Glass, metal and clay
Three diverse artists are showing their works at Nancy Sever Gallery this month. Contemporary designer Gilbert Riedelbauch combines digital technologies with traditional metalworking techniques. Avi Amesbury explores the multi-layered and intricate relationships between place, experience and memory. She uses materials collected from the land, such as clay and volcanic ash, to explore her place within the Australian landscape. And Mel George looks to "give form and permanence to the intangibility of time – the impression of both its impending and passing presence. Glass allows her to present abstract narratives and archetypally ephemeral daily acts as visually soft immersive fields that give rigid preservation and permanence." Riedelbauch | Amesbury | George is showing at Nancy Sever Gallery, 4/6 Kennedy Street, Kingston, until May 1.
Witness Trees
They stand sentinel over life events, and never say a word, and now, they're the subject of an exhibition at the Gallery of Australian Design: "'Witness trees are long-standing trees located in places where they may have "witnessed" key events in history," says the gallery. "The organised, massive tree plantings of Canberra provide records of the lifespans of the trees of the urban forest. As these trees come to the end of their useful life as city street trees, they are removed and usually mulched. The ACT Witness Tree Project has distributed the timber of a handful of these trees to selected artists, craftspeople, and furniture makers. These makers have investigated the local history and heritage of the felled trees, reflected on what the trees may have 'seen' or 'heard' in their lifespans, and made objects that reflect the trees' experiences." The ACT Witness Tree Project is showing at GAD, 47 Jardine Street, Kingston, until April 30.
Florence, Bungendore, Tokyo
Ceramic artist Sally Walk has a new show at Suki & Hugh – somehow, between exhibiting at the Florence Biennale and jetting off to the Tokyo International Art Fair: "Semblance refers to Sally's fascination with human nature, in particular the facades often created to ensure belonging … Heavily influenced through her upbringing by the sea, the theme of an 'outer shell' is particularly evident in the series of frilled spheres of various sizes." Semblance, by Sally Walk, is showing until May 29 at Suki & Hugh Gallery, 38A Gibraltar Street, Bungendore.
Identity at the Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is exploring the theme of identity and what it means to be Australian throughout 2016. Next Sunday April 24, there'll be a special screening of home movies showing 1960s and 70s Canberra through the eyes of migrant families, as well as two Australian films that "present different cultures settling into the 'Australian identity' of the time". The afternoon starts with a free event where amateur filmmakers from Europe, the Middle East and south-east Asia will share their vintage home movies, which captured their experiences of moving to a new country, and continues with King of the Coral Sea, which portrays "the perils and camaraderie involved in pearl diving in the 1950s", followed by the multi-award winning memoir – Home Song Stories. For more information and bookings, visit nfas.gov.au
So emotional at M16
It's time to get, well, emotional at M16 because that's the theme of the three latest shows to open there. In Knots and Nerves, three Canberra artists – Amelia Thompson, Alana Sivell and Anna Madeleine – have created a show in which "shared materials, methods and concepts emerge and coalesce to break apart expectations of the feminine that often contradict encounters of anxiety, pain and simmering, heart-pounding rage". In Surfaced , Janet Angus has oil paintings that depict "the forms of stark architecturally informed constructions that consist of layered two dimensional surfaces". And in Prove It, Shan Crosbie "explores the phenomenon of escaped livestock being saved from the slaughterhouse by the media. Playing on the relationship between print and painting, copy and original, this mass installation of works aims to shed light on our selective empathy towards animals that have 'proved' their will to live". All three exhibitions are showing until May 1 at M16 Artspace, 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith.
Past and Present at the Court
Nothing like a bit of trumpet in a grand hall of a Sunday arvo, am I right? Next Sunday April 24, Paul Goodchild, one of Australia's leading trumpet players, will team up with pianist Susanne Powell to perform works by Russian composer Alexander Goedicke, Bohuslav Martinu, and local composer Alan Holley, with his Blue Triangle for Solo Flugelhorn and his Solo Trumpet masterpiece Ornithologia written in 2010, to contrast with a 1920's Cornet Solo by Percy Code entitled At Dawn, which Paul will perform on a Gallipoli cornet. The program also features two French works by Jean Francaix entitled Le Gai Paris, and Jean Hubeau's Movement Three Sonata. Blasts from the Past and Present, performed by Paul Goodchild, is at the High Court in Parkes, Sunday April 24 at 1.30pm. Bookings essential. Visit hcourt.gov.au/about/concerts for more information.
Artist talk with Ruth Hingston
Craft ACT member Ruth Hingston, well known for her Canberra Life embroideries, will be giving a talk as part of Heritage Week about her time spent living in the historic Ready-Cut Cottage in Namadgi National Park as part of the 2015 Craft ACT residency program. Hingston's practice is based on textiles drawing, illustration and fashion: "She sees her art practice as an excellent way to express the complexity of the environment and the dependence we have on it for our good health." Ruth Hingston will be speaking on Saturday April 16 at Craft ACT, 1st Floor, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Civic, from 2.00-3.00pm. Entry is free.
New CEO for Craft ACT
And while we're on the topic, congratulations to Rachael Coghlan, who has just been appointed chief executive officer of Craft ACT: "Rachael brings more than 20 years experience working in national cultural institutions in Australia's museum sector, shaping the full continuum of visitor engagement from audience development, exhibitions and events, to digital and external communications. Rachael was the project director for National Arboretum Canberra and has held senior management roles at the National Museum of Australia, Old Parliament House, and the National Portrait Gallery. Rachael is a current PhD candidate at the Australian National University in Canberra, exploring opportunities to democratise the museum experience using audience participation." A new dawn for a great institution!
