Melanie Gray

Opens 13 November, 6 – 8pm
Runs 14 – 25 November, 2019

We’re delighted to be hosting Melanie Gray’s Sydney Art Exhibition with a solo show. Melanie has been preparing for her first solo exhibition through our Mentor Program established for recent Fine Art Graduates in Sydney.

Artist Statement

My latest work Earth and reams of empty space is an exhibition of contemporary landscapes that combine, expression and construct, love and life, depth and space.

Any landscape is the combination of what was once and what is, also, what was hoped for and what occurred. My aim is to abstract the landscape to its essential elements and observe the space for its narrative. Expressing the flickering shift of the landscape on long drives, I have painted the elements I find most interesting, leaving parts of the canvas white, as one doesn’t see the landscape a as rectangle rather looks to the spaces that are appealing. As the separation from the landscape from the containment of the car creates a bridge into the landscape and as bridges are built to link landscapes together, landscapes can also define the distance between worlds, the cause of love and pain. A landscape is defined by what we see, feel and experience.

The landscapes are painted in acrylic ink and acrylic paint on canvas. I have focused on the combination of fluorescent colours to emphasize the fleeting experience of capturing the sensation of pockets of bright colour when driving through a landscape and a traditional palette to express depth and space. I aim to concentrate on the way I feel when viewing the landscape rather than reproducing the landscape as it appeared. The titles of my paintings are lines from Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak.

“They set out for a bridge of silver, and took the darkest waters with them.” Zusak, Marcus. Bridge of Clay

SAS Mentor Program for Solo Exhibition

Melanie is the third artist to undertake our Mentor Program for Solo Exhibition. The mentorship was established as a Professional Practise Program for recent Fine Art graduates to support to help equip them for exhibiting beyond University. 

Throughout 2019 we have been available to Melanie for advice & feedback leading up to her first solo exhibition. We provide help to coalesce the conceptual component of the exhibition with the the works produced, as well as technical advice when making the work, and feedback on her artist statement and proposal.

We’re happy to see this project completed and ready to open with Melanie’s first solo exhibition Earth & Reams of Empty Space.