Catalogue - aMBUSH Gallery
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Catalogue 4 June 2021
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11 July 2021
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aMBUSH Gallery Canberra
kambri.com.au Kambri at ANU
ambushgallery.com
While We’re Still Here showcases the work of twenty artists matters, materials and process firmly date this collection of
from around Australia, exploring the enduring genre of still works in the present time.
life.
Featured artists include: Robby Bennett, Tristan Chant, Tom
Whether the artist’s intention is to create a ‘memento Ferson, Sam Field, Anna May Henry, Niqolet Lewis, India
mori’ and remind us of the fragility of life and its inevitable Mark, James Needham, Scott Owen, Jamie Preisz, Lucy
conclusion, or see the beauty and memories imbued in the Roleff, Nick Santoro, Seth Searle, Lilli Stromland, Sidney
objects of our everyday life, still life remains a strong vehicle Teodoruk, Neil Tomkins, Bligh Twyford Moore, Cassandra
to articulate the human condition. Vollmer, Melanie Waugh and Tym Yee.
As a deeply rooted artistic tradition, the still life connects the
past to the present. While there is much commonality with
artworks and artists from hundreds of years ago, the subject
aMBUSH Gallery, Kambri at ANU - Level
2, Cultural Centre (ANU Building 153)
Australian National University, Acton, ACT
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 2
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 3
Tom Ferson’s artistic output is wildly varied but nevertheless
unmistakable. Having taken inspiration from a range of historical art
movements as disparate as Impressionism and Pop Art, his body of
work to date has been a unique amalgam of the traditional and the
contemporary. The subject of his paintings and drawings has ranged
from intimate portraiture and narrative painting to landscape and text-
based work, and is bound by a visibly deft touch, an otherworldly
and distinctive colour sensibility, and an inclination toward the surreal
Tom Ferson and psychedelic. Tom was born in Sydney in 1988, graduated from
The Demise of the Kingdom of Flesh (2021) $3,500 Acrylic and oil on the College of Fine Arts in 2009, and currently lives and works in
hardboard panel framed in Victorian Ash, 100x100cm Melbourne.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 4
Sidney Toedoruk is an artist of contrasts. Using every visual device
at his disposal, Sidney weaves strange narratives drenched in
dichotomous imagery and text, then obscures large areas in swathes
of block- colour, inviting the viewer to fill in the blanks. Nostalgic,
Sidney Teodoruk childhood objects are randomly scattered throughout fractured, neo-
I Will Bury You In Time (2021) $3,600 Acrylic on canvas,100x100cm expressionist scapes, simultaneously evoking feelings of playfulness
and unease.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 5
Niqolet Lewis Niqolet Lewis is an emerging artist based in Sydney. Lewis has a MFA Long Necks & Flannos (2021) $650 Oil on canvas, 66x102cm in Painting, graduating from the National Art School in 2018. Lewis has Flamin’ Galah (2021) $450 Oil on canvas, 57x87cm exhibited throughout Sydney since 2010, including group shows at Italian Hydration (2021) $450 Oil on canvas, 57x87cm Liverpool Street Gallery and aMBUSH Gallery. Sunshine & Bliss (2021) $850 Oil on canvas, 92x137cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 6
James studied at the Oxfordshire College of Art in the UK, graduating
with a Diploma in General Art & Design and receiving his Bachelor of
James Needham Fine Art from the National Art School. Needham’s work focuses on
The Painter’s Jeans (2021) $1,950 Oil on canvas. 76x76cm the people and objects he encounters in his everyday life. James’
Un, Deux, Trois, Cat (2021) $1,950 Oil on canvas. 76x76cm figurative works focus on interpersonal relationships, whilst in his still
life’s the trace of the human left behind hint at untold stories.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 7
Bligh Twyford-Moore Through loosely constructed figure paintings and portraits, Bligh Smoke Bush Baby (2021) $350 Pencil and aerosol on paper, 52x42cm attempts to comment on celebrity, anonymity and ennui on the Luki Cat (2021) $550 Pencil and aerosol on paper, 72x54cm internet. Paper Daaaiisies (2021) $950 Pencil and aerosol on paper, 88x68cm Paper Daaaiisies (2021) $350 Pencil and aerosol on paper, 54x42cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 8
Bligh Twyford-Moore Paper Daaaiisies (2021) $550 Pencil and aerosol on paper, 72x54cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 9
Tym Yee is an emerging artist based in Sydney. He uses expressive
marks of oil paint to explore and document simultaneous moments of
Tym Yee movement and stillness in the Australian landscape. Yee is currently
Here We Go Again (2021) $730 Oil on canvas in Tasmanian oak frame, completing a PhD at Macquarie University, researching how art-
47x32cm making can form part of a scholarly research methodology. In 2020 he
Alright As You Wish (2021) $680 Oil on canvas in Tasmanian oak was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at Parliament House to pursue
frame, 33x33cm developing his creative practice methodology at Harvard University.
