august newsletter ―
Published 1 August 2026
Firstly, a huge thank you to all who made the National Tree Day exhibition a huge success: our collaborators the Tasmanian Land Conservancy; our participating artists and musician Dean Stevenson; The Australian’s art critic, Dr Christopher Allen, who will review the exhibition next week; Andrew Harper for his coverage in The Mercury; and 40 Degrees South editor, Chris Champion for publishing Andrew Darby’s wonderful essay. The exhibition runs until August 3, and specially printed catalogues are available from Handmark.
Handmark is proud to have been chosen to curate art aboard the new Spirits of Tasmania. And when Spirit V makes its maiden voyage in October, our incredible artists will be showcased to the world. Read on to find out more.
Meanwhile, two artists who feature aboard Spirit V – Jeewan Suwal and Alex White – will unveil wonderful new works in a joint exhibition opening THIS FRIDAY.
Allanah Dopson
Director
Upcoming Joint Exhibition —
Published 1 August 2026
Before he moved to Tasmania six years ago, Jeewan Suwal was a well-known artist in his native Nepal, but what he has achieved here has surpassed all expectations. As well as having his work featured prominently aboard the new Spirit of Tasmania, Jeewan is about to unveil a stunning new collection of paintings in his joint exhibition, Pulse of Nature.
“What has happened in Tasmania is beyond my wildest dreams. I never expected to achieve so much in such a short time,” Jeewan muses. At the heart of the exhibition are glorious abstract landscapes that burst with emotion and celebrate Jeewan’s adopted home. “My art is not literal; it’s about how the landscape makes me feel. This exhibition conveys the uniqueness of Tasmania.”
Jeewan captures this in his large-scale work, Sustain Warm. We can pick out kunanyi/Mount Wellington and glimpse the sparkling River Derwent, but colour is key. Dominant bright yellow ochre evokes the joy of Tasmania’s brief summers, while a glowing patch of iridescent light adds a sense of spirituality.
Equally exciting, when Spirit of Tasmania V sets sail in October, Jeewan’s art will be centre stage. Working day and night over three weeks while the ship was docked, he painted two large murals at the bow that will be impossible to miss. “I am so grateful and proud that my work will be seen by such a huge new audience. It’s a dream come true.”
Jeewan Suwal’s Pulse of Nature exhibition runs at Handmark from August 7-24
Upcoming Joint Exhibition —
Published 1 August 2026
Alex White is a young artist on a mission. He is documenting Tasmania’s iconic mountain huts before it’s too late. In his upcoming joint exhibition, National Park, Alex returns to a place close to his heart to create a stunning collection of new linocut prints.
A relative newcomer to Handmark, Alex has garnered accolades for his black-and-white prints of Tasmania’s historic huts, which once sheltered graziers and bushwalkers but are now falling into ruin. For this exhibition, Alex heads to Mount Field National Park. “This place means a lot to me,” Alex says. “My grandparents lived in New Norfolk, and I spent much of my childhood at Mount Field, having barbecues and wandering through the bush. I still come here all the time because it provides such easy access to a remote and rugged landscape.”
Once again, Tasmania’s endangered huts are central to Alex’s new work. Twilight Tarn Hut, one of our earliest ski huts, captures his attention with its quirky stone chimneys and old sash windows. Carved by hand into lino, the hut emerges through intricate patterns and Alex’s distinctively bold, pared-back mark-making.
National Park also extends Alex’s artistic range with a collection of landscapes surrounding the huts. “These give context to the huts by placing them within their environment.” Prints of Alex’s huts, including works from this exhibition, also feature aboard the new Spirit of Tasmania.
Alex White’s National Park exhibition runs at Handmark from August 7-24
A Spirited Consultancy —
Published 1 August 2026
Handmark is proud to have been chosen to supply the artworks aboard the new Spirits of Tasmania. And when Spirit V makes its maiden voyage in October, it will showcase our island’s artistic talent – including the wildly popular Tiger Track Stamps.
