Retrospect Galleries is thrilled to present an exhibition of works from Internationally acclaimed artist Emma Hack.

Emma's artwork is perhaps most instantly recognised in the stop animation body artwork video for Gotye's hit song "Somebody That I used To Know",  which, to date, has been viewed over 350 million times on youtube.

 Emma's process involves 3 distinct phases, she begins by elaborately painting a particular background, be it a detailed wall paper pattern, fine china design or comic book-scape and then painstakingly painting the body of her model in the same pattern so she then blends chameleon-like into the background. The final stage is to photograph the completed tableaux.

 Emma explains, "It can take up to 10 hours to paint a model in front of a background, and they're standing the whole time. I try not to worry about it because it would affect the work - but it's a fine line between being considerate about the models and getting the detailed work done!"

The success and exposure of the Goyte video gave people the opportunity to see that Emma's artworks are entirely handmade and not, as is often presumed, executed in photoshop. Although only briefly in the country Retrospect is thrilled to have secured Emma for an artist's talk about this elaborate process on Feb 2 at the gallery at ?pm.

Another recent project which gained the attention of the world press was  "Body Crash"  an extra-ordinary project for which she painted 17 people and then 'sculpted' them into position to create a crashed car for South Australia's Motor Accident Commission.

Works to be included in Retrospect Galleries exhibition include a series called "POP!" in which Emma explores her fascination with the pop art genre, Emma's is a fun, modern , however, day retake on the comic-inspired work of Roy Lichtenstein. Her heroines are not helpless romantics, but rather, they are strong feisty, sexy, superwomen. They are so impeccably integrated with their comic book surrounds, the viewer does a double take before realising the female figures are not caricatures but rather are real models.
 
We will also present Emma's most recent body of work, the stunning Blue and White series in which she focuses her attention on the fascinating journey of the ubiquitous blue and white patterned porcelain which evolved and mutated through centuries of trade between Asian and  Europe. The collection features designs from 5 countries, China, Holland, England, France and Portugal. Refined, intricate and subtle, these works are like the stylistic antithesis of the bold, primary coloured works of "POP!".

In a similar vein to The Blue and White series we will also be showing works from Emma's well known "Broadhurst" series in which the model was painted to blend into various beautiful elaborate Florence Broadhurst wallpaper patterns. The model distinguishing herself from the background courtesy of the exotic animal or bird she held in each photograph.

With 22yrs experience in the arena of body art/photography Emma Hack is now at the top of her field. The array of work to be exhibited here is in turn  bold, subtle, whimsical, and exquisite. Do not miss this opportunity to meet the artist and experience the work of an acclaimed internationally renowned artist.

See her work online here: http://www.retrospectgalleries.com/exhibition-detail/emma-hack-solo-show/3387/1

check out some of the links to her processes here

Native Mandala
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL156AEB99289E43ED&feature=plcp

Wallpaper Collection 2005-2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUBuZ3jgyzQ&feature=plcp

Voices in the Mirror
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4spIMc9UclM

Other projects:

Body Painting Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Z3qga_vKc&feature=plcp

Natura:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqnTbyW5Bg0

Guitar Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI1f2BM57Lw
Interviews:

Gotye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY


Interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBQmH7mIAng

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGyj_7zfN14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgFpANlBcHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVGaEM_-bNw

INTRICATE LINES
Fine Art Exhibition
Opens 6pm, 1st February at Retrospect Galleries, 52 Jonson St Byron Bay, NSW, 2481, Ph: (02) 6680 8825
Exhibition continues till February the 26th
Artists include: Carley Cornelissen, Courtney Brims, David Green, Heiko, Ieo Gek Ching, Lilly Piri, Lisa Rodden, Nicola Hooper, Wendy Powitt

Check out the images from the show here...

At Retrospect Galleries we believe that charm (and the devil!) resides in the details. Our first exhibition for 2013, Intricate Lines, showcases a group of artists who will explore their personal fascination with the intimacies of fine lines and minute details. This exhibition presents a diverse range of medias and styles revealing breathtaking complexity and substance. What these works have in common, be they drawn, painted, stitched or cut, is a love of a refined line, of technical prowess and honed skills and imaginations.

Contributing artist Courtney Brims offers a series of fine graphite drawings, she says of her process,
"I invest a lot of care into creating the intricate forms in my work, immersing myself in the delicate structures of both the natural and man-made world. Creeping vines, decaying wood, hair entangled around raw bones and fine lace. For me, these tiny, intricate elements are not simply ornamental but act as separate life forms connecting the pieces together within the work."
 As one of the prestigious 'Element Advocate Artists' Courtney's images now grace the shelves of Billabong, with many of her drawings appearing on a wide range of clothing. She has also been published in many national periodicals  including Frankie, Empty and Monsters Children.    

