The latest from handmark articles

sarah farquhar-still ― new jewellery

Published 16 December 2024

Just in time for Christmas, we introduce the newest member of the Handmark family – jeweller extraordinaire, Sarah Farquhar-Still. Informed by her passion for history, Sarah’s wearable art is bold and beautiful.

A student of archaeology before moving into museum curation, Sarah melds old world form with contemporary minimalism. Since moving to Launceston four years ago, the layered history of the city’s urban environment has been her inspiration. Floral motifs that decorate Victorian terrace houses are a recurring theme.

For Sarah’s inaugural Handmark collection, we enjoy striking sculptural pieces crafted from recycled silver, including blackened and 24-carat gold plated. In her Field Notes Necklace the fleur-de-lis pattern, common on balustrading, is given a decidedly modern twist. While blackened pendant earrings are dotted with small pearls – new buds of spring growth.

Sarah is passionate about using recycled metals: “A decade ago I started playing with metal on the dining room table and couldn’t put them down. I love the way metals can be melted down and re-used again and again to create something goes on to live many lives.”

Sarah Farquhar-Still’s inaugural Handmark jewellery collection is on show at the Gallery.

tyrus mason — black spinel range

Published 16 December 2024

In an ode to his father – the late Tasmanian jeweller and Handmark stalwart, Phil Mason – Tyrus Mason has released a beautiful collection built around a rare Tasmanian gemstone, Black Spinel, which is now on show at the gallery.

Tyrus spent 30 years by the side of his father honing his craft. A year after Phil’s passing, he is now ready to continue the family legacy, but with his own unique flavour “My jewellery continues the strong Mason signature style that is instantly recognizable. But it also feels like I have finally found my own groove and I am ready to look forward,” Tyrus explains.

Along with his famous Tasmanian Killiecrankie diamonds, Phil Mason also championed Black Spinel, a love affair that has been passed onto Tyrus. This magnificent jet-black stone found in Tasmania’s remote north-east is very hard wearing and prized for its amazing ability to reflect light. “Also known as ‘Black Jack’ it is one of my favourite gemstones and doesn’t break the bank!”

Tyrus delights us with earrings, rings, and pendants set in 18 carat gold dripping with Black Spinel. A gothic flavour enhances the jet-black stone perfectly. “I have chosen a round, medieval rose cut which acts like a mirror ball reflecting light.”

Tyrus Mason’s Black Spinel Range jewellery collection is on show at Handmark Gallery.

anna fitzpatrick ― ‘sydney to hobart’

Published 16 December 2024

One of our great summer rituals is the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The excitement; the passion; and even the danger of this blue water classic bursts into life on Anna Fitzpatrick’s canvases.

Timing is perfect. Just six days out from this year’s race, Anna will unveil a stunning new collection in her Sydney to Hobart exhibition. Dramatic with many large in scale, her paintings depict this iconic event in all its glorious vibrancy. “I wanted to create a great sense of celebration and joy,” Anna tells us. “As an intuitive and spontaneous painter, I throw myself into the unknown which also brings a great energy.”

A birds-eye view, and simple forms in bold splashes colour, brings this glorious summer race to life. In Boxing Day on Sydney Harbour, we look down on sparkling water as yachts jostle on the starting line. But it’s also the frisson of danger that commands Anna’s attention. In Crossing Storm Bay three small yachts battle huge swells. “This race is a fearless voyage into the unknown where sailors pit themselves against the elements. They are lion hearts.”

We also have the spectacular finish as a flotilla of boats trails the winner up Hobart’s Derwent. As a golden summer sun dips below the horizon, Anna takes us to the summit of Mt Wellington/kunanyi for an unforgettable view. “This race is embedded into the Australian psyche.”

Anna Fitzpatrick’s Sydney to Hobart Exhibition will run at Handmark from December 20 until January 13, 2025.  Register your interest to receive a preview.

save the date ― ‘art pop-up and festival feast’

Published 4 December 2024

As the Christmas season gets into swing, add a special date to the diary. On Friday December 6, Handmark is serving up a festive feast of dining and art at the Clarendon Arms in Evandale.

Spending a day – or even better, a weekend – in the gloriously bucolic village of Evandale always showcases Tasmania at its best. Now, you have the perfect excuse to do just that!

