September 27 to October 11   2014

251 Mt Shadforth Rd, Denmark WA

Gallery open Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday   10-3 

My latest gallery exhibition showcases the gallery collection including prints, collectables and new works in photography and painting. While the exhibition is running I will be working in the gallery, creating a new body of paintings towards a solo exhibition in May 2015 at the Moore’s Building Contemporary Art Gallery in Fremantle

My latest paintings are a development of my WA Wheatbelt fire and smoke series from 2013, one of which won the Albany Art Prize People’s Choice Award that year. The new works are bold, atmospheric and ethereal; inspired by the effects of fire and smoke on the WA landscape. 

The 2013 series of fire and smoke images have been reproduced as a series of framed prints which will be on display along with a selection of my landscape photography.

I hope you can make it and I look forward to seeing you there.

Kirsten Sivyer

The Moores building you know and love today, was originally developed as a store by Samuel Moore in the 1840s. With further building additions in the 1860s, it became a general merchant store, warehouse, stables, offices and included the family cottage of William Dalgety Moore. The City of Fremantle bought the building in a state of dilapidation in 1980s and spent 8 years restoring it to its present state. 

Enjoying many a long macc in the courtyard over the years, I had always been curious about what lay behind those huge barn doors at the top of the small flight of stairs. It was so exciting to finally be putting the key in the lock!

Walking into the 1840s-built apartment for the first time, I was struck (not literally, thankfully) by the enormous timber beams and the solid stone walls supporting the 4 storey structure, the wide, worn ancient floorboards and the very cool iron spiral staircase that tied the various levels together. The sections of recently lime-rendered interior, appearing clean white and pocked with the original texture of the stone walls, contrasted beautifully with the exposed original limestone, higher up, which had greyed pleasantly with age. Warm hardwood ceiling battens supported the cedar shingles of the roof. It was a heritage building all right!

The apartment, with its simple furnishing mixed in with random left over objects from previous artists-gone-by together with a good strong infusion of cafe culture seeping in 7 days a week from outside the front door, made it an ideal place to explore the scope of Freo’s history and develop the ideas and creative processes that would make up my next steps in the Fremantle Heritage Project. 

Images of the Moores apartment and a few experimental images from my residency can be seen on my gallery Facebook page HERE . 

Come December 2014, I'll be back at the Moores apartment, ready to make the most of this fantastic location as I work towards my solo show at the Moores Gallery in May 2015.

Wishing you all the best and I hope you are staying cosy this winter. 
X
Kirsten

I recently took part in a '500 words' writing workshop with Albany's ABC Open producer Suzannah Lyons. The topic was Personal Challenge and my piece related to the very beginning of my arts practise.

My story is about navigating the first steps through what I have called 'The Artists Maze'; my misdirections and redirections as a young creative and how I found my way  the social pressures, family expectations and beliefs surrounding art as a career path. 

Check out 'The Artist's Maze' here at the ABC open website. I hope you like it!

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Xmas Holiday Events at the Gallery!

02 Dec 2013

To celebrate the success of 2013, I am inviting you to join me for a these Gallery events:

Gallery Sundowner: Sunday 22nd December, 5-7pm  

251 Mt Shadforth Rd, Denmark WA 

(2.5kms from the big IGA. Look for the 'Gallery Open' sign on the left hand side)

Food and soft drinks will be provided. BYO alcoholic beverages.

Gallery Open times over the Christmas Holidays

21st Dec - 26th Jan  

Wednesday - Sunday   10am-3pm   

 -New works, Oil Paintings, Photography, Gifts, Fine Art Prints 

Artist At Work: Open Studio

During the Gallery open times, I will be working in the gallery, developing a new body of oil on canvas works for my next exhibition. During this time I welcome visitors to have a look at works in progress and I will be available to answer questions about techniques and processes.

For enquiries and appointments at other times, please contact the gallery on 0432 839 779

I look forward to seeing you again soon and am wishing you joyful and relaxing Christmas.

Best Wishes,

Kirsten

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News: 2013 Albany Art Prize - People's Choice Award!

31 Oct 2013

My work 'Pastoral Burn'  has been awarded the 2013 Albany Art Prize People's Choice Award!  - a $2,500 non-acquisitive cash prize.

While the original oil on canvas work has been sold, high quality print reproductions of 'Pastoral Burn' are available on fine art paper and un-stretched archival canvas. Both print types have an archival rating of 75+ years. All prints are uniquely signed, dated and numbered by the artist.

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ART CARD Give-away! : 'What does 'Art' mean to you?'

22 Oct 2013

I'd love to hear your thoughts about what Art means to you in your life.

Can you imagine a life without the arts? Can you imagine not being creative? How about not experiencing the creations of others? Now that you are considering life without the arts, what does a life with 'Art' mean to you?  

I will be giving away a complete set of Art Cards to the most inspiring, thought provoking and creative comments. Leave your comments under this post on my Blog page for a chance to win.

I look forward to reading your answers!  Good Luck.

Kirsten Sivyer

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It's official! Black Swan Prize in September!