“Curating the art for the new Spirits is a huge feather in our cap,” Handmark Director Allanah Dopson says. “Our art consultancy business is an important arm of Handmark, and to be selected for this major project is a huge honour.”
Allanah curated a collection that highlights the breadth of Tasmania’s artistic talent. Works by Jeff Gatt, Katy Woodroffe, Mel Aliendi, Diane Masters, Linda Keogh and Max Mueller adorn the public spaces, while landscape prints by Peter Gouldthorpe, Adrian Barber, Paul Gundry and Nick Glade-Wright hang in the deluxe cabins.
Each ship will also feature its very own Tiger Track Stamp. Created 10 years ago by artist Kaye Green, these laser-cut rubber stamps depict tourist destinations across the state and now number around 200. “I can’t believe my little stamp project got so out of control,” Kaye laughs. “They will now be seen by the thousands of people who travel on the new Spirits. Could these become the unofficial passport stamps into Tasmania?”
From selecting a painting for your home to organising art aboard the Spirit of Tasmania, Handmark’s Art Consultancy offers a personalised art curation service for projects big and small.
Luke Wagner – Hadley’s Art Prize finalist 2026
Published 30 July 2026
Luke’s paintings have long been shaped by his relationship with Northern Tasmania, finding inspiration in the rhythms, contours and changing character of the landscape around him. Familiar stretches of farmland, waterways and open country are transformed to canvas through his masterful painterly language, becoming contemplative spaces that hover somewhere between observation, memory and feeling.
There is an exquisite quietness to Luke’s work. Rather than simply describing a landscape, his paintings distil an experience of being within it: the shifting light, expanses of colour, distant horizons and subtle atmosphere that make a place linger in the mind.
It is wonderful to see Luke and his practice recognised as part of this year’s Hadley’s Art Prize.
The finalist exhibition is open to the public from 1–23 August at Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart.
Luke has also just delivered new paintings to Handmark Gallery – they can be viewed on our website or in person in the gallery.
National Tree Day
Published 16 July 2026
We are thrilled to announce a remarkable collaboration that harnesses the power of art and conservation.
This is an exhibition not to be missed, so please mark Friday 17 July in your diary.
Handmark and The Tasmanian Land Conservancy joined forces for a unique artists’ retreat at Pine Tier in the Central Highlands, shining a light on the need to protect Tasmania’s incredible wilderness.
The retreat also produced a beautiful body of art, which will be unveiled at our special National Tree Day exhibition – always a calendar highlight. The works have also been collated in a commemorative catalogue.
The exhibition will be opened by Professor Jan McDonald, Professor of Environment and Climate Law, UTAS and Board member of Tasmanian Land Conservancy. The exhibition runs until August 3.
Hope you can join us and please tell your friends.
Allanah Dopson
Directo
Pine Tier Retreat —
Published 16 July 2026
An extraordinary collaboration between art and conservation is helping protect Tasmania’s natural wonders. Following a retreat at Pine Tier, Handmark artists returned with fresh perspectives – and new works to be unveiled at the upcoming National Tree Day exhibition.
For three days, nine Handmark artists joined field officers from The Tasmanian Land Conservancy [TLC] at Pine Tier in the Central Highlands: “It was an incredible sharing of knowledge,” TLC’s Jessie Bodor reflects. “We look at nature through an ecological lens. But artists look through a creative lens, so it opened a new understanding of the landscape for us.”
Covering 1,900 hectares, Pine Tier is a critical piece in the conservation puzzle, connecting the Highlands with World Heritage Wilderness. This rare landscape of grasslands, alpine rivers, and wetlands is protected under the stewardship of the TLC. “Standing on the hills of Pine Tier and looking over the valley, you are overwhelmed by nature.”
After immersing themselves in Pine Tier, the artists returned to their studios with ideas for works that would shine a spotlight on this rare slice of Tasmania and will be shared at the National Tree Day exhibition: “This offers people the opportunity to enter these incredible places through the art. Opening our eyes to the beauty of nature and deepening our understanding of the need to protect it.”
