Michelle Timotin from the Get It Magazine snapped some of the faces at the recent Drawn Forth exhibition opening at our Broadbeach gallery. 

"A stylish group of artists and -in-the-know locals packed our Retrospect Galleries at the Oracle for the opening of the Drawn Forth exhibition.  As they were served delicious canapes and wine, guests were mesmerised by over 20 artists' extraordinary drawings..."

The exhibition has since moved to our Byron Bay gallery

Click here to go to the Drawn Forth exhibition online

LISA LEE

Lisa Lee is a Queensland based artist living on the Sunshine Coast. Her recent works draw on parallels between voluntary insular behaviour and the involuntary isolation of those with vision impairment, through an exploration of sight and the distorted human figure. Many of her works feature braille that has been applied to the canvas surface.

I am interested in observing how people block out circumstances and other people around them, particularly in crowded venues. The figures in my work are obscured and devoid of all facial expression and emotional complexity. The investigation of motion and visual obscurity dominates and exemplifies the things we see and don’t see. – Lisa Lee
 
Right now I am… designing my new studio to be built in the next few months (woo hoo!), entertaining my baby and wondering what to have for dinner.

My proudest moment this year was… becoming a mother for the first time.

My biggest mistake this year was… sticking my finger in a nappy to see if there was a number two. There was…. that’s not cool!

When I was a child I dreamt of… being a forensic photographer - a dark, macabre place my mother is glad I didn’t venture to!

The first piece of art I ever bought was… a funky little work from a street artist in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The best film I have seen this year is… hands down, Avatar in 3D! Those animators are creative geniuses and I worship them.

If I could see any musician (past or present) performing live, it would be… Kurt Cobain.

My guiltiest pleasure this year has been… splurging of a couple of hundred dollars on an absolutely gorgeous, classic tan leather handbag. It just won’t date… Well at least that’s what I told my husband!

If I am cooking for myself I… get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. Andrew Denton summed it up perfectly when he said, ”Cooking is an interruption to my day.” I can find better things to do… like paint!

I am currently reading… Reading! Who the hell has time to read? I’m a new mother…

If I could be a mythical creature I would be… part Shiva (the Hindu deity with many arms) and part sloth. That way I could do loads at once then just laze about and sleep later.

My grandmother always said… ‘Behave or you’ll get the whopper”. Nan’s whopper was like a fly swat but made of leather. But she’d have to catch us first.

If I was offered a billion dollars on the condition I had to give it all away, I would… fund developments for new schools in third world countries.

If air travel was no longer possible I would… pay Jessica Watson to skipper me places?

If my art could work for a worthy cause, I would dedicate it to… I previously created a series of works that aimed to raise public awareness of vision loss. I received support from the Queensland Braille Writing Association and Queensland Guide Dogs, two exceptional organisations that provide much needed services for our vision-impaired communities.

The thing I loved about the 20th Century was… the quintessential grunge years. Ripped jeans, Doc Martens, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, moshpits…. all with my ‘besties’ by my side.

If I could live in any one period of time, I would choose… to go back and hang with the ancient Egyptians and see for myself how they built those damn pyramids!

When I think about the GEC, I… say thank you K. Rudd for the stimulus package. I wouldn’t be without my new Fisher and Paykel dishdrawers.

The rise of graphic art makes me think… that new media is the way of the future and there is an undeniable place in today’s society for graphic art. Painting, drawing and all the other old art forms aren’t going anywhere.

I found the Bill Henson debate… enthralling, provoking, disturbing. Art should stimulate. It should arouse discussion and invite opinion and debate. Am I a fan? Put me in the undecided basket, but I loved the public response his work generated.

I do think artists have a responsibility to push the boundaries and… challenge the viewer. Who wants to always just look at a pretty picture? There’s a place for all art genres but artists should certainly push boundaries and get people to think outside the square or hell just think!

In the next year I hope to achieve… a workable balance of being an artist and mother.

Read more about Lisa Lee on her artist profile and see work here

"Growing up in an environment where performance and dance were very much part of day-to-day living has given a Spanish-born photographic artist a unique perspective..."

Marina Saint Martin interviewed Alberto Sanchez in 'photofinish' for the Artworld page for Paradise magazine.  Showing selected works from Sanchez's new body of works for his upcoming show, El Duelo, opening this Friday at Retrospect Galleries, Broadbeach she discusses with Sanchez the inspirations behind his works and his background that influences him to this day. 

"... the series portrays not only these amazing acrobats, but is a celebration of the human body and human spirit to strive and to succeed.  All are presented in a 'timeless, surreal scenario', very much like the performance itself..."

Click on image of article to read article

El Duelo by Alberto Sanchez opens at Retrospect Galleries in Broadbeach 6pm Friday 19th August.