Emerging artist, Lilly Piri's work also crosses over to the design world. Her delightful creations were recently produced for a recent Oxfam campaign and appeared on television, billboards and buses. Featured in Asian Lifestyle, Frankie, and Little Things magazine her innocent worlds of rainbows, picnics, and girls in frocks and socks are created in a soft 1940's palette. Lilly likens her drawing process to the human body," with its layers - bone, muscle, nerves, skin - each line begins from the inside. The knowledge of structure makes the drawing a living and breathing organism, more than meets the eye, still waters that run deep."

 The artists' acute understanding of their personal motivation and passion for working in such fine detail adds to the excitement surrounding this exhibition.  Comprehending the inner world of these artists, allows us to enter a  two-dimension landscape where time slows down, convolutes or is suspended as our eyes and hearts traverse the fine lines, whorls and mappings of these artworks.

"Welcome to my world," writes artist David Green, whose fine technical ability is harnessed to the challenge of creating bold, surreal drawings where schools of exquisitely formed fish transform into sailing boats. David describes his drawing experience as "one where drawing is not subservient to any other art form, where the line is master of the whole story. A line that glistens and glides across the page, that dances between the dots; a line that journeys between the dark of night and the dazzling displays of daytime colour."

 Heiko Windisch's work also harkens to this almost mediative approach finding a peace in the rhythmic repetition of lines and negative spaces.
"My medium is the black line on white ground. Dark dancing with the light, day with night, knowledge with intuition, life with death, here with yonder... As the lines fill up the canvas and black finds its balance with the white, intricate lines fall into place to create forests, buildings and creatures, but only the mind can untangle the web and make sense of it."
  An award winning illustrator and designer, Heiko has worked with clients such as Salomon Sports, Logitech, Iron First, Graniph and Palmer Cash. His distinctive black lines with primary colour accents have appeared on paper, canvas, wood, installations and in animations, winning several industry prices and making many noted appearances at Illustration festivals.

 For Nicola Hooper  tangled lines also play a primary part in her organic refined compositions which evoke a sense of victorian anatomy and botanical illustration in a modern context. Using watercolours, pigment inks and stitched threads, her "fine line works like a wrinkle on a face, describing a passage in time or an expression of a feeling."

Wendy Powitt also expresses her love of line with a needle and a thread, though for her it is an embroidery needle that creates her updated take on the exemplars of old with their stitched maxims and illustrations. She see's embroidery as "the most intimate of mark making. Each line formed from tiny stitches traversing across the surface, combining only at the very end to form with visual purpose."

 Just as a fine line can be drawn, or stitched, it can also be cut, as in the stunning, precise work of Lisa Rodden. Lisa concentrates on the space made from delicate incisions into paper, using these cuts to 'draw' fish, feathers and chrysanthemums of astounding beauty and purity. Slicing, layering, painting and folding to create 3D wonders where shadows and colours appear and disappear as the viewer moves around the work.

Last but certainly not least we are thrilled to introduce Byron Bay to the work of Singapore artist Ieo Gek Ching. Leo draws her menagerie of painstakingly detailed hybrid creatures with a fine line art pen, creating strangely appealing, haunting beasts that are often up to 150cm in height. For her they are a response to a world that is " full of strange and unusual things. The hunger for discovering new things never slows down…Some animal’s hybrids are born in the wild due to the environmental factors, while humans for profit or scientific curiosity breed others. For me, I do it to fill up my curiosity and desire."

Full of wonderment and delicate excitement this exhibition is a celebration above all else of line, of its beauty elegance and complexity as it traverses the chosen surface and transforms it into a multitude of worlds. Intimate and playful these artists invite the viewer to investigate a labyrinth beyond the surface of their work and examine the artistic and microscopic possibilities of INTRICATE LINES.

July 12th - 15, 2012

Sculpture fields of Nova's Ark, Millstone Road, Bridgehamptons, NY

Retrospect Planet continues its world tour of International Art Fairs with some of its favourite artists. Coming up next is ArtHamptons set in the beautiful Sculpture fields of Nova's Ark, Bridgehamptons, NY. This year ArtHamptons celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Jackson Pollock. We are exciting to join the 75 galleries attending the fair. Join us at stand A25 as summer sweeps through the Hamptons at their best. View this online preview of fresh and exciting artwork from $300 to $1500.