Pine Tier Perspectives —
Published 16 July 2026
From Glover Prize finalists to emerging artists. From painters to printmakers. The Handmark artists who ventured into Pine Tier represented a remarkable breadth of experience and practice, each bringing their own visual language to the landscape.
Well-known landscape painters, Peter Gouldthorpe, Melanie McCollin-Walker and Adrian Barber were joined by renowned printmakers, Melissa Smith and Helen Mueller. David Edgar, who specialises in powerful drawings; the prodigiously diverse Julie Payne; and talented young artists Olivia Moroney and Max Mueller, made up the nine artists.
“It was important that the group represented our vastly talented Handmark team, with each artist bringing a different talent and perspective,” Handmark Director Allanah Dopson explains. “It took a year to put together, but Pine Tier exceeded all expectations. I am awed by the variety of works we will unveil at the National Tree Day exhibition. Images that make Tasmania’s wilderness feel personal, loved and worthy of protection forever.”
But the retreat also reached beyond the visual arts. Tasmanian composer Dean Stevenson joined the group at Pine Tier, where the striking landscape inspired a new body of music composed in response to place.
Pine Tier Artists —
Published 16 July 2026
Olivia Moroney: “Visiting Pine Tier was an amazing experience that shifted the way I work. Being with other artists allowed for conversations about how we each observe the landscape, how we work and how we engage with place.”
Adrian Barber: “To make art that has its origins in an experience of place takes time. Time to fully appreciate the mood and spirit of place, time to observe detail, and time to let distance and memory work their magic.”
Melissa Smith: “The opportunity to engage with this environment was a privilege, deepening my awareness of its fragility and need for protection. It was a joy to share the experience with such a respected and supportive group of fellow artists.”
Melanie McCollin-Walker: “I found myself gravitating towards sketching en plein air. Drawing became a way of understanding the land as we moved through it; a way into the unfamiliar that allowed a more intimate sense of place.”
Peter Gouldthorpe: “My paintings comprise two works begun in situ with the limited time we had, and two completed back in my studio. The scene of the sphagnum bog juxtaposed against the higher, drier, forested ground was particularly striking.”
Julie Payne: “My practice is wildly diverse, so it’s no surprise I wanted to tell the story of a particularly chatty tree. This led to The Piano Accordion Field guide to Eucalyptus tasmaniensis – a compression of a stringybark onto a concertinaed pianola roll, hinting at the tree’s musicality.”
Helen Mueller: How to engage with this complex and magnificent place? Back in the studio, I carve woodblocks based on foraged material. Many endings and beginnings have shaped this place. I hope to have captured something of this.
David Edgar: “What a privilege to be invited deep into the Central Highlands. Surrounded by forest and open grasslands, lime green-golden wetlands, bogs, mosses, and rocks decorated by delicate snow-white lichen.”
Max Mueller: “Spectacular hills covered in a bluish haze rolled on behind towering gum trees. Overwhelmed, I looked for smaller and more manageable subjects. Either way, I never feel the need to control the unpredictable and exciting nature of painting.”
Dean Stevenson: “The first three notes were the first things to come to me on the first day. I can’t recall if it was a bird call or just my own brain electricity making connections. But the piece follows my understanding of the place, its interruptions, glory and its simplicity through all manner of weathers.”
June Newsletter
Published 18 June 2026
In celebration of Dark Mofo, Handmark’s window displays have been transformed into a gothic extravaganza of red and black, courtesy of Handmark’s exhibition manager Fiona Tabart.
They also feature Dark Mofo inspired new works by two of our wonderful artists: glowing burl boxes crafted by Mark Bishop and vocal jewellery from Linda van Niekerk.
Meantime, Dark Mofo celebrations continue with our fabulous Nathan Grey exhibition, As It Is, opening Friday 19th June 5pm – 6:30pm. Nathan’s beautifully pared back paintings of the female form feature in this wonderfully eclectic show.
Hope you can join us.
Allanah Dopson
Director