Piopiotahi – Milford Sound

Posted November 17, 2023 by Toby

Piopiotahi – Milford Sound

Artist
Pip Woods
Dates
14 Jul—4 Aug 2023

Pip Woods ‘Piopiotahi – Milford Sound’ at Michael Reid Northern Beaches

“This collection of ‘Mountain Vases’ is a tribute to Piopiotahi or Milford Sound, in Fiordland Aotearoa NZ. I was fortunate enough to visit this most spectacular place this year, and was in complete awe of the vast mountain walls which rise out of the sea; the misty, mossy rainforests and the tourquoise waters. I wanted to capture glimpses of these features in this series, as well as reflect the human interaction with this environment which is reassuringly managed under the principles of ‘kaitiakitanga’ or guardianship, providing the protections necessary to preserve this pristine, magical place”. – Pip Woods

A Verdant Idyll

Posted November 17, 2023 by Toby

A Verdant Idyll

Artist
Tina Psarianos
Dates
17—27 May 2023

Tina Psarianos ‘ A Verdant Idyll’ at Michael Reid Northern Beaches

“Using coiling techniques, my pieces evolve organically. Patterns of decay and patination produced by elements and nature inform my surface treatments and historical and cultural references inspire my forms and shapes. The results are organic, with tactile properties that invite a conversation with the observer”.

Tina’s work is used by stylists and has appeared in Belle Magazine, Marie Claire Australia and Inside Out Magazine.

Rhythms & Rituals

Posted November 15, 2023 by Toby

Rhythms & Rituals

Artist
Fliss Dodd
Dates
30 Aug—30 Sep 2023

Fliss Dodd draws upon her life experiences, travel, culture, humour and everything in between as reference points and inspiration. She works closely with textiles, design and photography and her continual fascination for other cultures and travel has enabled her to develop her own unique and distinctive sense of style from which she now draws upon in her latest abstract ceramic pieces.

She has been a finalist in the following prizes:

National Emerging Art Prize – 2021

Muswellbrook Art Prize 2022

Her pieces are held in private collections in both Australia and overseas.

No two pieces are ever the same.

Rhythms and rituals sees a continuation by ceramicist and sculptor Fliss Dodd into her deepening fascination with other cultures and their reverence of the bull, ceremonies, rituals, costume, textiles and story.

Core to Fliss’s studio practice is a manner of working best described as deeply intimate, where she works with clay and textiles, making small, rhythmic, thoughtful, mediative marks on each piece.

Nature and ceremony are elucidated by Fliss’s considered suggestion of scenarios that play through her mind, manifestly abstract bull forms and anthropomorphic characters with their own particulate and nuanced offerings to time and place.

The artist has subtly introduced textiles, such as the symbolic red thread and its many significances from different cultures and traditions. The Talisman tassels and red thread suggest protection, luck and staying connected to the spiritual world. Similarly, the layering and hand stitching of fabrics is evocative of Indian Kantha quilts and West African Asafo Flags – telling a yet larger story through costume.

“My pieces are all independent characters that unfold as I create, yet they have meaning to one another and have formed their own narrative. They are born from the creative spirit of extraordinary cultures. They hold music, calmness, courage, initiations, connectedness and external rhythms through pattern and mark making. They are sculptures that explore and I find my heart sings when I make each and every one.”

Fliss Dodd (2023).