The latest from handmark articles

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

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.

july newsletter ― director’s message

Published 24 July 2025

Left: Peter Gouldthorpe, Old Friend, 2025, hand coloured linocut, edition of 6, 84 x 71cm framed.
Right: Rodney Alexander, Verdure, 2025, oil on linen, 156 x 105cm framed.

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

Faridah Cameron, Sundown, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40cm.

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

Phil Gordon, Trees + Rain collection. 2025, Slip-cast ceramic stoneware with underglaze decoration. 700ml. After purchase, the bottle will be filled with a complimentary single malt whisky at White Label Distillery.

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.

Melanie McCollin-Walker — Wilderness Wonder

Published 24 July 2025

Melanie McCollin-Walker, Early Morning on the Whyte River, 2025, acrylic on linen, 202 x 141cm framed.

Is there a better way to celebrate the trees of Tasmania? Painter Melanie McCollin-Walker ventures into the wilderness and returns with a masterpiece. A large-scale landscape inspired by a moment deep in Takayna/the Tarkine.

Last winter Melanie and her husband Brent set out in a kayak in the pre-dawn darkness and paddled up a flat calm Whyte River. As the sun rose over the misty water, the scene unfolded: “It was one of those magical moments. As we were coming around a bend in the river, the first shards of sunlight hit the trees and the mist began to melt away,” she reminisces.

Back in her studio Melanie created Early Morning on the Whyte River for the Celebrating Trees exhibition. “Trees are the reason life exists on this planet. They give so much to humanity on a daily basis.” This work is similar to the photo-realistic paintings of her recent solo exhibition, which was a sell-out success. “I like large scale works because they become immersive for the viewer. A literal doorway to another world.”

Melanie continues to go from strength-to-strength. She is a finalist in the 2025 Hadley’s Art Prize, and again the magnificent old growth forests of Tasmania’s wilderness are her inspiration. “Takayna is special. We need to treasure and preserve it.”

emily blom — to hold what fades

Published 30 June 2025

Emily Blom, Before The Petals Stirred, 2025, Acrylic on canvas with offset and stencil print, 110 x110 cm framed.

That fleeting moment of perfection is gloriously captured by Emily Blom in her exhibition of new works, To Hold What Fades. But alongside the delicate paintings of beautiful young women that have become Emily’s signature, there are surprises.

The cherry blossom is a perfect metaphor: “The blossom falls gracefully after its brief, stunning bloom. Its beauty short-lived,” Emily reflects. “Yet the fleeting nature of its existence is what makes it so beautiful. It is this moment, suspended between blossoming and fading, that I have sought to capture in this body of work.”

Beautiful young women on the cusp of womanhood, their faces hidden from view, “are suspened in that magical moment before change.” In Among the Golden Leaves we gaze down on Emily’s daughter Madeline, her long dress encircled like a rose. “It’s as if a seed has emerged from the darkness and a flower is unfurling.” All Emily’s figures are swathed in rich decorative clothing. “I love the inherent feminity of fabric.”

But, in To Hold What Fades Emily expands her artistic voice. She also presents a series of small still-life flowers, however it is her five-panelled landscape of kunanyi/Mount Wellington that demands attention: “My exhibition explores the strength and vulnerability of femininity, and I have approached this landscape from that viewpoint. The mountain is presented as a feminine presence looking over us, nurturing us and protecting us.”

Emily Blom and Katina Gavalas’ exhibition, opens at Handmark this Friday June 20 until July 21.

katina gavalas — in her threads

Published 30 June 2025

Katina Gavalas, Table for Five, 2025, Collagraph,Relief print & Handcolour, edition of 10, framed 91 x 119cm.
Katina Gavalas digs deep into family treasures to produce her most stunning collection of limited edition prints. Female forms and delicately layered patterns referencing family heirlooms of lace and embroidery, shine brightly in the beautiful new works unveiled in her Seductive Tranquility exhibition.

Katina pays homage to strong women in her life – her late sister, mother and grandmothers. “These talented women are my inspiration, and I have incorporated treasured pieces they made into my prints.” She also proudly references her Greek heritage where embroidery was a skill handed down through the generations. “I elevate these precious heirlooms into emblems of strength to honour my matriarchal influences.”

Embroidered doileys made by her grandmothers are a recurring visual theme. Katina uses them to clothe anonymous female forms. They also layer her backgrounds in rich patterns respendent with ultramarine blue – the colour of Greece – and touches of gold celebrating rituals and family life. In What She Wore, a bedspread made by her grandmother is crafted into a beautiful dress.

Since childhood Katina has been obsessed with fashion, fabric and pattern, which led her to study fashion designing: “In my compositions I want the viewer to admire and appreciate the precious embroideries and fabrics not only for their workmanship, but to also see them as an integral part of tradition and identity.”

Katina Gavalas and Emily Blom’s exhibition, opens at Handmark this Friday June 20 until July 21.

art consultancy — resonance consulting

Published 30 June 2025

Alex White artworks looking splendid in their new home at the Resonance Consulting Hobart based office.
Handmark is more than just a gallery. In fact, a burgeoning part of the business is providing Art Consultancy Services as witnessed in the recent collaboration with leading Hobart company, Resonance Consulting.

When Resonance relocated into their new city office, creating a vibrant space for clients and employees was top of mind. Handmark Director, Allanah Dopson, became their first port of call: “Our office was a blank canvas, and we decided to start with the artwork and build out from there,” Alice Agnew from Resonance explains.
Resonance is a rapidly growing company that partners in project planning, delivery and management. They have just undergone a major rebrand, and Allanah helped bring that vision to life. “We needed art to make a statement while also supporting Tasmanian talent. After trying different options, emerging Hobart artist, Alex White was the perfect fit.”

Four of his large bold prints of Tasmanian mountain huts now hang pride of place in the foyer. “The feedback has been overwhelming,” Alice enthuses. And for Alex, it’s beyond exciting: “I feel so honoured that Resonance chose my work. My art is very niche, and to find it sitting side-by-side in a commercial space is totally unexpected – but really fulfilling. ”

Just contact Handmark Gallery for details of their Art Consultancy Services.
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