Posted: 31 Jul 2013 07:45 PM PDT

During the past couple of months, I've been preparing work for a couple of major prizes, the $25,000 Black Swan Prize for Heritage and the $25,000 National Acquisitive Prize for Painting, the Albany Art Prize.

 Having work included in high profile prizes such as these is really important for emerging artists such as myself. It builds my CV, generates publicity and with consistent exposure through various other activities, builds a good solid reputation. Plus, it gives me something to blog about :) 

The first hope entering these prizes is to make it through the first selection round and have your work hung as a finalist. While I am still to hear about how my entry into the Albany Art Prize faired, happily, as of this morning I have made it through as a finalist in the Black Swan Prize for Heritage. This means that my work, along with the 25 finalists, will hang at Linton & Kay Gallery in the centre of Perth CBD, the artists will be invited to attend a series of media and social events over a few days around the opening date and on opening night, one of us will take home the $25,000 prize.

Not bad odds really, if it were a lottery, and in some ways it is. Nothing is as subjective and unpredictable as the judging of artwork. Sure there might be a shortlist that most people will agree upon, but what really makes a work stand out is often an 'X' factor that a collective will rarely agree upon. The good news is, therefore, that there is always a chance, the chance that your work will be the one; that the judges will get what what you are doing and feel as excited about it as you do. 

Well, I'm off to update my CV now and I hope you can make it to the show in September! 

Check out my entry  'Keep Out: Evolution in Progress' 

EXHIBITION DETAILS (as taken from the prize website)

This Prize is an independent heritage competition run by the Black Swan Prize in partnership with Heritage Perth. With a prize pool of over $20,000, the exhibition will be held in September in the heart of Perth, Western Australia, alongside the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture.

Featuring depictions of any aspect of the heritage of central Perth, the Prize aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the built and natural heritage of Central Perth.

For this competition, the word heritage is defined as "Those things from the past which are valued enough today to save for the people of tomorrow".

2013 Exhibition Dates and Times:

Location:  137 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia

Dates:  Friday 20th September - Monday 30th September

Times:  Open daily from 10:00am - 6:00pm, Sundays 12:00 - 4:00pm

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Black Swan Prize for Heritage

16 Jun 2013

What do you think of when you consider the term 'heritage'?

As the subject for this years $20,000 Black Swan Prize for Heritage, I have had some real agonies trying to get away from the image of an old building.

Sure, many of these buildings are historically significant, and visually interesting to some degree, but as far as any critical engagement goes, there is something really lacking for me.

I think part of the issue is the purpose of this prize, (as taken from the Black Swan website) "Featuring depictions of any aspect of the heritage of central Perth, the Prize aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the built and natural heritage of Central Perth". To my mind, the subtext reads 'Artists: support our cause and make us look good while you're doing it!'

Personally, I'm not much for joining these types of causes.

With the love of "debate" inherited from my father (you taught me well!), I generally gravitate towards the underdog, attempting to see what is not being addressed and favouring the unacknowledged aspects of a situation over the exhausted ones. 

But despite my scepticism, I went to Perth and did 'the thing' on Friday in a last ditch effort to incite some much needed inspiration. Walking around central Perth with my camera, revisiting the places I used to hang out at as a teenager on those Saturday trips to Perth, I was doing my best to get away from the tired and true and searched for a different view of the city and it's (particularly built) heritage. Inspecting the face of the city swings between the meticulously painted face of a lady and the tragic, neglected look of a tramp.

It's funny, I find when things are in a stable state, there is nothing particularly interesting about them. It was only the buildings that were under repair, busted up or looking somewhat vulnerable that got to me. (This seems to also be true for my choice of pets, houses and boyfriends too!)

There were lots of cases of incidental ugliness as a result of the conservationist effort that gave me a real, raw sense of the buildings modern day identity. Buildings en
shrouded in Scaffolding, sounds of machinery, danger tape, fences with tiny peep-holes, witches hats, disruption to traffic, free-standing facades, cathedrals with missing stained glass windows boarded up with plywood, notices of cancelled church sermons due to ceiling problems, rent-a-fence, variously successful attempts to blend the old and the new. All of this painted a picture for me, maybe not a picture the City of Perth wants to see, but an honest portrait none the less.

It seems to me that preserving these buildings requires the dedication and passion of those who love and restore old cars. It's the age-old struggle against a world where nothing lasts for ever and conservation of much of Perth's built heritage means constant replacement and repair, face lift after face lift. 

While the City of Perth may not want to see their great lady's face fresh from surgery, for me, the seed of an idea has been planted.

Over the next two months, I will have hopefully have something to show you, so stay tuned folks :) K x

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Artist Talks : Fire & Smoke

02 Jun 2013

Hey!

Last Friday night saw the closing of 'Gathering Vision', an exhibition of Dryandra Country visual artists. As part of this evening, artist's were encouraged to talk about their work and their experience as artists living in the Wheatbelt.

There were some hilarious stories including one artist's unknowing transportation of white ants, within a hurriedly-executed timber sculpture,  into a heritage-listed gallery in Fremantle. Despite some initial uncertainty by curators whether these critters were an intentional part of the work, for the sake of the building, pest control measures were quickly taken.

