photographer and BILL YOUNG painter. The CAN Inc. Artist-in-Res is also running hot with both International and Australian candidates, IZABELA PLUTA photo media artist from Sydney and LEANORA OLMI photographer from Scotland will be with us early in the year. We are also hoping to have The String Contingent; CHRIS STONE on violin, HOLLY DOWNES on double bass, both from Sydney and GRAHAM MCLEOD on guitar from Scotland as both artists-in-res and performers in mid March

We are looking forward to the New Year. Hope you can join us.
We are closed December reopening in January 2012

Rehgan De Mather MNMLVMXML 5-11 TO 30-11 2011

2011-10-26T22:00:00.000+11:00

Please join us and celebrate with the artist,

Rehgan De Mather at the opening event of MNMLVMXML

on Saturday 5th November between 6pm-8pm.

The Cowwarr Art Space has had a long association with Rehgan. Since his student days at Monash University Gippsland Centre for Art and Design Rehgan has been a part of our exhibition program and an active member of CAN Inc. and is represented in our stable of artists.

MNMLVMXML is curated from the new work Rehgan produced during his Appleton Street Studio residency.

Rehgan De Mather was the recipient of the 2011 Sandra Bardas Studio Grant. The grant is awarded based on the artist's work practice, direction, and work ethic. Rob Gould of Gould Galleries and Jeff Martin of Appleton Street Studios, conduct an initial assessment. The Bardas family makes the final decision from the short list. .." Rehgan's work is strong and confident and his use of found objects and recycled materials would have appealed to Sandra. His work is innovative, passionate and full of energy and his work ethic and dedication to his art was obvious from the outset." Jeff Martin Appleton Street Studios.

De Mather’s Appleton St Studio works are exhibited at the Cowwarr Art Space in 2011 and the Gallery 577 in Brunswick St Fitzroy North in 2012

Link to Artists Website
Invitation image: Grid 2011, acrylic, spray enamel, oil stick, collage and road-sign on canvas

Abbas - Getting to Gippsland ABC Gippsland Vic

2011-09-21T10:19:00.000+10:00

Link to the interview with Cath McAloon as part of the Getting to Gippsland morning program series.
Getting to Gippsland - Abbas - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Abbas Mehran - Pendent 18 Sep - 31 Oct

2011-09-11T13:27:00.001+10:00

Boolarra Anaar 125 x95cm, acrylic on canvas 2011

Please join us and meet the artist Abbas Mehran on Sunday September the 18th, between 2-5pm.

Abbas Mehran a painter/print maker originally from Iran, migrated to the US then to Australia, first settling in Adelaide and recently moving to Boolarra in Gippsland.

Abbas Mehran’s paintings reflect his life’s journey. For over 30 years, he has been working in the Iranian coffee house style of painting, which tells a story through artwork. He now combines this style with realism, Persian miniature style painting, and Persian carpet patterns imbued with his Australian contemporary life in a small town surrounded by the Australian bush.

In 2003 he received first prize (painting) in the prestigious Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize and in 2008 he was a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize. During 2008 Abbas was invited to spend three months painting his project of peace, the environment, and children on the walls of caves in Dunhuang, China. In 2009 he was finalist for the Celeste International Art Prize in Berlin. Abbas was invited to exhibit as part of the 2009/2010 Animamix Biennial at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei.

Abbas Blog

Refreshments at the Artists Bar. Exhibition runs 16 September to 31 October 2011

Fiona West - Inner Beasties 12 Aug -12 Sept

2011-08-06T16:39:00.003+10:00

Wandering Warthog, 2011 watercolour on paper, 23x32cm

Join us for the opening event: Sunday 14th August at 2pm - 5pm. Guest speaker: Rodney Forbes Director Gippsland Centre for Art & Design Monash University

Fiona Says of her work."... My practice is a hybrid of painting and photography. I explore my perception, as an immigrant, of the Australian landscape. I interrogate the parallels and contrasts between the South African and Australian landscapes and explore issues of migration, transformation and the animal as a powerful symbol for a sense of place..."

Born in Zimbabwe, Fiona West grew up in South Africa and completed degrees in both Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) and Art History at the University of South Africa. Her career includes curatorial work at various galleries in South Africa and Sotheby’s auction house, London. In 2008 Fiona moved, with her family, to Gippsland and is the senior curator at the Latrobe Regional Gallery.

