The latest from handmark articles

september newsletter ― director’s message

Published 3 September 2025

Spring is here, and we are thrilled to present fabulous new works from painter Heidi Woodhead. On Friday we unveil Heidi’s extraordinary Oceanic exhibition – and have no doubts it will be another sellout success!
 
Also, the wonderfully creative Travis Bell has just dropped off new ceramics to the gallery. A last-minute Father’s Day gift, perhaps?
 
Finally, Handmark is a proud supporter of cancer research, and I am thrilled to announce we have donated $15,000 to the Hobart Cancerians. Thank you to all those who purchased artwork from our Celebrating National Tree Day exhibition.

Allanah Dopson
Director

heidi woodhead —  oceanic

Published 3 September 2025

heidi woodhead, ebb and flow, 2025, oil on canvas, 92 x 122 cm

Heidi’s last Handmark showing, which was a sellout success, referenced the Dutch Masters with hyper-realistic tulips that glowed against moody backdrops. In her new exhibition, Oceanic, the style remains but the subject matter is dramatically different: “We recently drove around Australia, and I was mesmerised by the ocean and coastline that circles this ancient land. I knew what I had to paint next,” Heidi reflects.
 
Back in the studio Heidi bought these landscapes to life with traditional still-life composition. In striking tableau, worn fragments washed up by the ocean – like shells and bits of china – conjures up images of “the vast passage of time which communicates a sense of history.” The ocean becomes a metaphor. A recurring theme in this body of work is swirling cloth that represents turbulent waves.
 
In Sirens, which is the largest of Heidi’s 21 works, our mind is drawn to visions of old shipwrecks deep under the ocean. Rich with patina and set upon a dark background, it’s as if a spotlight has picked out stories from the sea. A glossy black drinking vessel, luminous shells, and a glass fishing float evokes “a sense of history with time-weary, ancient objects that reach through the ages to communicate their tales of woe.”
 
Heidi’s Oceanic exhibition will open at Handmark at 5pm on Friday September 5. It will run until September 22.

travis bell —  new ceramics – stacked series

Published 3 September 2025

travis bell, canonical cannon 1, 2025, ceramics, 35 x 20 x 20 cm

The Launceston artist has just delivered a dozen exciting new pieces to Handmark Gallery.
Travis explores the intersection of balance, fragility and tension with art that appears to defy gravity. Previously he has created clay vessels that sit at seemingly impossible angles; there have also been ceramic stupas made from precarious spherical shapes that look ready to collapse at any moment. His new works build on these learnings – representing years of artistic practice and experimentation.
 
In this latest outing, he produces striking ceramics that reference miniature totem poles. Each is made from three pieces of clay stacked on top of one other. “The top and bottom are mirror images, while the middle serves as decoration,” Travis explains. “They also continue my investigation into how clay can combine both the functional and sculptural aspects.”
 
Another recurring theme is his passion for clay itself. Travis leaves ceramics unadorned and unglazed, allowing the beauty of the material to shine through as one of the most important elements of his art. This is highlighted further through works that are minimal in style and strong in form: “I aim to present clay as a truthful and honest medium.”
 
New ceramics from Travis Bell are now on display at Handmark Gallery.

handmark supports cancer research —  hobart cancerians donation

Published 3 September 2025

The gallery has donated $15,000 to the Hobart Cancerians from fund-raising that coincided with the acclaimed Celebrating National Tree Day exhibition held in July. The Hobart Cancerians are small in size, but big in impact. Over the past decade these incredible volunteers have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research. “We are a fundraising arm of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation which moves mountains, and that’s why I have stayed for so long,” Committee President, Gillian Groom explains. “Recently we joined forces with the wonderful Allanah Dopson – and with huge success!”
 
Handmark’s Director Allanah, in collaboration with committee member Laura Ribarow, organised a private viewing of the Celebrating Tree Day exhibition, replete with music, wine and guest speakers. Furthermore, a percentage of profits from each artwork sold was donated. “It was brilliant and raised $15,000 exceeding all expectations. Allanah’s warm generosity in opening that special space for this important cause was beyond generous.”
 
The Hobart Cancerians next fundraising event in November, Bubbles and Blooms, is another showstopper. Acclaimed Violist and committee member, Will Newbery, will direct a string quartet amongst the roses of a magnificent private garden while afternoon tea is served. Could there be a better way to celebrate spring and support cancer research?
 
For more information about Bubbles and Blooms please contact the Hobart Cancerians.

faridah cameron — letters to dead artists

Published 15 August 2025

The creativity of Faridah Cameron extends beyond her striking abstracts. Writing has always been a passion, and she can now add ‘published author’ to the mix.

Faridah has delighted us for years with her paintings, but be prepared to also be spellbound by her ‘little book’ Letters to Dead Artists: “It started off as something very personal and unguarded. I wrote letters to 11 artists who were important to my life, but then I realized that perhaps there is a point to my musings that should be shared,” Faridah explains.

She hopes her book will make art more accessible with an overarching theme that you don’t need expertise to understand what is before you. “There is no right or wrong. Everyone views a piece of art differently. I want to encourage people to engage with art and not shy away.” However, Faridah also wants us to enjoy reading her letters.

Most of Faridah’s artists are not household names, and she pens her first letter to American abstract painter Agnes Martin: “My dear Agnes, you were already nearly gone by the time I heard of you, already painting the looming black shapes that preceded your death. I recognized in them something of importance to me, although I could not have said what that was. And then you were gone.”

Faridah’s next solo exhibition opens at Handmark on 30 January 2026.

