ARTIST INTERVIEW // NICHOLAS IVES

Nicholas Ives practices predominately in oil painting, and currently works from Melbourne Australia. 

Nicholas has been exhibiting throughout Australia for the past 15 years, and has held numerous solo exhibitions as well as participated in over 40 group exhibits across commercial, artist-run and state-run galleries. In addition, Nicholas has curated and co-curated exhibitions, ranging from independent pop-ups as well as the Linden Centre for Contemporary Art. 

With a strong interest in responding to time and place and his environment Nicholas has held studios abroad in Prato, Italy and Berlin, Germany, and has travelled widely across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.

Ives' practice explores the idea that the incidents and experiences of painting can articulate multiple possibilities for newly lived realities. For Ives, a painting is the mid-state of an event that operates as an experience with infinite divergence; that is, the instability of the painting process is a fluid reality that moves in the direction of the unlimited. The moment of painting is lived and defies abstraction, as it is an experiential travel towards a multitude of moments both past, future and side by side. 

Nicholas Ive's work is currently included in our group exhibition Future Process, co-curated by Michael Staniak and Ryan McGennisken. To coincide with the exhibition, we asked Nicholas to tell us a little more about his artistic practice...

Nicholas Ives_I’ve been tricked again_2015_oil on linen_95x105cm

Describe your work in 100 words or less: 

My work has focused on figuration over the last few years, however I view the figure as a 'painterly' site where many ideas can be explored. These pieces are dreamy, absurd and have a touch of a collage... They are unstable, illogical. They deal with ideas of irrationally while being fully engaged with the materiality of paint and the strange pursuit of their own creation.

Why Art? 

I can't do much else! But anything creative is vital in life I think, it's organic and is an amazing opportunity to remove yourself from the routines of day to day life. Art is also vital I think to society and culture and can foster new ideas, encourage debate and enable change.

Has your artistic practice changed over time? 

Yes & no. I try to remain open to stimuli around me - It keeps me in the present moment, and so my work has organically evolved over the years. There are tentpole ideas I seem to return to, the figure, but I avoid style - I never want to feel that I can't explore a certain idea or way of working because it doesn't fit my constructed 'singular ' narrative. I have explore the found-object, figurative painting from found sourced material, limited & stoic portraiture for a number of years that has recently evolved to more absurd, brighter figuration.

Nicholas Ives_For no reason and I'll admit i really don't know_2015_oil on linen_156x125cm each

Which artistic movements do you most identify with? 

No singular movement, but I can observe a figurative painting tradition that has evolved through time & various cultures around the world. I'm drawn to Spainsh classism- Velasquez, Goya, through to Manet and Cezanne. Recently perhaps Hockney, Bacon & Freud, and the contemporary work of Neo Rauch, Michael Borremans.

How do you work? Can you tell us about your process? 

I really like to always move and experiment with new things. With every new piece or small series I try to include a new element, I try to alter my way of working. This 'disruption' is a strong theme for me, like the 'black swan' theory which alters preconceived ideas. I enjoy exploring these themes or instability and divergence- the fluidity of paint is perfect for this.

What themes and ideas do you pursue? 

These ideas of divergence and rupture from a singular form lead to an infinite field of possibilities. The absurdity of a world of multiple realities excites me, and this fluid and unstable existence that we live is inspiration enough to create something new every time I begin working.

Nicholas Ives_I’ve been tricked again_2015_oil on linen_95x105cm

What is your dream project? 

I don't think I have one really, I focus more on the present.... But I love getting involved with other artists or anyone really to explore ideas so maybe a big collaborative project.

Where would you like to be in 5 years? 

I guess I'd love to be in a position where I can just paint everyday. Travel is a big thing for me as it expands your world and forces to you move, change, adapt and not become rigid in your thinking. I'd like to be travelling, living in another country maybe...?

If your work was a…

• Song, it would be… human & felt

• Smell, it would be… intriguing

• Meal, it would be… delicious

• Animal, it would be… friendly

• Word, it would be… evocative

• YouTube video, it would be… http://youtu.be/ZqzESY7SIqU

SOLID STATE // Tully Arnot and Jess MacNeil included in group exhibition at Casula Powerhouse

Jess Macneil, View From the Studio (Blue Kite), 2014

The Artereal Gallery team is looking forward to visiting the upcoming exhibition Solid State at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, a group exhibition that includes artworks from Artereal Gallery regulars, Tully Arnot and Jess MacNeil. 

Opening the evening of Friday 17 July, Solid State investigates the physical structure of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre as the architectural remains of a powerhouse. By curating artworks in tandem with the physical site, the selected artworks invite the public to reimagine the building in new and figurative ways. 

The selected artworks reference the Powerhouse by way of the skill and precision required to create and control force and movement, yet they also explore instances of instability, vacancy and the decay that arises when these properties do not exist.   

