visual art 2005 - 2007

	circus | joe furlonger circus of lost soles | robert callander egg face| an mrag education initiative opening friday 10 august 2007 6.00pm by ray hughes, director ray hughes gallery 10 august - 23 september 2007 The Circus is an endearing and generally well-loved theme. This exhibition brings together an artist who has spent many years studying and translating the characters of the circus into both 2D and 3D work; an artist who has spent the last year creating a magnificent diorama of the circus, and over 60 preschool children and their idea of the clown in the circus.   joe furlonger circus 2005 pigment in acrylic binder on canvas 155 x 170 cm robert callander (detail) circus of lost soles 2006 - 2007 mixed media dimensions variable clown image from www.sxc.hu
	pencilworks susan ryman and nicola hensel artists in residence | the drawing room Susan and Nicola will be working in the drawing room each wednesday during the exhibition pencilworks 11 may - 24 june 2007. artist statement - nicola hensel One of my earliest memories is of using my mother's red lipstick to draw on the wall in the front hall. I remember the fascination I had with the startling luscious red. I remember the carefully stacked rectangular shapes I'd drawn in a slow wobbly line- and I remember the smack on the bottom from an understandably annoyed mother. Undeterred, and encouraged by that same mother, I grew up into an artist who draws her way through life and still finds pleasure and inspiration in a red line on a white wall.  artist statement - susan ryman I have always loved the humble business of colouring in. As for Nicola, I am drawn to the overlooked and disregarded elements of life in my surrounds - both domestically and in my travels. Within each work I have suggested a narrative that I would like to invite viewer to bring their own experiences. Within each staged set, I hope many silent conversations will take place.
	photovoices opening 6.00pm friday 29 june 2007 by brett alexander principal lecturer and coordinator fibres textiles studio, the university of newcastle 29 June – 5 August 2007 This is a photographic project connecting with Maitland and the Hunters gay and lesbian community. Photographer, Sharon Aldrick will be working with participants and their families to document a day in their life, including aspects connected with their involvement in the 2007 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The images will capture the everyday, from their natural surroundings, to the preparations associated with the Mardi Gras. Complimenting Sharon’s work will be photographs by the participants themselves, documenting aspects of their life from their point of view. The images will be showcased in several ways; on large banners showcased throughout High Street (opposite the Visitors Centre), in a photographic exhibition in the art gallery and throughout a postcard booklet. The images on a whole will become an educational tool in schools, youth centre’s and other health and community based organizations to create awareness surrounding the diverse cultures and groups which reside throughout the Maitland community.
	shopART opening tuesday 17 april @ 4.00pm greenhills shopping centre, east maitland (adjacent to customer service desk) exhibition dates 12 april - 26 april 2007 This project will involve the skills of emerging artists working alongside students 6-12yrs attending MRAG art Tuesday’s, to create installations that will be showcased in shop front windows throughout various businesses. There will be several workshops implemented over an eight week period, where the artists will work collaboratively with their students to unique artworks. It is anticipated that each work will be site-specific, resonating with its surroundings. take seventeen 6-12 year olds, add four artists, throw in a shopping centre, mix for 8 weeks and you get shopART – a series of sculptural installations for lovers of shopping. working with a professional artist, kids aged 6-12 conceive, develop and create unique works of art that feature in our exhibition program.
	james a casey | an unstill life opening friday 30 march 2007 6.00pm 30 march - 6 may 2007 Before he ‘retired’ to paint full time Casey worked as an old style sign writer and late at night ‘stole hours’ to create many of the paintings in the exhibition all of which are still life. Still life is a genre of painting which since the sixteenth century has employed simple objects posited together as the subject matter for a painting. “Dead nature” is the literal translation of ‘nature morte’, the French expression for still life. There is nothing dead, however, about this particular oeuvre of painting and it is very much alive in the hands of Casey. Camellias in Porcelain Bowl 2005 Oil on canvas board 39.5 x 49.5cm
	shot in maitland 20 October – 3 December 2006 With financial assistance from MCC and Arts NSW, MRAG commissioned Sydney based artist/photographer Michel Brouet to take a series of images of Maitland, a sort of 'day in the life of’. The outcome of the project was to have an exhibition and a book published featuring Brouet's selected images of Maitland that has come to be known as Shot in Maitland. To accompany and compliment this initiative, a series of postcards of Brouet's images was also produced that further promote the city of Maitland. The project mutated somewhat when Australia's own mystery crime writer and Maitland resident Barry Maitland was commissioned to write accompanying fictional text for the book. In typical Barry Maitland style he wrote six short stories which in the final chapter all come together with his usual twists and turns. Together, the text and images evoke a somewhat surreal mysterious feel and therefore the book will provide a unique lasting document for the city of Maitland. top michel brouet middle michel brouet face painting gelatin silver photograph, 42 x 63 cm 2006 bottom barry maitland
	View of Maitand from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) opening Saturday 1 July 3.00pm by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO Governor of New South Wales 1 July - 20 August 2006 Since February this year twelve visual artists of national and international standing have visited Maitland to paint a View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft). The artists are, Suzanne Archer, Michael Fitzjames, Joe Frost, Emma Lohmann, Clare Martin, Alexander McKenzie, Leo Robba, Judith Ryrie, John R Walker, Judith White and Peter Pinson. Each artist has produced one final painting of the city of Maitland as seen from the northern river bank along the Hunter River.
	Pink II 10 February - 26 March 2006 pink II was an exhibition by 8 Hunter based queer artists working in a diverse range of art practices. The exhibition is a collaborative event between the artists, Rainbow Visions Hunter (a group working to build community among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in Newcastle and the Hunter) and Maitland Regional Art Gallery. image by scott carey
	JAB 25 November 2005 - 15 january 2006 A project encompassing textile and fibre art involving 3 internationally recognised artists, Janis Jefferies, Annika Ekdahl and Brett Alexander. The exhibition communicated each artist's individual and contemporary styles associated with their chosen medium and subject matter.
	Golden Threads 20 August 2005 - 2 October 2005 A Visions Touring Exhibition Chinese-Australians have played an important part in our state and national history. The Golden Threads Project invites you to think about and share the Chinese contribution to your locality and to your family and community histories.
	Made in China (II) Greg Leong 20 August 2005 - 2 October 2005 a Tasmanian based Artist, born in Hong Kong, whose art practice is shaped by his experiences as an 'outsider' in contemporary Australia.