For some Christmas cheer, Handmark is holding a special Summer Salon with all your favourite artists, enjoy drinks and music, then stay for an unforgettable dinner of fabulous local produce, at Evandale’s historic Clarendon Arms Hotel.

If you haven’t experienced the hospitality of Lydia Nettlefold you are in for a treat. She has curated a special menu for the night, and that alone makes the trip worthwhile. Add in fabulous Tasmanian art and this is a must-do. Living interstate? Why not fly in and enjoy an unforgettable weekend in Tasmania’s glorious Northern Midlands.

Handmark’s Summer Salon opens at 5pm on Friday December 6 at the Clarendon Arms in Evandale.  Call the Clarendon Arms on 03 6391 8181 to book.

Melanie Mccollin-Walker — Upcoming Exhibition

Published 4 December 2024

Image details: Melanie McCollin-Walker, Radiant Embrace, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 168 x 198 cm
Melanie McCollin-Walker wowed at this year’s Glover Prize by being crowned the People’s Choice winner. Expect to be wowed again by the glorious new landscapes in her At First Light exhibition.

Melanie’s Glover winning painting, Long Way Home, took us into the heart of the Tarkine/takayna, and she revisits this sacred space for her upcoming exhibition. “I don’t know what it is about this place.  It’s something innate,” she reveals.  Once more she immerses us into the incredible landscape. “I take the viewer with me as we paddle up the Savage and Whyte Rivers.”

As well as her beautifully intricate detail, it is the dawn light, the moment the first shards of light pierce a blackened sky, that makes Melanie’s latest paintings so captivating. It is also winter. The light is soft and pure and “a diffused mist wraps the scene in a special softness. This is my ode to that magical moment in time.”

As well as smaller and medium sized works, Melanie will unveil some large “Glover-sized pieces.” In one of these, rays of dazzling yellow and orange slice through the dark as we float along the river. Against the dark silhouette of the background, the light hits one tree which glows. “It was magical. I would not have believed it happened. But it did.”

Melanie McCollin-Walker’s At First Light exhibition runs at Handmark from November 29 until December 16. 

Mandy Renard ― ‘She Who Became The Sun’

Published 4 December 2024

Mandy Renard explores the full gamut of emotions in her new exhibition She Who Became the Sun.  Apart from striking female figures, she also takes us on a deeply personal journey.

Since her last Handmark exhibition in 2021, Mandy’s life has changed irrevocably. Her beloved mother passed away, and her youngest child is ready to flee the nest.  Not surprisingly, the themes of ‘transformation’ and ‘becoming’ inspired this body of work. “It felt natural to make an inventory of treasures from my time with these loved ones, acknowledge their impact and presence on my life, while also envisioning what’s next,” she tells us.

Mandy’s loss is laid bare in Hold me Closer, as a mother and daughter cling to each other: “Eventually, we all become our own mothers and learn how to guide and hold ourselves.” But we also feel joy in the vibrant red print, The Fruiting Body, where Mandy reminds us: “Everyone who has ever loved you is part of you no matter what. Hold them as treasures.”

While Mandy explores her inner self in this exhibition, she also hopes it will spark us to explore by “feeling inspired about our place in the eco-system of life and getting excited about dreaming up potential and possible futures.”

Linda van Niekerk ― Reflections: 20 Years On

Published 14 October 2024

Image: Linda van Niekerk, Beaten Silver Branch Chain + Beaten Light Black Branch Chain, 2024, oxidised sterling silver, sterling silver, image: peter whyte

Bold sculptural jewellery is synonymous with the art of Linda van Niekerk. But, in her upcoming Handmark show she reveals a gentle touch.

In 2004 Linda held her first exhibition. This latest outing celebrates a long artistic journey and is aptly named Reflections: 20 Years On. Showcasing 70 stunning pieces “predominantly silver with a smattering of pearls, driftwood and colourful anodised aluminium,” most are neckpieces ranging from “long and short to low-key and bold,” Linda explains.

Linda is inspired by the bush surrounding her Huon Valley property. “Some of the work represents a gentle interpretation of the stark beauty and the conflicting emotion evoked by dead and dying trees; some represent the subtle appearance of new growth.” One series of neckpieces, entitled Memory of Trees, is spiky and sharp as she grapples with destruction. But there is hope in New Growth with gentle jewellery crowned by delicate leaves.