Exhibition runs until September 1.

To view exhibition online click link here - El Duelo by Alberto Sanchez

Retrospect Galleries would like to extend a big congratulations to Lisa Lee who was selected as a finalist on the prestigious 60th Blake Prize with her painting Safety Seekers. This is great news for collectors of Lisa's work!

We are also very excited about Lisa's upcoming solo show at Retrospect Galleries QLD opening on Friday September the 16th. Lee's upcoming solo IN THE FAST LANE is an exploration of energy, and life in the ever accelerating speed of twenty-first century society. Lee's works spotlight the blurring pace at which our world is moving in order to achieve. Her subjects are paused in the fast moving urban environment, seized in heightened moments, suspending them in time, where motion is paralyzed.

Check out her artist profile here...

Further to our last Blog post - here is the article from the Gold Coast Bulletin on Christie and Kelly Turner.

To view more of the twins work click on link here to visit their artist profile and gallery - click here

Read this great article by the Gold Coast Bulletin about our budding identical twin sister artists Christie and Kelly Turner.

As ususal their work from our latest drawing show Drawn Forth sold out in a few days.

Check out their work on our website here.

There are only a few sets of prints left from our latest limited edition release from them, so be quick if you want any.

IDENTICAL twins Christie and Kelly Turner grew up together, went to school together and graduated together, so it is no surprise the two are now embarking on an art career ... together.

The 21-year-old twins from Tallebudgera use graphite and ink to produce their drawings, which are created by the sisters working on the same canvas at the same time.

Christie said she had always been close to her sister and the unusual way of producing the drawings was borne from a shared passion to make art their career.

Read the full article here...

Kelly Sullivan - August Artist of the Month at Retrospect Gallery

See her new works for Artist of the month here...

See her artist profile here...

Kelly's work is largely based on circumstances that surrounded her when she was young, as she was born to a family of great iconic imagery and pop culture of the 20th Century. Her work is fundamentally grounded in graphic pop culture.

Kelly has worked extensively in the Arts, Theatre & Music Industry for the last 20 years along the East Coast of Australia. She now resides in Byron Bay and when she isn't crafting and painting, she works seasonally on the Splendour In The Grass music and arts festival.

I popped in for a cuppa and a chat with Kelly to get the lowdown on her latest work.

How did the map thing come up?

The map thing just came up I guess because I'm into visual graphic stuff so I started just looking around at old books and Mr Google and just lucked onto all these cool old retro maps and then I became fascinated with them and I started collecting them in a folder. I've always been fascinated by the graphic nature of art and that's what drew me to the maps.

What do mean by graphic nature of art?

Well just really flat colour. Graphics is making a bit more of a comeback in art now, as opposed to realistic kind of painting. They're sort of like a visual diagram I guess of what's going on around here and in my head...

Your first map seemed like it was more about the physical environment, literally, the newer works, especially Friday on My Mind, are more internal? Is that like a step further?

I guess it is a step further, um; I'm interested in visualising ideas that don't necessarily have a geographical landscape basis to them, so they are bridging art and design and demented geography.

Read the rest of the iterview from byronbay.com here...

One of our favourite sculptures Daniel Clemmett has had one of his wonfderful sculptures chosen to exhibit in the famous Byron Bay Writers Festival. Thi sstory was published by the Norther Star Newspaper.

See link http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2011/08/03/sculptures-express-festival-spirit-byron-bay/

AS SCULPTURES were brought on to the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival site yesterday, project manager and curator of the festival’s Sculpture Competition Dev Lengjel watched in awe.

“This is sculpture of an international standard,” Mr Lengjel told The Northern Star.

“The pieces that have been entered in this competition are fine examples of what I would call contemporary populism.”

The largest piece in the competition is by Clunes sculptor Daniel Clemmett.

His Venus de Willendorf weighs half a tonne and was made of the underside of car bonnets.

Mr Clemmett’s muse for the work was the 11cm Venus figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 and 26,000 years ago.

“Most of my work is based around re-interpretations of contemporary ideological constructs,” Mr Clemmett said.

“If there had been hotels back then, there would have been aVenus fertility symbol in every room instead of a copy of the Bible.

"It was a god symbol.

“My wry commentary is the juxtaposition of an old construct, of a god figure, into what we now might call a morbidly obese one.

“And who knows how that might be re-interpreted in another 40,000 years!”

Mr Clemmett has been juggling sculpting for the past 12 weeks with the care of his new baby.

“I think there’s some irony in the fact that I subverted an ancient fertility symbol and the universe has responded by sending me a child,” he said with a laugh.

The 42 sculptures will be judged by festival guest and speaker Betty Churcher, who is best known for having been the director of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in the 1990s.

The winner will receive $8000.