Waterfall
Lesleigh Stewart
21 - 27 September 2026
Waterfall Waterfalls can be inspiringly beautiful. Water cascading, splashing through filtered light and over ancient rock. A symphony of sound heard echoing through forests and old trees. Afareaitu Waterfall in French Polynesia gives inspiration and meaning to these contemporary paintings. The works reveal a sacred place where mountain Gods and spirits from local mythology created pathways to an afterlife. A place where one can be renewed, release negative energy, be revitalized or reunited with the love of oneself or another. The paintings explore a natural world hidden with secrets. A divine place that invites awakening, cleansing and spiritual transformation. I explore what a painting can become through a process-driven approach where direct representation is not a priority. Painting serves as an intuitive response to the materiality of paint and the surface utilizing a minimal palette. Ultimately, the act of painting becomes an embodiment of what is felt. By transferring spiritual and existential nuances, my relationship to the natural world is attuned until the painting reveals itself and is resolved. Through this visceral experience, the viewer is invited to be with the work in quietude, contemplation and meditative states if desired. - Lesleigh Stewart 2026
Front cover image credit: Mountain Streams Fell into the Silent Pool Below, 2026 (detail). Back cover image credit: Trees in Secret Valleys Hear Water Falling, 2026 (detail).
Captured Paradise 1., 2025, Oil on linen, 101 x 91cm $2,200
Captured Paradise 2., 2025, Oil on linen, 101 x 91cm $2,200
Sacred Life Force (Mana), 2026, Oil on linen, 92 x 92cm $1,800
Mountain Streams Fell into the Silent Pool Below, 2026, Oil on linen, 92 x 76cm $1,400
Trees in Secret Valleys Hear Water Falling, 2026, Oil on linen, 76 x 92cm $1,400
Sunset Visions, 2026, Oil on canvas, 84 x 71cm $1,300
They Promised You Heaven, 2026, Oil on linen, 66 x 84cm $1,200
Coloured Sunlight, 2026, Oil on linen, 61 x 61cm $790
Where Lovers Dream, 2026, Oil on linen, 61 x 61cm $790
Views to Tahiti, 2026, Oil on linen, 61 x 61cm $790
Where Breath is Taken, 2026, Oil on canvas, 61 x 61cm $790
Waterfall Afareaitu, 2026, Oil on canvas, 61 x 61cm $790
The Spirit of the Mountain, 2025, Oil on linen, 40 x 36cm $340
Fauai and Ivi, 2025, Oil on linen, 40 x 36cm $340
ArtSpace @ Jan Manton Gallery 54 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe QLD 4005 info@janmantonart.com 0419 657 768
Gallery Director: Jan Manton Gallery Manager: Ginga Kondo Gallery Assistant: Safron Holford Photography: Mick Richards