The opening of Adrian Spurr’s ‘me human’exhibition at the Gallery St Kilda Town Hall along with Ann Ryan’s Cacophonyexhibition was attended by hundreds of supporters and art enthusiasts.
Comedian and MC Brian Nankervis kick started the night with an entertaining session of Rock Quz evoking an atmosphere of unity, fun and celebration.
Between the two artists there was over $30,000 of sales on the night leaving the artists and the Gallery staff feeling very satisfied with their efforts.
This joint exhibition will be open to the public Monday to Friday 8.30 to 5pm. The address is 99a Carlisle Street St Kilda.
This is an extraordinary exhibition not to be missed.
I first met and interviewed Adrian Spurr at his St Kilda, Shakespeare Grove Studio #16 in the lead up to the St Kilda Art Crawl. Within minutes I knew I had found a local artist with a clear light connection to his environment and his art. It was the first Saturday of the month and his studio was open to the public to coincide with the Farmers Market. The studio was busy with visitors which made taking photographs of the artworks tricky. Many of the people had been to the studio previously. In fact they regularly visited to see what new work was underway and how other works had been resolved. Adrian welcomes visitors to his stone carving sculpture studio and enjoys the conversing with all ages and particularly with visitors from other countries that come to enjoy the St.Kilda vibe.
His sculptures are iconic and dynamic. How often does one encounter a 250 kg hand carved sandstone head of Zeus? The answer is, not often! Stone carving is an art form of incalculable antiquity and few artists currently work in this medium in a figurative way. As summer approaches he will be conducting stone carving classes for no more than four people at a time to run over four consecutive weeks. The course will end with an opportunity to display work in his studio on Farmer’s Market day.
But Adrian not only cuts stone, he also assembles sculptures, some made of huge quantities of small wooden pieces that he cuts, shapes and glues together into three dimensional forms that often encrust and consume other objects associated with humanity. Some of these sculptures have over 4000 small wooden pieces painstakingly stuck together.
Being a keen recycler myself I love the fact that Adrian chooses found objects and materials to incorporate in his art and discovered that Adrian has large quantities of found material just waiting for transformation.
Originally from the UK, Adrian has lived and worked across the globe and decided to settle in St Kilda some 20 years ago. He is hugely energised by the St. Kilda dynamic and the beautiful Community Gardens and Veg Out friends where his studio is to be found. He also finds inspiration in the wide open spaces of the Wimmera, which is known for its resilience and pioneering attitude and Italy, for it’s fine art and culture.
The prints that are also on display at his exhibition ‘me human’ were made at the Sunshine Print Artspace (SPA) which is an open access print workshop and where Adrian is a co-founder and co-director. This incredible space is closely allied with the Fundere Fine Art Foundry where the four extraordinary, one and a half times life sized bronze mounted Boer War horsemen were poured. These horsemen by the sculptor Louis Laumen are now on Anzac Parade in Canberra.
I had the opportunity to work with Adrian in creating a pop up gallery at 33 Fitzroy Street St Kilda. Through that rich experience I discovered that Adrian is at the top of his game as a master print maker, sculptor and educator. Significantly, I also discovered that Adrian is an energetic powerhouse and prolific creator of art with an exceptional and expansive community vision.
Art lovers, investors, artist supporters and friends are all welcome to our closing celebration at Punchinello pop up art space at 33 Fitzroy Street St Kilda as part of the inaugural St Kilda Art Crawl.
Exhibiting artists include Charles Mikula, Laurie Miller, Faye De Pasqualie, Pamella Dias, Dino Damiani, Josh Birtwistle, Salvatori Lolicato and Adrian Spurr.
Salvatori Lolicato @ Punchinello Art Gallery, 33 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
Where: Punchinello pop up art gallery 33 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
When: Thursday evening from 5.30 pm on 5 October.
Why: Closing celebration
Punchinello pop up art gallery located at 33 Fitzroy St, St Kilda will remain open from 2 – 6 October for your viewing a buying pleasure.
The exhibiting artists include Salvatori Lolicato, Pamella Dias, Faye De Pasqualie, Dino Damiani, Josh Birtwistle, Charles Mikula and curator and exibiting artist Adrian Spurr.
Donated by owners Jenny and Rob Semple in support of the inaugural St Kilda Art Crawl this amazing space is a successful vehicle in bringing dedicated and talented artists back to Fitzroy St and the heart of St Kilda.
We invite all art lovers, investors and local supporters to join us on Friday evening starting at 5.30 to celebrate this dynamic period in the history of Fitzroy St, St Kilda.
Projections on sphere by Charles Mikula as part of Punchinello pop up exhibition.
We invite you to experience this extraordinary exhibition at the Punchinello pop up art gallery at 33 Fitzroy Street St Kilda as reflected in this short film.
Our exhibiting artists include Aboriginal artist Dino Damiani and Josh Birtwistle along with Fay De Pasqualie, Laurie Miller, Pamella Dias, Charles Mikula and curator and exhibiting artist Adrian Spurr.
Inspired by the inaugural St Kilda Art Crawl the space was generously provided by our hosts Jenny and Rob Semple in the spirit of art and community.
The Public and The Private – the dualities of being
Artists showing: Painter Faye De Pasqualie, sculptor Adrian Spurr, painter / sculptor Laurie Miller, multi-media and performing artist Sophie Ruolle, Aboriginal artists’ Dino Damiani and didgeridoo player Josh Birtwhistle, painter Elena Simak, painter Pamella Reine, painter Clare Austin, painter and lighting installations Charles Allardice. DJ James Stone.
My artwork has for two decades been concerned with surface, structure and volume. Recent work is fascinated with a granular, axiomatic form and content. Drawings exhibit extremely detailed mark making, prints exhibit a modular construction, and sculptures are assembled from large quantities of small, similarly sized pieces of material attached to, or enveloping, other three dimensional objects. The scale of the sculpture, the materials used, and their ‘pixelated’ appearance, endow my three dimensional work with a narrative which is only revealed as they are assembled.
In the past three years I have returned to working with stone and figurative imagery. Perhaps this will lead to a synthesis of sorts, that is, artwork where the two sculptural directions I am working in come together in a compatible whole.
Overall, since moving to Australia in 1998, the primary source for my investigation has been the arid regions North Western Victoria and South Western NSW. Amidst that landscape, I find myself considering not only the delicate surface of the earth but also the similarly delicate surface of the human condition. I then bring these ideas back to Melbourne and a city environment where they evolve into the work that I currently produce.
Laurie Miller The Warrior and the Mourning Dove. 1200.mm.H. 900.mm.W. Acrylic on canvas
As part of the inaugural St Kilda Art Crawl, Pop up exhibition at Punchinella – 33 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda is hosting a collection of works from established and up and coming artists that is not to be missed.
This is an extra ordinary time in the history of Fitzroy Street with 19 empty shops along with a down turn of business and street life.
Art patrons’ Robert and Jenni Semple owners of 33 Fitzroy St and entrepreneur Freddie Warschauer who just opened #HAPPYFoLK at 11A Fitzroy Street are sponsoring the Window Art Walk to support the artists and to draw life back into their beloved Fitzroy Street and the community at large.
All artists are contributing their time, energy, creativity and work in the spirit of community collaboration and celebration of new beginnings.
Dino Damiani Tiger snake dreaming Acrylic and canvas 1100 mm x 650mm $1800Faye De Pasqualie acrylic on canvas size 99×99 cms price $1800Adrian Spurr Dismas, Woodcut Relief print 700 X 600 mm, $500Sophie Ruolle self portrait 42cm w x 60cm canvas print limited edition $300Pamella Dias acrylic and canvas
