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Spotlight on Local Art
art
Gallery Lane Cove will participate in the well-established Art Month Sydney contemporary art festival with a stunning ceramics exhibition by artist Ruth Ju-Shih Li and another multi-media exhibition titled Rewilding, which explores the captivating and controversial concept of returning Earth’s habitats to a natural, preindustrial state.
Ruth Ju-Shih Li, who is currently artist-in-residence at Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios, has a significant international profile and is represented by MAY SPACE in Sydney. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at the National Art School, Darlinghurst (NAS) in 2013. Pre-COVID, she divided her time between Taiwan, her ancestral homeland, China and Australia.
Since graduating, Li has exhibited widely in Sydney and internationally in Taiwan, China, Korea, and Thailand. She was a finalist in the North Sydney Art Prize in 2017, won the Emerging Artists Prize in 2019, and received the Special Prize at the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale International 2020.
Ruth explores different ways of narrating both traditional and multicultural concepts of beauty and draws inspiration from her diverse cultural heritage, both philosophically and aesthetically, while also referencing the language of dreams, myths and the idea of utopia.
Her exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove titled “Flora Ephemera” investigates the different possibilities of ceramics, in particular porcelain, and has works that are both sculptural and site-specific installations. Curated by Rachael Kiang, the show is described as “autobiographical in nature,” while acting as “a metaphorical meditation on the fragile paradox of life, death and time.”
The gallery’s “Rewilding” exhibition pulls together a diverse group of artists including Alyson Hayes (our “Artist Profile” this month), Kat Seward, Penelope Cain, Barbara Doran, Susie Pratt, Wendy Bishop and Greg Hodgkinson. Curated by Lane Cove locals Ann Proudfoot and Sky Hugman, it features ceramics, paintings, photographs, papier-
Art Month Sydney in Lane Cove
Gallery Lane Cove is part of Art Month Sydney, a city-wide festival that celebrates contemporary art, artists and galleries which runs from 4-21 March. More than 60 galleries across Sydney are involved.
mâché, sculptures and sound, light and multimedia installations and is designed to stimulate conversations about arts-based responses to the restoration of natural eco-systems and human involvement with them.
Both exhibitions are complemented by a public engagement program that includes a series of workshops, rituals, and panel discussions with artists and curators.
Alyson Hayes
Alyson Hayes
Can you describe to us the type of artist you are, and the medium you work in?
I am a ceramic artist working in porcelain, bone china and earthenware. I create sculptural forms using slip casting, handbuilding and a variety of surface techniques. In the past I have used light to illuminate my translucent works. Presently I am combining “living art” with my ceramic pieces.
What motivates you to ‘create’?
Nature, my connection to it and helping others feel connected to it is the main motivator for most things that I do. My artwork is one of the ways I foster this connection by evoking memories of nature in the viewer and allowing them to contemplate its intricacies.
Where did you learn your craft, or is it something you were blessed with?
I was always fairly creative and have a Bachelor of Design from COFA, UNSW. I went in with dreams of becoming a graphic designer and came out covered in clay.
Do you find Lane Cove and surrounds a supportive place for artists and creators?
As Lane Cove is surrounded with bushland it has been the perfect place for a nature inspired artist. Gallery Lane Cove and the purpose-built creative studios are an amazing addition to the area, running workshops that cater to all ages in many different mediums.
Do you believe there should be more support for the arts, and if so, how would that manifest?
There is always more room for funding for the arts and we cannot underestimate its importance. All cultures throughout history have had a relationship with the arts and it plays a big role in how we interact with each other and our world. It would be great to see more street art and pop-up exhibitions in Lane Cove.
How would we go about seeing your works?
My work is part the Rewilding exhibition at Gallery Lane Cove, along with the work of Kath Seward, Penelope Cain, Barbara Doran, Susie Pratt, Wendy Bishop and Greg Hodgkinson.
Which artists/creators inspire you?
Ceramic artist Angela Mellor whom I studied with in WA would have to be the biggest influence on my work, her paperclay technique has been invaluable in translating natural patterns into my sculptures. Andrea Vinkovic and Fleur Schell are also artists who inspire me.
LISTINGS
Flora Ephemera
• 4 March – 3 April 2021 • Artist: Ruth Ju-Shih Li • Curator: Rachael Kiang
PUBLIC PROGRAM
• Discussion Panel with Ruth Ju-Shih Li, Rachael Kiang and a guest speaker • Sat 13 March 11am
FREE, bookings essential. • Clay workshop led by Ruth Ju-Shih Li • Sunday 14 March 1-2:30pm and 3-4:30pm - $51.00 Basic clay-forming techniques, or create own organic forms. Coming together to produce one collaborative clay work. No equipment or experience required. • Porcelain intensive two-day workshop led by Ruth Ju-Shih Li • Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March 9:30am-5pm • $390 per person, $350 concession (full time student) Six intensive practical activities will emphasize on meticulous and detailed technical skills. For students/artists with prior knowledge of ceramics and clay.
Rewilding
• 3 March – 3 April 2021 • Artists: Alyson Hayes, Kat Seward,
Penelope Cain, Barbara Doran,
Susie Pratt, Wendy Bishop,
Greg Hodgkinson • Curators: Ann Proudfoot and
Dr Sky Hugman
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Reinvent, Reuse and Relax: working with paper workshop - $55.00 • Friday 12 March 6:30pm-8:00pm Papier-mâché artist Wendy Bishop and mixed-media artist Barbara Doran. The Lure of the Local: Thinking Rewilding in Lane Cove - FREE Sat 20 March 11:00-12:30pm Artists, curators and local bush conservation experts explore rewilding in Lane Cove and beyond. Closing Ritual with Susie Pratt Saturday 3rd April 11:00am-12:00pm This event will explore artistic practice to think about rituals for the modern world and art processes for growth, grieving and sense making.