Clive Murray-White in Melb Prize for Urban Sculpture 2011

2011-07-19T14:59:00.005+10:00

I just grabbed this from Clive's Blog, it is worth posting twice!

Isaac Greener & Lucas Maddock

Bianca Hester
Sonia Leber & David Chesworth
Clive Murray-White
Tom Nicholson
Stuart Ringholt
2011 Finalists

An exhibition of the above finalists will be held at Federation Square between

7 and 21 November 2011.

The $5,000 Civic Choice Award 2011 will be open for voting, at this website, only during the November exhibition dates.

For more information go to
http://www.melbourneprizetrust.org/mp2011/index.html

As you may be able to imagine this makes me very happy and consider it a considerable honour to have been included.

You have to wait until the exhibition to see exactly what I proposed but here are a few words from my application:

"It is a sculpture that challenges conventional concepts about site specifics and urban sculpture by concentrating not on the aesthetics and narrative of space but on the people for whom that space was originally designed. Each person's mind is a specific site.

By claiming air rather than ground this work activates an urban spacial area with no built baggage"

Black & White Susan Purdy and Susan Fraser July 2011

2011-07-02T17:27:00.000+10:00

Photograms by SUSAN PURDY & Linocut Prints by SUSAN FRASER

Black-and-white imagery speaks of immediacy and transparency it explores darkness and light in all its interpretations. For both artists it is the quality of the black and the absence, that is the white, that defines their work. Fraser’s linocut technique harks back to early woodcuts and Purdy’s photograms relates more to printmaking than to contemporary photography techniques.

Taking our brake in June back soon!

2011-06-01T11:38:00.000+10:00

Mary MacQueen 1912-1994 Works on paper April 1 - May 30

2011-03-31T12:33:00.008+11:00

Mary MacQueen Pattern in Sand Dunes 1951 30 x 38cm gouache on paper on board

GALLERY 1: MARY MACQUEEN (1912-1994) Works on Paper, Courtesy of Charles Nodrum Gallery. Mac Queen’s medium was predominantly pencil and paper and was recognised for its spontaneous and expressive mark making.

GALLERY 2: CLIVE MURRAY-WHITE, Sculpture

Clive Murray-White Senator 1, 2005, Louisa 1, 2008, both Chillagoe marble and granite

GALLERY OPEN: Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, 11am - 5pm.

The String Contingent a Great Night!

2011-03-27T14:12:00.000+11:00

The String Contingent Performance Fri 25th March 2011. Human Race-Dubai, Binu Bhaskar

The Art Space, had a joyous night with The String Contingent, Holly Downes, bass - Graham McLeod, steel string guitar - Chris Stone, violin. The performance was spell binding, energetic and soulful with some of the audience moved to tears. The artists and the audience responded to the great acoustics of the building. You would think it was designed for it! There were plenty of requests for more music events. We certainly look forward to a return visit!

We wish The String Contingent every success. Follow the link to www.thestringcontingent.com so you can see where they are performing next and order their new CD and EP.

Music Event: The String Contingent Friday 25 March 7:30pm

2011-03-11T19:29:00.002+11:00

Winners of the ‘Best CD by a band featuring a fiddler’ category at the 2011 Golden Fiddle Awards.
Cowwarr Art Space is delighted to be part of the whirlwind tour by this very exciting and energetic trio as they launch their New Acoustic Chamber-Folk Music in various venues and Folk Festivals around Australia. http://www.thestringcontingent.com/

For Bookings Contact Carolyn @ the Cowwarr Art Space:

03 51489321 or artspace@cowwarr.com

Tickets $20 concession $15 (Credit Card Phone Booking Facilities)
Pre Booking preferred for catering and seating arrangements.

Last minute decision on the night welcome. We would hate you to miss out.

The Artists Bar will be open and the Coffee will be hot.

The String Contingent’s self-titled debut melds the raw wildness of Scottish folk, the organic dynamism of American bluegrass and the refined acoustic sensibility of the classical string trio. Chris Stone (violin), Graham McLeod (guitar) and Holly Downes (double bass) have produced a collection of original acoustic music that retains the spontaneity of free improvisation within the structurally integrated ethos of the chamber ensemble.

“Absolutely fantastic, the originality and beauty of your music cannot be underestimated. The quality of your playing is outstanding… a truly enlivening, exciting experience.”
- Nicola Black, Acoustic Village Programmer, Wickerman Festival, UK.

