Newletter
Published 29 October 2026
This Friday, we are thrilled to present the stunning work of landscape painter, Paul Gundry.
Meantime, prominent Handmark artists – Kit Hiller and Faridah Cameron – are being honoured with major exhibitions. Read on to find out more.
Finally, with Christmas near, may we suggest art as the perfect gift? On Friday November 13, our Affordable Art Show opens at the Clarendon Arms in Evandale. There will be well over 60 works from your favourite Handmark artists, and best of all – everything is $5,000 or less!
Take care,
Allanah Dopson
Director
Upcoming Exhibition: Paul Gundry – Did you catch the weather?
Published 29 October 2026
Transforming the everyday into poetry. For his first solo exhibition at Handmark Gallery, Paul Gundry takes landscapes – we often take for granted – and creates tonal paintings rich with atmosphere and moody beauty.
Paul may be new to the gallery, but he arrives with an impressive artistic repertoire. A four-time Glover finalist, his inaugural Handmark outing is simply titled – Did you catch the weather? It’s an everyday question, but one that also symbolises Paul’s quest to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary: “I would describe myself as being dedicated to pursuing the poetic truth in art. And paradoxically, this is amplified and rendered more clearly when framed by mist and the prospect of rain,” he explains.
The landscape around Risdon Brook Dam, just north of Hobart, is often overlooked. But in Paul’s hands it becomes hauntingly magnificent. On one canvas, model yachts bob on the water on a misty winter’s day; in another, a tower rises from the dam in a world of perfect stillness. “We often overlook the poetry that is right before us.”
Paul also turns his gaze to rural vistas. On one journey he ventures into the Derwent Valley where he stumbles upon a perfect moment near Ouse. “I was out all morning in the misty rain, then suddenly it appeared as if the landscape and sky had been fused together as one. What I am looking for can occur in any landscape, and that is the sense of infinite stillness.”
Paul Gundry’s solo exhibition, Did you Catch the Weather, opens at Handmark on October 30 and runs until November 16.
TMAG Retrospective: Kit Hiller – Coming Home
Published 29 October 2026
Handmark’s Kit Hiller is being honoured with a retrospective at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) that celebrates a rich and diverse artistic journey. Both a painter and a printmaker, Kit is widely considered one of Tasmania’s most prominent artists.
When most people think of Kit, they think of her small brightly coloured linocuts of Tasmanian birds and plants. “That’s because they were the things I could sell most easily, and so they have followed me right through from the beginning,” she laughs. But the retrospective will also feature Kit’s oil paintings depicting rural scenes from the North West Coast where she lives on a small farm.
Perhaps most compelling of all, however, are the intimate self-portraits that span 50 years and document her evolving identity as both a woman and an artist. The first depicts a tentative 27-year-old Kit looking into a mirror. “I had young children, and I would paint after I put them to bed. And I would put up a mirror so I could see myself as I painted. It had nothing to do with vanity!”
Kit has no intention of slowing down. In fact, when we speak to her she is putting the finishing touches to a large canvas of a lone farmer shutting a gate at dusk. “I just love painting – that’s the main thing.”
Kit Hiller’s Retrospective, Coming Home, opens at TMAG in Hobart on November 6 and runs until February.
Handmark will hold a special Afternoon with Kit Hiller on Sunday November 22 from 2pm at Handmark. Please put this date in your diary.
QVMAG Exhibition: Faridah Cameron – A Practice of Becoming
Published 29 October 2026
Abstract painter, Faridah Cameron, admits she was blown away when she was invited to do a solo exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) in Launceston. It’s a major milestone in her long artistic career.
Faridah describes the exhibition, A Practice of Becoming, as a review. It brings together paintings dating back to 2012, most of which have been sold by the Handmark artist over the years and are being borrowed for the show. “It’s just like meeting up with old friends again,” Faridah says. “I love all my paintings, so this is a very special reunion. I am so delighted to see so much of my work in one place.”
Large-scale abstracts are Faridah’s calling card – “The bigger the better I always say!” – but so too is her extraordinarily intricate mark-making. Inspired by a lifetime of sewing, Faridah carefully places thousands of tiny thread-like marks to create richly layered compositions of colour, pattern and rhythm.
A pair of Sashiko paintings, based on traditional Japanese decorative stitching, hold pride of place. Sashiko involves white stitching on an indigo-blue background, creating striking geometric patterns. “I have always been inspired by Sashiko stitching, especially the vibrant colour contrast between the white thread and dark background. This is really beautiful, it’s like introducing a little light into an infinitely dark space.”
Faridah Cameron’s solo exhibition, A Practice of Becoming, opens at QVMAG in Launceston on November 7 and runs until May.
october newsletter
Published 8 October 2026
Abstract art invites us to respond in our own way, finding meaning through colour, form and feeling. And that’s exactly what you can expect in our upcoming joint exhibition.
We unveil new works by two exciting abstract painters. Susan Simonini presents a series inspired by Tasmania in Places I Belong. While Cameron Haas embraces bold colour but leaves us to create our own story in Running Towards Danger.
Susan and Cameron both explore new directions, and I look forward to sharing their paintings with you.
Allanah Dopson
Director
Susan Simonini – Places I Belong
Published 8 October 2026
Ten years ago, Susan Simonini traded the Gold Coast for life on a farm in Tasmania’s north-west. Susan’s love for her adopted home finds expression in the new series of abstract paintings, Places I Belong.