Artists included in Solid State: 

Tully Arnot

Marley Dawson

Nicholas Folland

Christopher Hanrahan

Anna Kristensen

Jess MacNeil

Callum Morton

Jamie North

Caroline Rothwell

Kathy Temin

Justin Trendall

Simon Yates

Ken + Julia Yonetani 

Solid State continues at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre until 6 September. For further information please visit their website.

CROSSING BOUNDARIES

Hyun-Hee Lee, Rachel Park and Karina Wikamto are all currently exhibiting as part of Crossing Boundaries - an exhibition curated by Catherine Croll and presented by the City of Sydney as part of the 2014 Chinese New Year Festival.

"Crossing Boundaries is a true celebration of the depth and range of relationships and artistic exchange that exists between Australia and the Asia Pacific as shown through the work of our extraordinarily talented Asian Australian artists.

One of the great strengths of our Australian population has been the ability to build upon what we share and celebrate our unique differences. 

Artists participating in Crossing Boundaries have created new work that reflects upon individual journeys undertaken, boundaries crossed and new territories explored to provide a dynamic exhibition with strong celebratory flavour for the Year of the Horse. 

Crossing Boundaries presents audiences with an eclectic range of paintings, sculptures, photographs, multi media, ceramics, installations, sound and videos which invite high levels of public interaction. 

In designing Crossing Boundaries I have worked hard to create new opportunities for dialogue and cultural exchange between participating artists and audiences through a vibrant public program featuring daily floor talks and artist forums." Catherine Croll, Curatorial Statement, 2014. 

Participating artists include: Ahn Wells & Laura Wilson, Akira Kamada, Chonggang Du, Dacchi Dang, Dongwang Fan, Ernest Aaron, Ganbold Lundaa, Greg Leong, Guan Wei, Hu Ming, Hyun Hee Lee, Jayanto Damanik, Joy Hopwood, Juma Adi, Karina Wikamto, Lindy Lee & Elizabeth Chang, Mai Nguyen-Long, Mayu Kanamori in collaboration with Maikei Hunt, Moyi Zhao & Yoshito Ito, Michael K Chin, Min Wong, Min-Woo Bang, Mylyn Nguyen, Nikki Lam, Pamela See, Pei Pei He, Phaptawan Suwannakudt, Rachel Park, Rowena, Juliana & Angela Foong, Somchai Charoen, Song Ling, Soyoun Kim, Tianli Zu, Toshiko Oiyama, Vienna Del Rosrio Parreno, William Yang and Yiwon Park.

Crossing Boundaries can be seen at Sydney Town Hall until 9 February, 2014.

KEN + JULIA YONETANI / PROJECT PLAIN

Ken + Julia Yonetani_Tree of Life_2013_notebook cover, burnt ashes of notebook, vegetable gum

Project Plain is an artistic project based on the plain brown notebook. Independent curator Dr. Guy Morag Tzepelewitz invited internationally acclaimed artists from around the world to create a work incorporating the plain brown notebook, challenging the artists to transform the notebook using any medium or technique of their choice.

"This project tries to capture the magic of a simpler, less commercial era, to check the connection of that magical era to our current reality and trends, celebrate the countless unique artistic perspectives and show that you can create an interesting work of art from the plainest and cheapest of materials."

Artistic duo Ken + Julia Yonetani have created the work, Tree of Life, in which they burnt the notebook and used the ashes to form a circle.

"The Tree of Life was once a living tree, then became a notebook, was burnt, its ashes used to form a circle, and then it was given its name. The circle is the embodiment of the cycle of life and death of the tree, and the idea that all living things are somehow related as a part of the energy of the universe." - Artist Statement

Project Plain is showing at the Biet Ha'ir Urban Culture Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel from 9 July - 9 November 2013.

LIAM BENSON EXHIBITING AND PERFORMING IN NEW YORK

Liam Benson_VB Sticker_Garis & Hahn Promotional Flyer

From May 8th - June 15th 2013, Garis & Hahn will be exhibiting 'Peripheral Visions', a group show showcasing contemporary art from Australia.

Curated by Marissa Bateman, the exhibition features Vernon Ah Kee, Joel Beerden, Liam Benson, Stephen Bird, Nicholas Folland, Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, Dan McKewen, Amanda Marburg, and Phoebe Rathmell.

"Peripheral Visions carries multiple meanings and resonances. Most immediately, it refers to Australia's peripheral positioning within the international art market, of which New York is the epicenter. With London's art powerhouses Saatchi Gallery and the Royal Academy both staging surveys of Australian art in the next eighteen months, it seemed fitting to start this international engagement with the exceptional artistic talent emerging from Australia, in the partly Australian-run New York Gallery, Garis & Hahn." - Marissa Bateman, Curator

Liam Benson will be exhibiting two photographic works in the show - The Opal Queen (2012) as well as a new work, Santa (2013). 