View the online preview of the exhibition here...

Take the time to read this wonderful three page article from Rex Airways inflight magazine about upcoming Retrospect Galleries photographer Perran Costi. His beautiful light boxes have been gracing the gallery for the last few years. Good on you Perran, we love your work!

A huge congratulations from all of us here at Retrospect Galleries to Shannon Doyle who has been selected as a Finalist in the Metro art Award, this is the work that was chosen and is titled Detention. We are so excited that Shannon is going from strength to strength and are looking forward to showin his work in ArtHamptons next week.

INCITE OUR IMAGINATION | Northern Star Newspaper by Helen Hawkes

These ethereal Visual metaphors from a local whimsical artist speak to the heart

His whimsical painting speak to the heart. In each of his works, artist Craig Martin, 36, masterfully encapsulates past, present and future with fanciful, cartoon-like visions that incite the imagination into life.

He confronts the human condition with beautiful, almost ethereal visual metaphors that leave the viewer with a sense of connection and wordless understanding.

Some of the press we received for our last exhibition Capturing Light:

Northern Star | MArch 2012

Northern Rivers Echo | MArch 2012

After highly successful fairs in both Brussels and London, we are now getting ready for the Affordable Art Fair New York City as Spring takes hold of this beautiful city. It was beautiful walking in front of the Empire State Building this evening after setting up the show, to a truly balmy evening with the whisperings of summer as the seasons turn in the city that never sleeps.

New York is one of the spiritual homes of fine art and the Affordable Art Fair captures this spirit and shakes up the dusty model of art as an elite pastime. If you can make it or have friends that live in New York and would like to come we have a few tickets to give away. We have a few tickets to the VIP preview evening Wednesday night worth $130 each, and also day passes from Thursday to Sunday. If you would like to come please go to our facebook page and write New York on the wall. First in best dressed! Click here to go to our facebook page.

We are very proud of all our artists and are seriously excited about our artists’ position in the global art scene. We have had such a great response to all the work and outstanding sales. Many artists sold out in Brussels or London including Shane Martin, Lyndy Delian, Dave Newman, Artslave, Alberto Sanchez, Shannon Doyle and Hilary Hermann.

Lotta, The Fair Director from Stockholm emailed “I immediately fell for your amazing artwork.”  Another customer told us “this is everything I love about Australian art” and Gerald from London said “I have walked around the fair 3 times, and I just keep coming back to your stand.”

Banned and Censored!
The artist who has made most noise is Mike Chavez. His works made the press in Brussels for it’s edginess, was high selling and a real talking point. In London this pattern continued. However, the second last day of the Fair, we were asked by organisers to remove his work as it was considered offensive. Despite our arguing for freedom and artistic expression, we eventually conceded. The irony being that in a “Dog Friendly Art Fair”, it was 2 dogs doing what comes naturally that caused so much fuss!

If you can’t make it to New York don’t worry, our next port of call is the Melbourne Affordable Art Fair from May 24th to 27th. Stayed tune for more news about Retrospect Planet – Showroom in Flinders Lane Melbourne coming soon…

See the exhibition here...

On page 26 in our local newspaper, The Echo, you'll find all the details for our upcoming exhibition, 'The Full Spectrum'. You can also view our available works here: http://www.retrospectgalleries.com/exhibition-detail/the-full-spectrum/3348/1

The Magic of Racing exhibition at our Gold Coast gallery in January was a huge success and it was great to see the Racing Queensland magazine for February covering the opening. 

"... the Friday night before Magic Millions the exhibition was opened by Racing Queensland deputy chairman Tony Hanmer and attended by the exhibition's artists, racing industry participants and a who's who of art on the Gold Coast ..."

Click here to view exhibition online

Click on image to read article in more details

To all our friends in Brussels - or who might be going to Brussels for the Affordable Art Fair from 9-12 February.  Retrospect Galleries will be there showing some amazing artworks from some of our favourite artists.

Artists include Alberto Sanchez, Artslave, Cornelia Burless, Fiona Kennedy-Altoft, Jan Van Dijk, Lisa Lee, Lyndy Delian, Mike Chavez, Peta Laurisen, Ross Tamlin, Shane Martin, Shannon Doyle and Simon Roots.

If you would like a free pass please send your details to sales@retrospectgalleries.com and we will send you back a pass via email.  Please share around - we'd love to see you there!

Retrospect Galleries at the Affordable Art Fair Brussels - Tour & Taxis, Sheds 1 & 2 - February 9-12, 2012