On show at Redland Art Gallery

I visited Redland Art Gallery at Cleveland today and saw two very interesting exhibitions. (I am slightly biased, I have an artwork in one of the shows). The first Nature Interrupted is an exhibition of contemporary Australian sculpture, including works by a couple of my favourite artists - Janet Laurence and Vera Moller. The show also has works by Sebastion Di Mauro, Simone Eisler, Sarah Newall, Anna-Maria O'Keeffe, Caroline Rothwell, Kathy Temin and Carmel Wallace. Artists in the exhibition explore botanical anomalies, pseudo-natural forms, visions of the future and uncanny takes on familiar environments. Themes include environmental concerns, metamorphosis, evolution and fantastical worlds. I always enjoy seeing Janet Laurence's work in the flesh, the large panel installation did not disappoint. Surfaces of pigment and printed glass overlayed with sculptural tree branch and charred wood create a luscious visual feel along with a foreboding conceptual message. Three clay groupings by Vera Moller are at once fun with polka dots and curly hair on plant-type forms; and at the same time delicate and visually striking in their attention to detail and carefully selected colour palette. Many other works were interesting in their original use of material and construction process. The second exhibition Much Loved , is a selection of works from the Redland Art Gallery Collection. In 2010 Redland Art Gallery volunteers were asked to nominate their favourite works from the collection. I was thrilled to find my large hand cut paperwork 'Co-existence' on show as part of the exhibition. After my show last year the work was framed for the collection, so this was my first really good look at it again in it's new frame. Many local artists are represented in this show with artworks in a variety of medium. Each work includes comments from volunteers as to why they regard it as 'much loved'. The exhibitions continue until 10th April and are well worth a look.