Sydney Exhibition
Regional Artist Group Show
Opens Saturday 12 August, 2-4pm
Runs 12 – 27 August 2023
Contemplating the duality of impermanence and immortality of our material choices, a group exhibit of selected works from emerging Dharawal – Illawarra artists William O’Toole, William Hilzinger and Clare O’Toole.
Reflecting on the transformative power of discarded materials the artists are united in a desolate exploration of consumerism, using nostalgic woollen blankets and suburban Astro-turf as innovative surfaces. A counterpoint to an end-of-days aesthetic of the painted works are the pop-influences handcrafted, graphic sculptures immortalising single use packaging where transient artwork adorns items with which we spend little time.
Between comfort and artifice, the exhibition explores our complex emotional relationship with material possessions and environmental consequences of our insatiable desire for the new, beautification of the unexpected and temporary moments of engagement, all driven by global marketing behemoths preying on the innate human urge of discovery, accumulation and transformation.
Artists
William Hilzinger
William Hilzinger is an artist currently living and working on Dharawal land. After completing a BFA at the University of Wollongong in 2015, Hilzinger has established a diverse art making practice. Taking inspiration from nature and the world around him, he is always looking for a new approach and way of using or viewing Materials. From woollen blankets, cigarette packets, building materials and up-cycled aluminium cans. His passion for process and hands-on practice lets him explore and share relationships with the materials reflecting experiences of time, space, light.
William O’Toole
William O’Toole is a Dharawal-based artist and recent University of Wollongong graduate working primarily in paint, watercolour and charcoal. His work focuses on meditations of the everyday, and the relationship between man and nature in contemporary settings. Inspired by artists such as Eberhard Havekost and John Salt, his large-scale works negotiate the line between realism and abstraction, using alternative supports to create more evocative depictions of his subject matter.
Clare O’Toole
A multidisciplinary, Clare is a self-taught artist working primarily in painting and sculpture. Creating still life compositions from everyday consumer products, her practice draws inspiration from her own pantry, grocery stores, and specialty stores to populate works with iconic packaging of branded products. Using bold, vibrant colouring inspired by the subject matter and colour palettes of Pop artists such as Andy Warhol and David Hockney.