Liam has also been invited to exhibit a performance on the opening night of the show. Specifically created for Peripheral Visions, Liam will be performing 'Iridescent' (2013). The artist will be seated on a chair with a table that holds a bowl of silver iridescent glitter and adhesive. Over an hour, he will gradually cover his face and body with the glitter, pausing briefly to look up at viewers and make eye contact.

Liam will also be performing at Cutlog New York Art Fair on May 8 at 7:30pm for the Fair's Vernissage and on May 9 at 6:30pm.

After four successful years in Paris, cutlog art fair will be launching its first New York edition from May 9-13, 2013. Approximately 45 galleries and curators will present art, installations, performances, talks, and films in a creative architecturally designed environment allowing each art project to have its own identity and a unique art interaction with the public.

cutlog NY will focus on showing cutting-edge and established galleries that promote the work of contemporary artists. The fair will foster new relationships between galleries, collectors and art institutions to form a collaborative platform for building new perspectives on contemporary art. cutlog NY aims to be a creative laboratory, showcasing works by artists from all over the world and offering them the opportunity to gain global visibility.

The five day event will take place in one of Manhattan’s most vibrant and creative area, the Lower East Side. Over the past years, the neighborhood has become a new hub for emerging and innovative galleries and cutlog NY will be a part of this growing community to become the downtown art fair. Occupying The Dutch Neo-Gothic building, a former public school (PS 160), cutlog NY will be hosted by the Clemente Soto Vélez Center at 107 Suffolk Street, between Rivington and Delancey Streets.

Each of the roughly 45 participants will present an original project featuring one or more works by artists selected by a jury of professionals. A selection of sculptures and installations will be displayed in the Clemente building and courtyard.

A film festival will be held during cutlog NY, with a series of performances and talks which are announced in our program section.

PERIPHERAL VISIONS: CONTEMPORARY ART FROM AUSTRALIA

Opening night: May 7th, 2013 6pm - 8pm

May 8th - June 14th 2013

263 Bowery

New York, NY 10002

Gallery hours: Tue - Sat 11-7

www.garisandhahn.com

CUTLOG NEW YORK
May 9th – 13th 2013
107 Suffolk Street
New York NY 10002
www.cutlogny.org/en/

Damian Dillon at Index Space

Artereal artist Damian Dillon is currently showing work as part of a group exhibition INDEX. #01 at Sydney's newest ARI INDEX which recently opened in St. Peters. Artists featured in the inaugural group exhibition include: Damian Dillon, Francesca Mataraga,  Linden Braye, Nicole Toms, Georgina Pollard, Alex Wisser, Jessica Gerron, Anthony Bartok and many more.

Director Alex Wisser described INDEX as "a new contemporary art space in St. Peters, Sydney. We provide a creative environment for the cultivation of dialogue and cross influence between artists as well as opportunities and services for presenting work to the broader arts community."

INDEX. #01 runs until Saturday 6th November, so hurry along if you have not already had a chance to see the exhibition.

Artist Interview with Chloe Vallance...

  Chloe Vallance, Tied With String, 2010,

colour pencil on plywood, 30 x 60cm.

What inspires you and where do the ideas for your work come from?

People inspire me. The ideas for my drawings stem from my observation of people, close friends and family, and are developed from photographs, and life.

My art is influenced by Robert Frost’s ambivalent imaginative poetry, the work of artists such as Micheal Andrews, especially by his intimate painting, Melanie and Me Swimming, an image that instigated my interest in human interaction. The work of Gerhard Richter, and David Hockney helped me to understand the potential of working from photographs as well as the limitations. Edgar Degas’s compositions and his application and control of colour are also another strong influence on my work.

What is it that you are trying to achieve with the works in this exhibition? What message or ideas, if any, are you are trying to convey?

Developed in response to the experience of travel in relation to the nature of being, this work considers the role of the individual in the society, the figure and its various contextual relationships.

The medium of colour pencil and the plywood surface have been chosen to signify the particular and the general. The nature of the wood grain can imply the illusion of another space, or suggest an alternate reality, while coloured pencil implies specificity in terms of application, mark-making and in terms of the conventional association of the particular nature of pencil. Equally both medium and surface also imply focused moments and generalised (or out of focus) spaces.

The images have been drawn from photographic reference to define various contexts, situations and individual realities as difficult to pinpoint beyond the perception of a moment in time.

Why do you make art?

To connect with what I see.

For me, to draw a passed moment can relay an unfixed reality, validate an experience, and allow you to feel closer the people and places captured in that moment.

Chloe Vallance is a Melbourne based artist and the 2010 winner of the Pleysier Perkins Emerging Art Prize. Her work can currently be seen at Artereal as part of our group exhibition +/- (Positive / Negative) which runs until the 31st October, 2010.