Thankfully, no works in this exhibition were crawling with ants.

I thought I'd share my story about the genesis and future direction of the Fire/Smoke series that I am currently working on.

“ This series drew its initial inspiration in 2010 during my time in an old Narrogin farmhouse, surrounded by large open paddocks, on a gently elevated property belonging to Kim and Don Alexander. The property, like many Narrogin properties grows wheat, canola and sheep, amongst other things.

While I loved the sense of space out at the farm, At first, nothing much struck me about this place in terms of inspiration for my art practise. There were of course the huge skies, glorious sunsets and beautiful mornings but nothing had inspired me creatively until April came. 

As with all inspiration, there was a jolt, a sudden feeling of excitement and urgency, when the drama of the April stubble fires began to unfold in the paddocks around the house where I lived. Wihin hours, the landscape, air and atmosphere had been completely tranformed. It was a different world. Veiled in smoke, there was no horizon, all was recoloured, less defined, and as with all new and strange environments, i was eager to get out and explore it!

So I got out into the smouldering paddocks and photographed what I saw.

I felt that this was an opportunity to revision the classic landscape and meditate on the poetic significance of what was going on around me.

There was a feeling of awe, fear and excitement being amongst the flames and smoke. ‘destruction was feeding creation’, and what I was witnessing was the unsettled mid-point, a fleeting twilight state, where the landscape was neither what it had been, nor what it would become. Like the dawn of re-creation in a rural setting. 
The idea of exploring this state of flux more deeply, totally engaged me. I wanted to follow the thread of thought, action and inspiration that was offered by this otherwise routine annual event.

Back in the studio, I studied the images. In some, the smoke, caught in the breeze, appeared as grasping hands, gripping the landscape, holding on to it’s spent physical form like the clinging life energy of the plant. In other images of smouldering half burnt ground studies, the flames and smoke entwined and danced, mirroring eachother. It was compelling viewing and the beginning of what you see today.

After 3 years of gestation, if may be hard to believe that What you see here is a relatively early stage. 

As I continue on, I will be experimenting with formal concerns, like the scale of the work, creating much larger pieces, to better evoke the sense of space, depth and movement. I will also be fine-tuning my technical approach and experimenting with larger brushwork and textures that may enhance future work.

For me, the ongoing significance of this series lies in the themes of transformation and change that are everpresent in life. Of course there is often fear of loss in the face of change as represented by the fire, but also limitless possibilities for personal and spiritual growth with the rising of the smoke. ”

— 31.05.13

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Into the Wild

26 May 2013 05:12

You'd think an artist, whose purpose is to develop and reveal their own vision, would be well placed to resist the tidal pull of popular taste.

Over the weekend, I have been in the process of realising how very easy and comfortable it is to surrender the vision and run with the pack. For me, it comes down to a struggle of conflicting desires: 1) the desire to strip back restriction and exist in ‘the flow’, that creative well-spring that demands immediate action and fills you with child-like wonder, exaltation and all kinds of awe-inspiring and revelatory moments, and 2) The desire to not offend, shock or put offside - the desire for your creations to be 'liked'.

From a pink-haired teenager playing guitar in an original rock band, to a young art student beating her head against the institutional walls, I recall (despite all the head banging) caring a lot less about popular opinion. What happened? Perhaps the desire for ‘success’ overtook the desire for authenticity.

So I have decided to shift my gaze, without fear, into the wild, towards what I feel Art’s true purpose is for me: overcoming hesitation, maintaining curiosity, tapping into the ‘flow’ and finding freedom in the moment.

Where do you find your freedom? 

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Early Days Swaggin It

May 23, 2013

After almost 7 years in the Wheatbelt town of Narrogin, where everything that grows, tends to struggle most of the year, it is so refreshing to see the Denmark Karri trees ranging up the hill to the west outside my office window.

However, the main draw card for this particular spot is the great little studio/gallery which had life in it back in 2001 and which I hope to get up and running again soon. 

The first week I cleaned and slept at night in a swag on the lounge room floor. Even with the offer of a perfectly good bed at my brother's place with hot running water and other functional facilities, I just couldn't stay away from the old place. It was drawing me like a magnet! So I spent the week sleeping on the floor, and with no stove or hot water, I happily roughed it, tending the fire and using the pot belly stove to boil water, cook eggs and even managed to make potato and leek soup and garlic ciabatta for my partner when he came to stay. The bread took about 15 minutes and was absolutely amazing. No burnt garlic, barely coloured but crisp and perfect. Cooking on the fire, slowly and carefully gave our food that extra something,

So, when the new gas stove was finally installed it got a leery sideways glance.

For a while there it's cold but perfectly formed, gas-hissing arrogant whiteness was an ugly contender compared with the crackling, slow cooking, leg warming comfort of the cast iron pot.

Not all modern appliances have been shunned though and the new hot water system has met with very LITTLE resistance! Standing under that hot stream for the first time in near ecstatic bliss, I decided that bathing in a bucket is not so romantic.

When the nights are cold now, I will still use the fire to cook when I can and enjoy its sentimental comfort.