Time Stamp (2021) $730 Oil on canvas in Tasmanian oak frame,
42x32cm
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 10Waugh completed a Fine Arts Degree from the National Art School
in 2001. Melanie’s broad brushstrokes and rich colours reflect the
Melanie Waugh dynamic diversity of Australia presenting an energetic picture
Camellias for Winter (2021) $1,400 Oil on canvas in Tasmanian oak of the vast terrain. Native flowers hold an endless fascination for the
frame, 56x56cm artist; each collection having its own unique shape and direction,
Shady Lady Red (2021) $1,600 Oil on canvas in Tasmanian oak frame, forming an architecture that creates a common theme that is the
86x67cm abstract explosion of colour.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 11Scott Owen is a Sydney-based artist who investigates the bittersweet, Scott Owen joy in melancholy, and earnest reflection through still life and landscape The Happy Mondays Wrote For Luck (2021) $300 Oil on board framed painting. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the in Tasmanian oak, 35x25cm National Art School in 2015, and was selected as a finalist in the York A Plea In Response (2021) $600 Oil on canvas, 61x51cm Botanic Art Prize in 2020 and the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award in The Mellow Yellow Friendly Bush (2021) $800 Oil on canvas, 71x61cm 2019. Slow Start (2021) $800 Oil on canvas, 71x61cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 12
Scott Owen Lit Through (2021) $800 Oil on canvas, 71x61cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 13
Through ten years of oil painting, Tomkins continues to explore a
Neil Tomkins contemporary approach to mark making & this classic medium.
It’s Still Life (2021) $1,600 Oil on canvas, 36x41cm Including an extensive collection of various commission projects &
murals, Neil has also been involved in various artists’ residencies and
studio programs including locations such as Portugal, India, Peru and
Mexico.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 14My work investigates the relationship between identity and
performativity. Working with images of cropped limbs, I consider the
dominance of the hand; of its connection to and escape from the
body. Working with motifs of fabrics, foods and various containers,
I examine the value we place on the vessel. Within these works,
Seth Searle gesture is staged as a repetitive performance unfolding on a stage
Winter Assortment (2021) $1,400 Oil on canvas, 35.5x45.5cm set, attempting to articulate a feeling of theatrical uncertainty in
Backyard in January (2021) $1,400 Oil on canvas, 35.5x45.5cm the performance of self and to ask the question: What parts of this
performance are visible?
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 15Cassandra is currently a Visual Arts, Visual Design and Photographic
and Digital Media teacher with a postgraduate Bachelor of Teaching in
Cassandra Vollmer Secondary Education at the University of Technology Sydney. Vollmer
Heaven Scent #1 (2021) $160 Collage with Tasmanian oak frame, also has a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a Graduate Diploma in Art
45.5x33cm Administration from the College of Fine Arts, UNSW. Cassandra has
Heaven Scent #2 (2021) $160 Collage with Tasmanian oak frame, been named as a recent finalist of the Zart Art Teacher Artist Prize in
45.5x33cm 2021.
