The latest from handmark articles

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.

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. 

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.

luke wagner — Time Slows at Night

Published 26 September 2024

image details: Luke Wagner, Fugitive Light of Dusk, 2024, oil on linen, 76 x 41 cm

Luke Wagner is one of Tasmania’s most popular painters, and his upcoming exhibition of new works is eagerly awaited. Once more Luke brings us glorious landscapes set in the bucolic Northern Midlands, but in Time Slows at Night he also brings a new dream-like quality.

That magical low light as the sun rises, but also as the day ends, casts it’s glow over Luke’s latest offerings. “These paintings have a dream-like quality. They convey a feeling of both being asleep and awake at the time.” But they also have “more sky” drawing the eye to dramatic swirling clouds, further adding to that transcendent feel.

Again, Luke finds inspiration in the countryside around Longford, “which is embedded with a rich and complex history.” He spent last summer in the area “waking up at first light and spending my days walking through the landscape. Somehow this allowed me to absorb the landscape and take it back to the studio.”

Luke will be unveiling 30 new paintings in Time Slows at Night. It’s a large body of work, and as we speak to Luke, he is frantically adding the finishing touches. We wait with eager anticipation.

Luke Wagner’s Time Slows at Night exhibition runs from September 27 until October 14.

bruce thurrowgood ― the line

Published 26 September 2024

Tasmania’s stunning coastline is still his guiding light. But Bruce Thurrowgood delves further beneath the crystal-clear waters in his latest works, plumbing new emotional depths as he explores internal landscapes.

Living at Bicheno, Bruce’s last exhibition examined the interplay of light and water. But this time around, ocean reflections “seek to illuminate layers of reality lying just beneath the surface of everyday experience.” Stunning, multi-dimensional works, where geometric forms and patterns float across the canvas, produce “an inner veiled landscape depicted through layering.”

Bruce has aptly named his solo exhibition, The Line, because the connection between sea and sky is key. “Living by the ocean, I often look out at the horizon. This line serves as a threshold or anchor, inviting the viewer to observe the binding of symbols and patterning.”

We are treated to beautifully delicate paintings where patterns sing in harmonious rhythm: “I set out to create an image that gives awareness of an internal landscape – like visual music. Dots as heartbeats, patterns or lines as rhythms of repetition, colours and tones invoking surrender of thought.”

Bruce Thurrowgood’s The Line exhibition runs until September 23.

susan simonini ― vivid carnival

Published 2 September 2024

When Susan Simonini was invited to exhibit in Vivid, there was no hesitation. “It’s right up my alley.” No surprise perhaps, as Susan’s joyful abstracts pulsate with a riot of bright hues. “Colours excite me. They bring me joy.”

Susan recently made a big splash with her first Handmark show, Glimmer. “However, the colours in this exhibition are sweeter – a palette of pinks, reds and oranges that remind me of candy-coloured lollipops and carnivals.”

Take Higher Place, one of the paintings especially created for Vivid. It evokes nostalgia as we revisit the fairs of our childhood and “all the things they have to offer – colour, light, noise, movement, pattern and joy. I hope to harness the revelry of these events.” She does this beautifully.

Image credit: Susan Simonini, Higher place, 2024, Acrylic on polycotton, 100 x 120 cm

hilton owen ― vivid success

Published 2 September 2024

As an emerging artist, his first sell-out show was with Handmark. Now 35 years-old – and with 16 solo exhibitions under his belt – Hilton Owen is back home in Hobart with stunning paintings for Vivid, and a unique take on portraiture: “They are what they are!”

Hilton’s compelling mixed media offerings may look like collage, but “everything is hand drawn”. Turquoise for example, is a multi-layered composition of acrylics, oils, and spray paint: A woman’s face is splintered by vibrant blocks of colour. “There’s a lot going on in this one.”

Flash is simpler and starker. A vivid purple slash dominates. But our eyes are drawn to shards of a woman’s face with yellow glasses, red lips and tawny hair. “I just love these colours.”

Image credit: Hilton Owen, Turquoise, 2024, Mixed media on linen, 76 x 66 cm

jeewan suwal ― vivid joy

Published 2 September 2024

When Jeewan Suwal left Nepal four years ago to set up home in Hobart, his colourful abstracts were tinged by the gloom of homesickness. But there is no darkness in his latest paintings.

Jeewan has produced a stunning series of landscapes for Vivid inspired by “the beautiful rainbows in Tasmania.” As he moves through the spectrum of rainbow colours, he transports us “to the wonderful world of our imagination.”

In Winterfeast, Jeewan’s joy is palpable as the colours of DarkMofo explode on the canvas. “It may be cold, but the city is alive.” Since his first exhibition as an emerging artist with Handmark in 2022, Jeewan has gone from success to success. Watch this space.

cameron haas ― vivid debut

Published 2 September 2024

New to Handmark, prepared to be thrilled by the geometric abstractions of Cameron Haas in his debut showing. He unveils colourful paintings in Vivid that he describes as “visual art for your eyes.”

Cameron’s organic forms are seemingly simple. But every brushstroke is carefully composed. Every mark, shape and form carefully considered. Colour is key. “My paintings are non-narrative, but I am always looking for an emotional response. My colours are vivid, and I use different combinations to elicit strong emotions.”

Handmark Director Allanah Dopson discovered Cameron’s work at Sydney Contemporary, and immediately bought one of his paintings. He began his artistic journey at the School of Creative Arts, University of Tasmania, “I just knew Cameron had to join Handmark’s stable of wonderfully talented artists.”

Image credit: Cameron Haas, Untitled #98, 2023, Acrylic on linen, 117 x 117 cm

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