focusinterview.
1st Avenue
G a l l e r y
A contemporary art gallery/exhibition space located at the northern end of the Sawtell restaurant strip on First Avenue. We are positioned right next door to the newly established and now popular Mothers Milk café and bar. Stepping in to this space is like being on High Street, Armidale. The three owners, Andrew, Nicholas and Jennifer (not pictured) are very cool and cultured. he key directive of the gallery is to display exhibitions of contemporary art, with each exhibition lasting typically three weeks duration. These consist of solo exhibitions by painters, sculptors and photographers based both locally and from around the country. We also curate group exhibitions, usually consisting of 10 different artists. Sometimes these will follow a single theme; sometimes they’re simply a celebration of the individual artist’s gifted art practice. As well, we hold exhibitions of indigenous art from Aboriginal owned art cooperatives from all around Australia. And we’re thrilled to be able to exhibit African art from the West African region. Who are the owners of the gallery? The three Directors of the gallery are Andrew Eckersley, Jennifer England and Nicholas Kachel. Are you all locals? Yes, we are all locals (more than 20 years living in this community). How do you all know one another? All three of us have long standing professional and personal friendships spanning over 20 years. Who plays what role? All aspects of gallery requirements are shared between us. Briefly, what are your career backgrounds? Nicholas is a practicing/exhibiting artist (painter) along with completing conservation framing and was the director of John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, 2001 – 2008. A favourite of Nicholas’ is interior styling. Jennifer studied Fine Arts – Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE and is now a practicing/exhibiting artist (painter), a published illustrator and cartoonist. Roles: Arts administrator for Ku-Ring-Gai Council in Sydney, Fine Art Department Administrator – Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE and currently Art Group Coordinator – Headspace Coffs Harbour. Andrew: contemporary furniture designer/ 4 coffs coast focus.
maker, conservation picture framing, manager at John Gordon Gallery, graphic designer, gallery consultant and art fair coordinator for Peta Appleyard Gallery in Alice Springs. What artworks are exhibited on any given day? As mentioned, the gallery displays specifically curated exhibitions month to month – so every month is a new and exciting experience for the audience. Each exhibition is accompanied with an “opening night” – over 400 clients on our mailing list receive a formal invitation to announce the new exhibition and attend a 2-hour function providing drinks and canapés. This function is held particularly to celebrate the artist’s achievement in the production of the artwork for the exhibition. It is a great forum for the work to be viewed, admired, and discussed. It’s also an opportunity for patrons of the gallery to talk to the artist/artists in person and to acquire pieces for their art collections. All are welcome, invitation or not – we are specifically encouraging as many new clients as we possibly can to join our mailing list by completing the contact form on our webpage at www.1stavenuegallery.com.au. How have the people of the Coffs Coast responded to a privately owned contemporary exhibition space? Really well, as expected – the art minded community of the local area has an admirable experience of the arts. This audience supports the Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery with its excellent yearly program of important exhibitions and art programs directed by Dr Leigh Summers. This audience also makes regular visits to the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, along with visits to the privately owned contemporary galleries in Sydney as well. The Coffs Harbour community has two other closely located regional art galleries: the Grafton Regional Gallery; and the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale. So yes, the local community is well versed in the arts, has an informed
There are a number of tists in highly gifted ar re e’ w the region and r the fo g in always look ed er ov sc next undi talent .”
“
knowledge, understanding and appreciation. Many in the community support the arts by building their own art collections and investing in contemporary art pieces for their home and workplace. On a day-to-day basis, how does the gallery operate? The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm and on the weekends 10am to 4pm. We welcome all visitors to the gallery to view the current exhibition. Days are spent liaising with gallery artists about future exhibitions, engaging with the audience in the gallery about the specific pieces on exhibition, and the ongoing dialogue of what suitable pieces of art might be a fine addition for gallery clients to add to their homes and collections. The week leading up to a new exhibition opening is spent taking down the previous show, repairing and repainting the walls and then curating the upcoming show. Curating is by far the most exciting task involved in gallery work and although this is a busy week, we remain open to the public throughout. Your next exhibit is Trevor Jamison Watercolours. What can you reveal about the artist, and when are the dates? Trevor Jamison will be exhibiting a selection of watercolour paintings. The exhibition will open on Friday 23rd May 2014 at 5.30pm and continue until 7th June. This is Trevor’s second solo exhibition. His first solo show was at The Watch House in Balmain in 2012. Trevor will show up to 40 paintings in his upcoming exhibition. A VIP guest speaker, the local identity Garth McGilvray, will introduce the exhibition followed by a music recital by the cellist Trish O’Brien and a few words by the artist himself. All are welcome to attend the “opening night”. In your opinion, which artists’ works contin-
ues to inspire you? Nicholas: it is Pablo Picasso and the Australian artists Del Kathryn Barton and Rover Thomas. Bark paintings and sculpture from the Maningrida community (NT) along the art movement that is Papunya Tula Artists (NT) are also very special to me. Jennifer: Henri Matisse and Beryl Cook. Matisse’s still life and use of colour has always been a great influence in my own work. The humour in the work of English painter Beryl Cook never gets old and has inspired me since I was a small child. Andrew: Fiona McMonagle, Andy Warhol, Tracey Moffatt, Makinti Napanangka. What do you think about our local talent? Amazed ... many of the local artists are incredibly talented, and we are fortunate to be able to exhibit their work. There are a number of highly gifted artists in the region, and we’re always looking for the next undiscovered talent. Having the opportunity to offer a space for such a dedicated array of artists is a privilege. Working in a gallery is so special; it’s a dream of mine to be around art all day long … what’s the best thing about your day job? Working with the artists exhibited in the gallery, engaging with the daily audience visiting the gallery, building long-term relationships and friendships with clients and generally being gracious for participating in the arts in Australia – not to mention the privilege of being associated with the Aboriginal Art Movement in Australia. Art is a form of expression that each of us have an incredible respect for and it’s a profession that we’re passionate about, so to be able to work amongst it on a daily basis and to discuss the impact it has with those who observe it is something we’re very grateful for. Thanks guys.