Cradle Mountain and the Central Highlands have captured Susan’s heart. “The landscapes are unlike any other. The quietness. The stillness. They have a magical presence,” Susan enthuses. Her paintings pay homage to these subalpine environments through emotion rather than literal depiction. “My works are about feeling, and I use abstraction as a way to explore place, memory and perception.”
Susan explores the haunting solitude of Cradle Mountain in A Quiet Mind. Autumnal tones hint at buttongrass and the turning of the fagus as the famous mountain hovers in the distance. In A Vanishing Thought, she turns her gaze to a patch of marshy water alive after winter rains. Reeds, cushion plants and insects emerge in a patchwork of rich greens. “I get lost in this landscape.”
The series marks a new direction for Susan. Flowing organic forms replace the grid-like patterns that dominated her last exhibition. “I really love these paintings. This is the place I have always been striving to get to with my art. The works are much looser because I have stopped thinking and just make marks – you could call it my coming of age.”
Cameron Haas – Running Towards Danger
Published 8 October 2026
This is a pivotal moment for Cameron. He leaves the familiar to embrace the ‘danger’ of uncertainty. “Any visual move is uncomfortable. But this was something I had to do, and it was almost like starting from scratch,” Cameron reveals. After 17 years of controlled geometric shapes, he now explores texture and a handmade feel. “I can see the human touch which gives them movement and emotion.”
But one thing remains constant. Cameron’s new paintings are still resolutely non-narrative, and are even identified by a number within the series, leaving the viewer free to find their own meaning. Take Cameron’s largest painting, Running Towards Danger #1. Layers of intense, overlapping colour – yellow, magenta, blue and ochre – are partially framed by a dripping white form, creating a compelling composition without recognisable subject matter.
In fact, colour is one of Cameron’s defining signatures. “I think if you are going to paint in colour make it count. I love the intensity of colour and always aim to make things brighter, not tonal. I like the purity of putting colour and form into a non-narrative work. You just feel it.”
The new exhibition of Cameron Haas, Running Towards Danger, runs at Handmark from October 9 – 26.
join us on friday evening for the opening of susan simonini’s places i belong and cameron haas’ running towards danger exhibition.
friday 9 october
5:30 pm onwards
september newsletter ―
Published 1 September 2026
Katy Woodroffe has been a vibrant part of Tasmania’s art scene for decades. But the exhibition, Looking both Ways, is her solo swansong. This is a momentous occasion that not only looks back on a wonderful artistic journey but also celebrates a major milestone – Katy’s 80th birthday.
Katy’s intricately patterned paintings are treasured by many. And the works in her final solo exhibition are particularly special. “All the pieces in Looking Both Ways are my favourite paintings. I have kept them at home this whole time, but it’s time to let them go,” Katy muses. “They represent different chapters of my life. This is a retrospective that tells the story of my artistic practice.”
Recurring images run through Katy’s practice, and time spent at artistic residencies has provided rich inspiration. At the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2001 Katy discovered the power of pattern. Tiles from the historic accommodation found their way into Patterns of Silence. A decade later she returned to France, but this time became entranced by the “majestic swans on a lake at Versailles that mirrored the palace’s grand opulence inspiring the painting, Dreamlands.” Swans also became part of her artistic vernacular.
In Granada, Spain, intricate Islamic patterns first appeared in Katy’s art with the painting, Los Cantaros. Another favourite motif, the pomegranate, emerged during a Greek sojourn. Sitting under a tree laden with the rich, luscious fruit on Skopelos Island inspired the beautiful work, Forbidden Fruit.
“I have had a fabulous life. And celebrating 80 years feels really good. But this is it, my last major exhibition, and I am delighted to be sharing my favourite works with you.”
Katy Woodroffe’s solo exhibition, Looking Both Ways, opens at Handmark on September 18 and runs until October 5.
Upcoming Exhibition: Mel Aliendi – Wonderplay
Published 27 August 2026
Handmark’s emerging artist for 2026, Mel Aliendi, is inspirational on so many levels. Apart from her obvious talents as a painter, she is also testament to the adage that it’s never too late to follow your dreams.
A teacher by profession, Mel is 51 years old and about to unveil her first solo exhibition, Wonderplay. This is a vibrantly joyous collection of abstract paintings, but perhaps most remarkable is the fact that that her journey with a paintbrush only began six years ago: “I am a creative person and was looking for something to do, a new hobby, so I signed up for some local art classes in South Hobart and it just snowballed from there,” Mel explains.
Mel has a collection of 30 paintings of all sizes in Wonderplay, a title that perfectly captures the spirit of her work: “This exhibition is about the meeting place of wonder and play. I am always full of wonder when I begin a painting. I never have a plan, instead I am guided by curiosity and trust that the answers will come. But there is also playfulness in the freedom to be colourful and expressive with no judgement.”
In fact, colour is Mel’s touchstone. In her large-scale painting, The Upside Down House, the canvas bursts with pops of vermilion red, pink, green, and Prussian blue. “No colour is off limits.” But there is also whimsy with hints of a small village where diamond shapes echo a ‘Moroccan vibe.’ Spontaneity is another trademark of her work. “I want my art to remain visibly human-made. Blurred edges, uneven marks and uncertain gestures are left untouched. These are the moments when the work feels most alive.”
Mel Aliendi’s solo exhibition Wonderplay opens at Handmark on August 28 and runs until September 14
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