Faridah Cameron will be launching Letters to Dead Artists on September 7 at the Black Swan Bookshop in New Norfolk.

nick glade-wright – now

Published 15 August 2025

nick glade-wright, democracy, 2024, oil on canvas, 138 x 138cm.

The paintings of Nick Glade-Wright stand alone as stunning works of art. But, just as importantly the canvases in his Now Exhibition are imbued with powerful narrative and memory.

Struggle for Freedom – one of Nick’s biggest ever paintings – is a showstopper, visually and emotionally: “It’s a direct response to the genocide in Gaza, particularly the dead and maimed children. I wanted to give them a voice,” he tells us. A large knot symbolises the struggle to break free, while dark despair is offset by vibrant purples, a color associated with royalty and power. “I wanted to bring a nobility to their struggle.”

Nick recently turned 75, a milestone that sparked personal reflection. In Now, he also unveils colour drenched paintings that balance dark despair with joyful memories. “Since turning three quarters of a century, I have delved into a little nostalgia with some work – places from my past and revisiting significant memories.”

Maria Island holds a special place in Nick’s heart with a history stretching back to wild Art School days. Using his trademark ‘intuitive expressionist’ style, Nick lays out the history of Tasmania, and his own life in one wonderful canvas. “There is even the small stone shed where I camped overnight in a raging storm. This exhibition is called ‘Now’ because I wanted a simple word that also had powerful meaning. It’s about constantly looking to the future.”

Nick Glade-Wright’s Now Exhibition opens at Handmark Gallery at 5pm on Friday August 15 and runs until September 1.

august newsletter ― director’s message

Published 15 August 2025

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who participated in Celebrating National Tree Day, our Handmark artists, our many clients, the Hobart Cancerians and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.

Although we are still negotiating sales from this exhibition, Handmark will be donating over $7,500 to the Cancer Research Foundation through the Hobart Cancerians.

This Friday, Handmark unveils new paintings by Nick Glade-Wright with his fabulous Now Exhibition. Like so many of you, I am not only captivated by Nick’s powerful colours and abstract imagery, but also by his strong messages. This is his most striking show.

Accolades also to the wonderful Faridah Cameron. Does her creativity know any bounds? Faridah is now a published author with her book, Letters to Dead Artists. It’s being launched next month, so pencil that in your diary as well!

Allanah Dopson
Director

july newsletter ― director’s message

Published 24 July 2025

This Friday we present one of our most exciting exhibitions, Handmark’s annual celebration of National Tree Day. Every July our artists showcase a work paying homage to trees – and the results are astonishing in their variation.

Tasmanian Land Conservancy CEO, Dr Katherine Tuft, will open the show and we are thrilled to announce Handmark has plans to work closely with the organisation. Stay tuned! This exhibition brings awareness to the importance of trees within our lives. Another of my passions, is cancer research, and 10% of exhibition proceeds will be donated to the Cancer Research Foundation.

Please come and marvel (and maybe purchase!) at the 81 works created by our very talented artists.

In this newsletter, Melanie McCollin-Walker unveils an incredible painting of Tasmanian wilderness; Faridah Cameron exudes joy with a vibrant abstract; while Phil Gordon finds connection between wood and whisky in colonial inspired flasks.

Allanah Dopson
Director

Celebrating National Tree Day exhibition, opens at Handmark 5:00pm tomorrow July 25 until August 11.

Faridah Cameron — Sundown Splendour

Published 24 July 2025

Painter Faridah Cameron turns to the abstract to celebrate trees, which she does beautifully in her joyous work Sundown. But Faridah also asks the question: Where would we be without them?

Sundown is stunning. A vibrant palette of pink, orange and green amplified by slashes of black. Two vertical blue marks hint at a tree. “We respond to the beauty of trees, not just in the natural environment – the majesty of forest giants and ancient red gums in the desert riverbeds – but also in the city where streets and gardens are softened, shaded, and made welcoming by their presence,” Faridah tells us.

Faridah is renowned for her unique abstract style. Pared back form, combined with highly detailed mark-making, like the ‘dots and dashes’ we see in Sundown, is her calling card. She always leaves space for viewer interpretation. “I invite you to use your imagination. Sundown is a time of beauty and wonder, but the setting of the sun is also a metaphor for the ending of things.”

Handmark’s exhibition celebrating trees is important, not just for the artists, but also for awareness: “In a world fraught with confusion this is a very affirming show. Our lives are intimately involved with trees, and they deserve our upmost respect. What would the world be without trees?”

Phil Gordon — Whisky & Wood

Published 24 July 2025

Sculptor, Phil Gordon draws on a passion for whisky as he celebrates trees in his own unique way. Phil has crafted a series of whisky flasks with beautifully handcrafted wooden cases made from specialty timber.

A series of ceramic flasks are each adorned with a simple drawing of an iconic Tasmanian tree – Huon Pine, King Billy, Sassafras, Blackwood and Fagus. Each whisky flask is presented in a beautiful box made from the timber depicted on the bottle. Titled, Trees + Rain, Phil’s contribution to the Celebrating Trees exhibition also draws on his passion for history and a childhood spent digging up antique bottles.

“My most desired find was always the old colonial slip cast whisky bottles with their naïve childlike Scottish and Irish imagery and writing. Brands like ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Doctor Williams Pink Pills for Pale People’ always stayed in my imagination. I have applied the same style for the bottles I created for this show,” Phil tells us.

After the show, each bottle will be filled with an award-winning single malt whisky. This is definitely art to enjoy – the perfect way to celebrate National Tree Day.