Art

What's on at the Galleries!

Australian Centre for Photography (ACP)
Until 26 April: Izebela Pluta SINGULARITY
Tuesday to Friday 12:00-7:00pm
Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 6:00pm

Cooks Hill Galleries
**Opening Friday April 4 at 6:00pm--Katria Smith and Rod Bathgate
Until April 28
Katrina Smith, People Engaging, acrylic figurative paintings
Until April 28
Rod Bathgate, new oil and pastel paintings
Open: Friday, Saturday & Monday 11am - 6pm, Sunday 2pm - 6pm or by appointment
Venue: Cooks Hill Galleries , 67 Bull Street, Newcastle Contact Details: Cooks Hill Galleries on (02) 4926 3899 or at www.cookshill.com

Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
Until 30 March: Who let the dogs out


Maitland Regional Art Gallery
 

Newcastle Region Art Gallery
Theresa Schuber, Sonic Spheres, a sensory installation inspired by the cycle of nature
Nicola Hensel
Allan Chawners
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 10am - 5pm
Venue: Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Laman Street
Contact Details: (02) 4974 5100 or www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/discover_newcastle/region_art_gallery

Front Room Gallery
Newcastle Art School (TAFE) Hunter Institute
**Opening JAM, Staff Show Tuesday 1 April 6pm
to be opened by Ron Ramsey, Director, Newcastle Region Art Gallery

Until April 11: JAM, featuring work by Newcastle Art School staff such as Michael Bell, John Morris, Dallas Bray,Vera Zulumovski, Matthew Tome, Leslie Tilly, Peter Read, Braddon Snape, Laura Wilson and many more
Open: Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm
Newcastle Art School 582 Hunter Street Newcastle West NSW 2302 (cnr. Union Street)
Tel. 02 49290348
www.newcastleartschool.com.au

John Miller Galleries
Until 13 April: Dean Beletich & Rieteka Guersen
Open: Thursday - Sunday 12noon - 5:30pm37 Darby Street, Newcastle
Contact Details: (02) 4929 6080 or  www.johnmillergalleries.com

John Paynter Gallery
Open: Friday-Sunday 10am - 5pm
Venue: the lock-up, 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle
Contact Details: the lock-up on 4925 2265 or at www.thelockup.info

Greenway Gallery
Open Thursday-Sunday 10:30am-4:00pm
166 Swan Street Morpeth
Contact: 0412 524 682

PODSPACE 
Michael Bell
Over 55 prints from Paris
Open Wed-Sat 12-5pm
3/231 King Street
First Floor
Contact: (02)49270470

Catbird Gallery
Open Wed-Sun 10am-4pm
211 Dowling St.

Newcastle Art Space
246 Parry St, Newcastle West 2032
Gallery hours: 12 noon to 5pm Thursday-Sunday

Watt Space

 

Kerrie Coles

The Peace Between Hyper and Surreal

By Laura Wilson

 

Crisp, clean, structural, architectural, and familiar.

Coles’ recent exhibition at the John Miller Gallery in Darby street, Newcastle, was a vast array of cityscapes depicting modernism and nature. While her subject matter is not original, her development of it is. Coles has chosen to provide a window for the viewer at ‘two thirds sky’, which is higher than ground level and below a birds-eye view.

 

High above the detail and daily rubbish of modern life, the view is pristine and atmospheric. Coles is successful in demonstrating the unique beauty of heritage buildings alongside modern creations. Her treatment of buildings harks back to the great father of modern art, Paul Cezanne. The buildings are angular with depth created by flat, solid colours. The long shadows created by buildings in the late afternoon sun are reminiscent of early 20^th century metaphysical painter, Giorgio De Chirico, but without the same elements of loneliness and isolation.

 

The ocean beyond the city is vivid blue; which is enhanced by the use of the buildings as a frame. Coles’ recent offering of paintings is not Hyper-Realism or Surrealism but a peaceful place in-between. Every Novacastrian can identify with these images, which reinforces just how lucky we are.

Arts season under threat

Daniel Ballantyne, Manager of the Civic Precinct Newcastle, today urged the Australian Government to increase funding to its Playing Australia program, and expressed his fears that the current lack of funding would endanger the 2008 performing arts season at the Civic Theatre.

Mr Ballantyne says the most recent two funding announcements by Playing Australia (September 2006 and April 2007) have fallen short by an estimated $3m, resulting in Civic Precinct Newcastle presenting nine fewer performances in 2008, impacting on 12,000 seats.