CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR at Clifton School of Arts 21-30 January 2022

Clifton School of Arts members and volunteers are gearing up for our first ever CSA Contemporary Art Fair which will be opened by Professor Tim Flannery on Friday, 21st of January at 6.30pm.

Curated by David Roach and Vyvian Wilson, the Art Fair’s theme is “On the Other Side”. The idea was initially developed to support local artists during the multiple Covid lockdowns. While some artists found the isolation extremely challenging, others saw it as a time to reflect. Painter Ashley Frost said it gave him space to experiment without the pressure of exhibiting.

Showcasing some of the finest (and most collectable) artists of our region, the 2022 Clifton Contemporary Art Fair is a fundraising event with a percentage of all sales going towards the CSA’s building project. The plans will mean that for the first time in 110 years the CSA will have accessible parking as well as full access and appropriate facilities for those with mobility issues.

With the buzz building from collectors, the CSA is offering a special Early Bird preview on Friday, 21 January, from 4-6pm. Tickets $20, $15 for CSA members. Only a few spots left so booking is essential. Email Vyvian: vyvwilson@gmail.com.

Planning your visit to the Clifton Contemporary Art Fair.

Parking at Clifton is limited especially on weekends. So please respect our neighbours and carpool if you can. There are regular buses every day except Sunday that stop right outside the CSA. Nearest train station is Scarborough. This will give you a stunning 15 minute clifftop walk to Clifton. While you’re here, why not visit Clifton’s world famous Sea Cliff Bridge? Then have a coffee, cocktail or full meal at the newly refurbished Imperial at Clifton just across the road. Open 7am to 10pm every day.

 

MEET THE ARTISTS

 

 

 

Paul Ryan has been dubbed “one of the most sought after contemporary painters in the country”.  A finalist 13 times in the Archibald Prize, Paul’s powerful and provocative paintings feature in collections around the world. As a long-time surfer, Paul’s work often draws on the Illawarra’s wild coastline and its sometimes brutal history.

Untitled © Paul Ryan

 

 

 

 

Stephen Dupont’s searing photographs have earned him the most prestigious prizes in the world including a Robert Capa Gold Medal, first place in World Press Photo and the 2015 Olivier Rebbot Award. Drawn to fragile cultures and hostile environments, Dupont’s images urge us not to look away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piksa © Stephen Dupont

 

 

 

Ivor Fabok takes inspiration from the freewheeling improvisation in jazz: “When I listen to music I see colours. I read music as forms and structures.” A teacher at the National Art School, Fabok’s studio practice sees him moving seamlessly between sculpture, painting, drawing and collage.

 

 

 

 

 

Untitled © Ivor Fabok

 

 

 

 

 

Michele Elliot creates emotive textile works. A groundbreaking artist in her exploration of the poignant rituals around bereavement, Michele steeps cloth in natural dyes, weaves and stitches, transforming familiar materials into complex meditations on love, loss and memory.

 

The Confidentes © Michele Elliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ashley Frost says he immerses himself in “a convergence of light and space”. In 2021 he was a finalist in both the Wynne and Sulman prizes. His evocative paintings are almost as tactile as the environments that he is drawn to: reflective coastal landscapes, gritty city streets, the serpentine limbs of angophora on the edge of the escarpment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen Hook’s practice ranges across digital media, drawing, painting and analogue photography. Subtle and delicate in tone and colour, Hook’s work is inspired by flaws and imperfections that she says can sometimes hold the key to beauty and mystery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandarins in Doha © Karen Hook

 

 

 

 

Anita Johnson uses salvaged, familiar objects in her sculptures as a kind of shorthand material language. She imagines the parallel lives of these objects and out of them constructs intimate, playful and poetic sculptures that connect powerfully to feelings of longing and evoke memories of place and experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wallop © Anita Johnson

 

 

 

 

Hal Pratt draws in graphite and paints in watercolour. A Thirroul local, Hal spends much of his time on painting trips to the Outback, sleeping under the stars. His work captures that country’s brilliant colours and sculptural forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rockfall Scarborough © Hal Pratt

 

 

 

 

David Roach is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker. His work explores ideas of loose continuity and implied motion. He works in “two and a half dimensions” constructing repeating forms that blur the boundary between painting and sculpture. Utilising wax, cedar and pigments, he starts from detailed studies then allows chance, accident and serendipity to lead the work in unexpected directions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Are Here © David Roach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catriona Stanton says weaving her delicate skeletal forms of cane and bamboo is like “drawing in space”. She constructs works out of a maelstrom of toothpicks that appear to flow in swirling eddies. Catriona has recently completed major public commissions in the Northern Territory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vyvian Wilson is “intoxicated and seduced by light”. Her dappled, layered work reflects a deep connection to land and memory. Shifting gestural surface markings and sometimes collaged elements appear to float above a candescent strata of colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanya Stubbles describes wandering into Arthur Boyd’s paint-splattered studio when she was 4 and watching him paint. She has been making artwork almost ever since. Her intricate, abstract constructions are a vivid expression of the rural and industrial landscapes where she fossicks for her materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acacia © Tanya Stubbles