Binu Bhaskar I Human Race

2011-02-04T12:51:00.001+11:00

Human Race Dubai Limited Edition Photograph 127 x 115.6 cm

Exhibition Runs February 11- March 28, 2011

Gallery Hrs 11am -5pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Binu Bhaskar is an Indian born Australian photographer who explores the perpetual motion of humans living in cities around the world.

This CAN Inc. exhibition is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

A state of solitude - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

2011-01-10T16:04:00.004+11:00

A state of solitude - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Solitude: The Wanderer & The Seer continues till the end of January 2011
Click on above link for Images and story by Jem Wilson ABC Gippsland

Link to Opening night

Clive Murray-White: Louisa goes to Court

2010-12-13T14:07:00.002+11:00

Clive Murray-White: Louisa goes to Court: "Louisa 2 was unveiled at the Supreme Court, Melbourne, last Friday and there she will stay, not because she's been naughty but because she.." follow the link to read on.

McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award 2010

2010-11-28T14:15:00.002+11:00

A glorious day for the opening Garden Party and Award Announcement.
Congratulations to Louise Paramor, winner of the McClelland Award 2010
Link for more details

Clive Murray-White Finalist with Sara Delaney - a head of her time

Solitude: The Wanderer and the Seer

2010-11-07T10:59:00.001+11:00

You are invited to the opening
Saturday November 13th 2010, 6:30 - 8pm
Guest Speaker: Julie Adams, Arts Director Latrobe City

Lux Cabatingan, Louis Patterson, Meagan Wyke, Maria-Luisa Marino, Michael Gallop,
Amy Christensen and Shelley McDermott

In this exhibition the artists explore the complexities and meanings of solitude. It can be a time of disconnection and rejuvenation or a place of self evaluation and loneliness. It is through our wandering that we discover that quietness that place of the internal seer to gain understanding.

The artist are all recent graduates from the Gippsland Centre for Art & Design Monash University. They are all pursuing their art careers with individual solo exhibitions as well as a highly successful collective exhibition at the Latrobe Regional Gallery last year. Three of the young artists; Maria-Luisa, Louis and Michael were part of the recent sister city cultural exchange between Latrobe City and Takasago Japan.

Image credits: Lux Cabatingan: Untitled photograph 2010, Louis Patterson: Inquisition mixed media 2009, Meagan Wyke: Monument mixed media 2010, Maria-Luisa Marino: Memory Lane detail mixed media 2010, Michael Gallop: Pug detail mixed media 2010, Amy Christensen: Clown mixed media 2010, Shelley McDermott: The Wanderer digital print 2010.

Catalogue PDF
Exhibition Dates: 13 -29 November 2010, Closed December, Re-Opens 1-31 January 2011.

This exhibition is part of our CAN Inc. Cowwarr Art Space exhibition program made possible with the support of the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

Richard Grigg -They Stand Outside

2010-09-10T11:17:00.012+10:00

They stand outside - installation by RICHARD GRIGG Oct 2 - Nov 7 2010

Join the artist and the opening event sponsors Lateral Projects and Development on Saturday 2nd. October 6:30 to 8pm.

Exhibition Open: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 11am-5pm.

installation detail 2010

In this installation Grigg appropriates dormant two dimensional imagery from the Renaissance (Giotto) and transforms them into a three dimensional world imbued with elements of popular culture, references to art and social history and current social commentary.

This exhibition is part of our CAN Inc. Cowwarr Art Space exhibition program made possible with the support of the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

Richard in his studio constructing components for installation
Link to Artists Website
Link to Exhibition Facebook Album

Bill Young's Elements of Landscape

2010-09-05T17:53:00.012+10:00

Making it home, 2009 oil on board 50x80cm

Bill Young's Elements of Landscape September 2010.

Gallery 1: This is a selection of Bill Young's paitings from a larger body of work titled Landscape and Comforts, exhibited at the Gippsland Art Gallery Sale in August 2009.

East Gippsland TAFE Grafic Design Students and Teachers working on
the Experience Cowwarr Poster Project

The Balcony Gallery is displaying some of Bill's TAFE students work from a design project as part of the Cowwarr Art Space/CAN Inc. education partnership.

Melbourne Art Fair Success

2010-09-05T17:32:00.003+10:00

Clive Murray-White and his sculpture with guest at the Art Fair Vernissage

Clive Murray-White had great success at the Art Fair with Charles Nodrum Gallery selling two major works and receiving a comission for a corporate client.

