SEPT 2016 | FIGURE vs LANDSCAPE FROM SUSAN WEAVER, BRUCE ROWLAND, BERND HEINRICH, SHANNON WOODWARD & PRO HART

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Cooks Hill Galleries has curated an exhibition showcasing a selection of art from a scope of Australian artists including Susan Weaver, Bruce Rowland, Bernd Heinrich, Shannon Woodward and Pro Hart.

Several particularly known for their technique and subject matter with our clients, others new- with a unique appeal. All are professional artists with a signature style!
Abstract, traditional, cubist and expressionist are all represented. As a result we have a diverse online and gallery exhibition that gives an insight to the ‘established’ and the ‘emerging’ reputation of our artists.

The in gallery and online exhibition features a collection of affordable contemporary paintings that will resonate with art collectors, whether it be those seeking a showpiece for their home, office or an addition to an existing collection.

Yours in art,
Mark Widdup
CHG Director

THE ARTISTS:

SUSAN WEAVER
"Susan Weaver paintings offer a rich colouring that radiates, almost vibrates with energy! The viewer is taken to a landscape, one at first we try to explain or resolve however we end up entering the ‘artists’ universe. Imaginary or real we are met with shadows, structures, reflection and emotion laced with a saturation of layered surfaces within the composition. Perhaps one word best describes the effect for me - luminous" Mark Widdup

Susan Weaver developed a technique which sets her apart from other artists layering of oil pastel and oil on canvas to achieve the powerful and alluring luminosity that is compelling the viewer to look inside, into the depths of her paintings. Her paintings have specific meaning using symbols to represent patterns of nature, spiritual imagery and change. Susan's work appears in collections including; Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Lake Macquarie Regional City Art Gallery, Newcastle Permanent Building Society, Hunter Medical Research Institute, PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) Shaw Gidley.

BERND HEINRICH
"My paintings are quintessentially, contemporary Australian landscapes, with a look that is simultaneously haunted, scarred, entrancing, lucid and resonating. They are "playgrounds" an inner exciting experience of freedom not constrained by convention or boundaries.
My re-occurring themes are divided and separated by lines, images, symbols, forms and shapes floating in space to be composed like a sheet of music in the harmony of a visual symphony. The tension between images is revealing my inner world and the depth of my concept." Bernd Heinrich

Born in Weimar in Germany. Studied at the Kunst Academy Augsburg and graduated with an Honours Degree. He held numerous Solo and group Exhibitions since 1974. He was finalist in the Archibald Prize with portraits of Garry McDonald in 1978 and Thomas Kenneally in 1990. Represented in the National Portrait
Gallery Canberra with the Portrait of Thomas Kenneally and in numerous private Collections in Australia, America, England and Germany.
Excepted many times in the Wynne Prize and in the Dobell Prize 2003 with a drawing of Prof. Peter Pinson. In Germany he exhibited in the Grosse Kunst Ausstellung in Munich. Member of the AWI.

BRUCE ROWLAND
"When an eminent Australian artist (now deceased) was asked "What are you painting these days?" he replied "The same old thing, only better!"
As a painter I'm constantly chasing the elusive "master work": The painting that will hold the attention of the viewer for longer than a minute; that will ask the question "how did he do it?" Why? Because that is exactly what I do when confronted by an important work by an Old or Modern Master." Bruce Rowland

It's hard to make a past comparison with any Australian artist who has the diversification, depth of art training, skills and breadth of art interest Rowland possesses. Furthermore, he has studied, taught, refined and developed a professionalism across so many mediums. Arguably there hasn't been an artist since Norman Lindsay who has the scope of art skill across so many media as Bruce Rowland. Apart from that, he is prepared to convey and share his artistic knowledge with anyone who shares an enthusiasm with art and art history. His art was acknowledged with a major survey exhibition of his artworks at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery in 2007.

PRO HART
"Pro Hart was criticised for being a prolific painter, his son John suggesting he painted over 70,000 artworks in his lifetime. Be that as it may the market continues to absorb his art as it has done for 50 years or so. I describe the artwork that comes to the market as the inevitable tide; it ebbs and flows i.e. it is being bought and sold constantly. In my 41 years of business, Pro Hart paintings continue to please and attract buyers." Mark Widdup

Po Hart (Kevin Charles Hart), born May 30, 1928, Broken Hill, N.S.W., Australia —died March 28, 2006, Broken Hill. An Australian artist who, crafted richly coloured oil and acrylic paintings, notably naive rural landscapes inspired by outback. Hart was a sheep farmer, miner, and self-taught painter and sculptor. He opened his own art gallery in Broken Hill, where he contributed to a wider appreciation of the ‘outback’ subject matter and themes. He became widely known to the Australian public in the 1990s through a series of television commercials for easy-to-clean carpets. Hart was made MBE in 1976 and awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003. He was philanthropic by nature and sympathetic to many charity initiatives.

SHANNON WOODWARD
“Shannon hasn’t exhibited with the gallery since 2006! Her style has become more explosive, with the cubist influence becoming more stylized. The figure is offset by an expressionist backdrop. The female form appears fluid whilst being almost three dimensional. At the same time, always under the control of the artist, being finely balanced between the foreground and background.” Mark Widdup

I developed a love of painting in 1986 at high school. My Fine Arts Diploma was a turning point for my future! The technique, the manipulation of mediums, the development of discovery of strength of colour and tone all found their way into my art. From portraits to the nude and female form is where I am most comfortable. I strove for simplicity and natural grace with multiple figures representing differing personalities inherent within most of us. Many of my paintings become a reflection of my personality. Whilst I strive for simplicity I realise mine is full of regrets.
For the viewer I would like to think I bring a little bit of calm to their lives. This is most pertinent when we live in a world where we don't stop to assess and appreciate all the wonderful things around us!