Marianne Newman Gallery

Joseph Austin and Natasha Florean are both artists inspired by the organic elements in our natural world. Opening at Marianne Newman Gallery on Friday 19 March, these exhibitions feature richly coloured etchings and paintings of oceania and detailed collagraphs of interlaced images.

Memoirs of Oceania has evolved from Joseph Austin's experience of living on a tropical coastline and references his family's 1970s shell collection. Inspired by the shapes and patterns apparent in marine life, Austin says that he wants to "evolve the designs into objects of mystery and enigma connected to the natural world but open to other possibilities". This is achieved by breaking down forms and developing strong, symbolic graphic images.
 
Austin is presently focused on etching and painting and the reoccurrence of warm tones, vivid reds and oranges, exploits their emotive qualities. He has an ability to transform organisms of the ocean and their delicate movements into two dimensional, intricate and dynamic representations.

Austin received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tasmania and after involvement with artist run gallery spaces in both Tasmania and South Australia he currently practices at his Coogee studio.


Sea Earth and Flora is created around the question Quo vadis? Where are we going? How do we as humans fit into the make-up of the world, specifically sea earth and flora. Natasha Florean's collagraphs reflect this complex structure with textural images built layer upon layer. She describes her finished work, "beneath the simple surface there are often hidden, difficult structures. Individual layers gradually break: what is hidden beneath the surface appears on the surface and vice versa. What is visible at first glance becomes part of the inner structure."

Florean's imagination is captured by her surrounding environment and she explores the small role we play as part of an unimaginably large whole. The line work and compositions of her art produce a synergy of constant motion, a definite approach to questioning where this movement might take us. Her subdued colour palette makes direct links to the sea and earth and human figures often appear amidst elaborate atmospheres.

After completing a printmaking degree at Sydney's National Art School, Florean went on to study painting in Florence and since then has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. In 2009 she had a major exhibition in the City Gallery of Bratislava, Slovak Republic and the gallery purchased a number of her works for the city's collection.

Memoirs of Oceania and Sea Earth and Flora are on show at Marianne Newman Gallery, 1 Albany Street, Crows Nest from 19 March - 24 April 2010.  Gallery is CLOSED 2-12 April for Easter break. Gallery Hours:  Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 5pm