Clive Murray-White with Charles Nodrum and Rebecca Guest the Charles Nodrum Gallery team
(Sonia Payes Photograph behind Charles)

The spectacular 12th biennial Melbourne Art Fair came to an end on, Sunday 8 August, having generated in excess of $11 million dollars in sales, and a 56% increase in the volume of sales achieved compared to 2008. 60% of funds generated through sales are returned to living artists through their gallery, an estimated $6.6 Million. Melbourne Art Fair is the only event of this size and scale that supports the livelihood of living artists. Participating galleries reported clear evidence of renewed confidence in the primary art market, and whilst the overall income was slightly less than 2008, the sales represent a 56% increase in the volume of sales achieved in 2008. Prices of works ranged from $20 to $250,000 with 76% of artworks sold for $10,000 and under with 30,000 visitors making this one of the most well attended visual arts events in Australia.

Aehee Park in OzAsia Festival Sept 2010

2010-07-17T18:15:00.005+10:00

Aehee
15 Sep - 17 Oct, Wed – Sat 12pm – 5pm; Sun 12pm – 4pm
Exhibition: Caring for Aehee Australia Caring for Aehee Australia is an installation comprised of projection, moving image and photographs which have evolved from Aehee Park’s experiences as Artist-in-Residence at the Cowwarr Art Space, Gippsland, in 2009.

CAN Inc. SUCCESS IN ARTS VIC FUNDING- VICTORIAN ART PROJECTS GIVEN A HAND - Premier of Victoria

2010-07-06T15:12:00.014+10:00

JEWELLERY TO JAZZ - VICTORIAN ART PROJECTS GIVEN A HAND - Premier of Victoria link to Press Release

CAN In. would like to thank the Victorian Government for there support of the exhibition program partnered with Cowwarr Art Space, through the Arts Victoria Grant.

Art Development Category 3: PROGRAMMING

Cowwarr Arts Network Inc, Cowwarr, $15,000 A six month program of curated visual art projects including three solo exhibitions and one group exhibition incorporating painting, drawing, sculpture, photo based art and installation. The works included in these exhibitions have a certain synergy and explore topics that cover; isolation, alienation and vulnerability in both the natural and personal worlds.

Richard Grigg and Louis Patterson use cardboard, an unpretentious material, to create their work. In Louis’s case everyday objects are imbued with sculptural pretensions, where as Grigg exploits the material to create imagined artefacts and constructed spaces with the atmosphere of a futuristic attic.

Michael Gallop’s beautifully worked wooden sculptures of natural forms in moments of distress; be it beetles on their backs or a trapped bird imploring the viewer to intervene, both gives rise to feelings of our own helplessness.

The photo based artists Amy Christensen, Shelley McDermott and Binu Bhaskar and painters Maria-Luisa Marino and Margaret McIntosh seek to capture intense personal moments by documenting a time and place that reflects a state of mind, either by referencing personal histories or by tapping into the universal psyche.

Meagan Wyke through her constructions and Lux Cabatingan via digital media explore the physical perception of space itself. The quality of these artists merit support and clearly add to the diversity of arts and culture in Victoria, most particularly in Regional/Rural Victoria.

Planning meeting: Louis Patterson, Lux Cabatingan, Amy Christensen, Maria-Luisa Marino, Meagan Wyke, Michael Gallop.

Gallery 1: Margaret McIntosh - Other People's Houses

2010-06-01T13:51:00.034+10:00

Opening event Saturday July the 3rd @ 6:30pm the Artist Bar will be open so come and join us and the artist to celebrate the opening of this exhibition that continues until 30 August. This CAN Inc.exhibition is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

When I First Met Your Ma 2010 oil on plywood 60x 64cm

Margaret McIntosh completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting at theVictorian College of the Arts, Melbourne in 2009 were she received the Maude Glover Fleay Award for painting. Originally from Gippsland she now lives and works in Melbourne. Margaret has always been interested in portraiture, in this body of work she is also looking at the context of her subjects.
" ...I am interested in the spaces we occupy, particularly, domestic spaces. I like the narrative that occurs in them and how such familiar elements such as windows and fences for example imply things outside of what the viewer sees. They seem to invite us into realms which we can only regard from a distance or at times separate...."
Other People's Houses Paintings by Margaret McIntosh.

Gallery Closed till this exhibition opens
Gallery Hrs Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 11am-5pm.