Growth, Flow and Fragility
This latest exhibition brings together the work of two Australian female artists, Belinda Fox and Sue Lovegrove, whose practices explore similar themes of nature, movement, and the delicate balance of the natural world.
Both artists are inspired by the beauty and fragility of the environment, creating works that make the viewer pause and reflect, and experience moments of stillness and connection. Their art often illustrates growth and change, the fluidity of water and landscape, and the quiet resilience found in nature.
Fox and Lovegrove predominantly use soft and earthy tones in their work which echo their subject matter. Their multidisciplinary approach combines a variety of materials and techniques such as watercolour and acrylic which are applied to various surfaces including linen, gouache and board. Their intuitive mixed media approach results in rich layered pieces full of depth and detail.
The individual artworks in this collection have been carefully selected to create a cohesive display. The pieces all share a harmonious colour palette and a rich variety of textures. From soft, swirling brushstrokes to fragmented linework and scratchings, each piece demonstrates to the viewer the diverse techniques used by the artist in order to interpret their ideas.
The exhibition presents both works with a more realistic representation of their subject matter as well as a more abstract approach. Some works depict expansive landscapes, while others focus on more intimate details. Sue Lovegrove’s Slow Moving Ice series, with its sweeping mountainous landscapes, provides a striking contrast to the close-up studies found in works such as Windwalking, Cloud Lake and Nest. Likewise, Belinda Fox’s contribution ranges from the more abstract interpretations of larger environments in Fragment 7 and Habitat to the more detailed explorations seen in The Long Game II and Still. Together, these contrasting approaches invite viewers to consider both the grandeur of nature and the beauty found in its smallest details.
Artists Statements
Below are a collection of statements by the exhibiting artists. These have been taken from other sources found online and in print.
Belinda Fox
Real statement about her work via Artist’s Profile.
A lot of my work is about potential and transition. Whether something is opening up or dying, or leaving or arriving, it’s all connected to this balancing act of life. I also get great inspiration from the broader human frailties. Transformation is constantly a part of my everyday life, but also my journey developing as an artist. My work expresses this constant flux and desire for movement, improvement and change.
Fox’s statement for her exhibition Fragment(ed):
“Most works from Fragment(ed) were created between November 2019 and June 2020, half during polarised political divides, bushfires in Australia and environmental urgencies and the second half during the COVID-19 crisis. Inspiration was found from my everyday world, from wild thistles in France, to European Magpies in my neighbour’s yard. Such instability resonated throughout these images in subtle ways… Others are a pure expression of gratitude for the beautiful moments nature has provided whilst in lockdown.”
Sue Lovegrove
Statement for her exhibition ‘The Memory of Water’
Where there is water there is life. This sequence of miniature paintings ponders and reflects on the importance and impermanence of water in our landscape. A small, shallow, seemingly perfectly round lagoon on the east coast of Tasmania has water for the first time in 10 years. The water is shimmering with life. Frogs and insects suddenly emerge, bringing a cacophony of sound and with them come birds and small mammals. The lagoon fills with sedges providing habitat and life flourishes momentarily. Then the following summer all is dry again. It’s a poignant and precious moment to witness.
Statement for her exhibition ‘Slow Moving Water’
“My fascination with glaciers stems from witnessing and experiencing first hand their dynamic and active landscapes in both New Zealand and Iceland. These fragile ecosystems exist constantly in a state of flux and are deeply affected by changes in the earths warming. I think of glaciers as living entities that deserve our respect and protection in order to survive, just like any other living being. ”
Statement from her exhibition ‘The river flows through you’
“Standing at the water’s edge invites one into a private space of reverie reflecting on the life and movement of water – the fluctuating colours, light and sounds from the surrounding riparian landscape, as well as inviting contemplation of psychological and emotional states of being.These paintings are intended as a meditation on the fleeting nature of life in water – the constantly shifting light patterns, the melancholy darkness and the movement of wind on the surface. I hope to draw the viewer into an intimate, private and poetic contemplation of the stillness and movement in the surface and threshold space of water. To reflect and ponder the dark enigmatic, mysterious and at times abstract worlds both above and below the surface of ephemeral wetlands, swamps and tea tree tannin stained creeks of Tasmania.”