Gerringong Cemetery (2021) $160 Brushed aluminium photographic
print, 18x27cm
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 16Anna May Henry is an emerging contemporary artist and graduate
Anna May Henry from the National Art School, working within the genre of Still Life,
Pomegranates (2020) $450 Oil on board, 24x30cm from an observation- based studio practice. These paintings in this
Bananas (2020) $450 Oil on board, 24x30cm group show were painted in the midst of Covid-19 in her Petersham
Apples (2020) $450 Oil on board, 24x30cm studio, they are simple, traditional paintings from life and were a great
distraction from when things were grim.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 17Sam Field By no means is the artist encouraging anybody to stab Rupert Hakea in a Greek Vase (2021) $1,650 Oil on board, 43x36cm Murdoch in the head, merely posing the question “if that was to The Immortals (2021) $2,350 Oil on linen, 60x50cm happen’ would the world be a better place? While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 18
Nick Santoro holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UNSW Art & Design. Nick Santoro Nick’s practice employs painting, sculpture and installation as a Half & Half (2021) $2,200 Acrylic on board with hand painted means of social documentation. His narrative driven works draw upon timber frame, dice, miniature sheep, used up vape, computer keys, contemporary art, fashion and pop culture to create subverted and photograph, dried acrylic paint, paddle pop stick and electrical revealing accounts of cultural events and phenomena, through applied adaptor plugs, 82.2x27.5cm creative license, satire and visual critique of modern living. While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 19
The works were developed by appropriating digital files of 17/18
Century still lifes from the Rijksmuseum and deconstructing the
Tristan Chant images using audio and video software. The intent was to use
Flowers in a Terra Cotta Vase, (after Albertus Jonas Brandt, 1810 – software to breakdown or ‘decompose’ the organic representations
1824) (2020) $1,100 Pigment on canvas with found frame, 47x60cm in the image files. The works are then re-presented in painting format
Still life with flowers on marble table top (after Rachel Ruysch, 1716) using pigment prints on canvas in found decorative frames kind of
(2020) $1,100 Pigment on canvas with found frame, 47x60cm using art as a representation of a natural ecosystem.
Still Life with Flowers and Fruit (after Jan van Huysum, c. 1721) (2020)
$1,850 Pigment on canvas with found frame, 56x80cm
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 20Tristan Chant The Overturned Bouquet (after Abraham Mignon, 1660 – 1679) (2020) $1,200 Pigment on canvas with found frame, 49x60cm Still life with Flowers (after Coenraet Roepel, 1721) (2020) $1,100 Pigment on canvas with found frame, 47x60cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 21
Robby Bennett uses painting as an attempt to depict the sights,
smells, sounds and experiences of the Australian environment. The
work inhabits a haphazardous cluster of gestural marks, with pictorial
elements of Australian flora and fauna spliced with animation from pop
culture. A rhythmic and repetitious ensemble of buzzing flies, thought
Robby Bennett bubbles, eucalyptus leaves and dark, ominous cartoon figures live and
An Unlikely Arrangement: Potato with Lemonade and Silly Straw thrive in the harsh conditions of these abstracted and psychological
(2021) $750 Oil on linen, 71x81cm landscapes. Bennett’s work sets the scene for imagery of an
ecosystem in flux, unique to the Australian experience.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 22Lilli graduated from the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts (Painting) in 2015. Strömland was a finalist in the 2018 Waverley
Lilli Strömland Art Prize, and was a highly commended finalist in the Mosman Youth
Drying Rack Composition (2021) $840 Oil on linen, 61x51cm Art Prize (Tertiary) in 2016. Lili was also the winner of the Chrome
Sewing Machine II (2021) $1,140 Oil on linen, 56x96.5cm Prize for Excellence whilst still studying at the National Art School and
was a semi- finalist in the Douglas Moran Portrait Prize in 2014.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery CanberraLilli Strömland Overlocker I (2021) $840 Oil on linen, 61x51cm Overlocker II (2021) $740 Oil on linen, 56x41cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 24
Lucy Roleff’s practice explores notions of beauty, purpose and the
nature of desire. Her paintings are essentially about the act of looking
- the internal processes that begin when we look at something we
aspire to, or in which we recognise ourselves. Lucy is particularly
interested in the space between domestic familiarity and a sense of
grandeur, or otherworldliness. Here there is both escapism and a
meditation on daily, accessible pleasures. These ideas stem from the
Lucy Roleff historical purpose of paintings as portals for daydreaming and fantasy,
Two Pairs (2021) $1,400 Oil on linen, Raw Victorian Ash Frame, even when depicting the most ordinary of spaces. Lucy’s work is held
20x25cm in a number of private collections across Australia and overseas. She
has been a finalist for multiple art prizes including The Blake Prize, the
A.M.E. Bale Art Prize and the Muswellbrook Art Prize.
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 25Jamie Preisz Reflections in the artists studio #2 (2021) $6,500 Oil on canvas, 150x100cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 26
India Mark Composition 11 (2021) NFS Oil on panel, 20x20cm While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 27
While We’re Still Here // aMBUSH Gallery Canberra 28
Contact Details Elisa Donato aMBUSH Gallery Canberra Gallery & Events Executive Kambri at ANU m +61 436 303 243 elisa@ambushgallery.com
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