While most of Linda’s pieces are newly designed, expect to see some old favourites. All are especially designed to work together, with personal creativity mandatory. “Individualised expression of the wearer is encouraged with suggested layering of works – which creates interesting shadows.”

Linda Van Niekerk’s Reflections: 20 Years On opens at Handmark Gallery on October 18 and runs until November 4. Click here to register for a preview. 

Helen Mueller— Forest Stories

Published 14 October 2024

Image: Helen Mueller, Forest Story 9, 2024, woodcut prints on layered kozo paper, charbonnel ink, eucalyptus pigment, wax, three panels, 89 x 96 cm
Whisper thin paper floating through the air, echoes the fragility of nature in the hauntingly sublime new prints from Helen Mueller in Forest Stories.

Every day Helen heads into Hobart’s Knocklofty Reserve where the forest speaks to her. Along the way, she pockets branches, seedpods and other debris to take back to her studio for questioning. “This leads to a translation of what I heard on my forest walks. The plant debris suggests shapes and rhythms which I draw, then carve from small blocks of pine ply.”

Forest motives are printed onto translucent Japanese paper, crafted from the bark of the mulberry tree, then layered with “the top one being so thin it is almost suspended in air.” As a result, when we view her largest work Forest Story 10, an unframed eight-panelled print, just the smallest of breath causes it to flutter. “It is as if the forest is speaking back to us.”

Helen relocated from Sydney four years ago, and this is her first Tasmanian solo exhibition. Marvel at her beautiful prints where repetition of mark, shadowy forms, and a depth of field emerge from the layering: “In this way I hope to have created a language with which to translate some of the stories from the magnificent forest.”

Helen Mueller’s Forest Stories opens at Handmark Gallery on October 18 and runs until November 4. Click here to register for a preview. 

Clifford How ― Luminous State

Published 14 October 2024

Image: Clifford How, Endure —Mt Murchison, 2024, oil on linen, 102 x 153 cm

The exhibition of landscapes by Clifford How in Luminous State, is one of Handmark’s most eagerly anticipated events. It is also one of the largest, necessitating a change of venue.

Among the 37 new works by Clifford, 11 of them are large scale. But it is the luminosity of Tasmania’s light that steals the show, bathing its subjects in a beautiful softness and saturation of colour as it tracks low in the sky. “Direct light through clear alpine air, or filtered light through heavy atmosphere, provides an unending and ambient form of communication to the viewer,” Clifford enthuses.

This self-taught artist treks to the most remote corners of Tasmania, sketchbook in hand. Back in the studio his celebrated “organic landscapes” emerge lush with energy and texture as he “confidently attacks the surface with speed in mark-making. No second guessing. No hesitation.” But the true magic is that his oil paintings are beyond subject matter “It is all about an illusionary experience. The unseen quality of the air, light, or cold taking the viewer on a sensory journey.”

Clifford spent two years repeatedly trekking to a favourite spot near Dove Lake seeking that perfect light. One mid-winter morning, the air heavy, it arrived. The result is his largest work, Breathless Wombat Pool, where mist covered mountains keep guard over a tannin-stained lake. “I can feel the chill in the air. I can feel my feet getting wet. Full stop – job done.”

Clifford How’s Luminous State exhibition opens at the Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, 6pm Friday October 11. It runs until Saturday October 26.

tom samek ― original artwork release

Published 26 September 2024

image details: Tom Samek, Clean Skin, gouache, 26 x 21.5 cm

Almost three years after his passing, the legacy and quirky humour of Tom Samek lives on. Original artworks by the celebrated Tasmanian artist – some never publicly seen before – are available to purchase on line, or come into the Gallery to view.

Most, like Opening of the Concert Season, are well-known and much-loved having been reproduced as giclee prints.

However, two of Tom’s original watercolours never made it into print and are being unveiled for the first time: “To see these Tom Samek artworks, just to see that fantastic humour again… Oh wow!” In Chef’s Pants and Knife Tom chops up the black and white checks of a cook’s uniform, and he presents the perfect diet for gluttons in Food and Wine Pyramid.

“Tom’s brilliance was incomparable,” Handmark Director Allanah Dopson says. “He exuded life and art!”

“Tom is always remembered by many clients coming into the gallery and telling their stories of how much they loved him and his wonderful sense of humour.” Why not pop into Handmark Gallery where Tom’s unframed artworks can be viewed.

View older articles