Maitland Regional Art Gallery has eight new exhibitions to enlighten and entertain visitors through the summer holidays.
The exhibits, all free, showing now and through January include:
A Rare Sensibility, by Valerie Marshall Strong Olsen, who was an artist and teacher for most of her life but seldom showed her work in public. The works are chiefly from the collection of Valerie's son and daughter, Sydney gallerist Tim Olsen and Louise Olsen, co-founder of Dinosaur Designs.
Many Hands Make Life Work - Deborah Kelly and the Moving Image 2011-2021 is an exhibition which brings together of Kelly's recent video works including The gods of tiny things and LYING WOMEN. The topics vary, from colonialism to climate change to the teaming, prancing hectic and kaleidoscopic joy and clamour of life itself
Escapade by Tinky. Throughout her practice Tinky works with miniature figurines and vintage objects to create humorous and playful scenes of mismatched proportions. Tinky typically makes use of small or hidden spaces to exhibit her work, each boasting a comedic undertone.
Yellow Sun, Blue Gum, by Ileigh Hellier, is a meditation on the Glenrock Reserve landscape, revealing the paradox of plein air painting, the tension between painterly activity and sharp attention to surroundings and the peace and quietude of mindfulness.
Harbingers: Loie, Artemisia, Pixie, Sarah and Lilith, by Hannah Gartside repurposes vintage garments and fabric into installations that celebrate femininity, sensuality and subjectivity.
Monster Mash, by Kate Rohde, is an interactive exhibition that draws on the fantastical interiors and mutant creatures created by Rohde.
A Little Potluck Party Pai-Ti Kong with the Ghosts (Double Happiness), by Jayanto Tan, draws inspiration from a family tradition experienced in everyday life - the ritual of offering food made by Tan's mother. These ceramic food offerings were created during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Protection, by Jane Lander, is about the stories in this large-scale epic drawing and its accompanying animation follow two young protagonists, their lives exposed to the harsh realities of their environment.
