Love owls and mermaids singing in the rainbow pop at the Art Gallery of NSW

For two weeks in October, Mathew Calandra, Emily Crockford, Annette Galstaun, Lauren Kerjan, Jaycee Kim, Catherine McGuiness and Meagan Pelham took their brushes to the grand wall of the Entrance Court of the Art Gallery of NSW and created Love owls and mermaids singing in the rainbow pop, an expansive 300 square metre mural inspired by ideas of togetherness.

Love owls was the centrepiece of the Art Gallery's Together In Art: Archie Plus project and captured each artist’s response to the question "who have you been together with during the challenges of 2020?"

With striking colour and vitality the mural celebrates friends, family, fellow Australian artists and fabled creatures. Ranging from the highly representational to the abstract, each artist’s work sings with its own language and aesthetic style.

Love owls graced the grand wall of the Gallery’s forecourt from 5 November 2020 to 22 February 2021. See the ABC's coverage here.

Love owls and mermaids singing in the rainbow pop was made possible by the generous support of the Anita and Luca Belgiorno-Nettis Foundation.

Photographs by Diana Panuccio. Courtesy the Art Gallery of NSW.

The Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

From September 26, 2020 to January 10, 2021 Emily Crockford’s vibrant and enigmatic Self Portrait with Daddy in the Daisies watching the field of Planes hung in Australia’s most prestigious portraiture prize, the 2020 Archibald, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Featuring Emily’s trademark patterning and vibrating colour, the painting depicts the artist with her late father, John Crockford who died in January 2020, surrounded by daisies and the model aeroplanes he collected throughout his life.

In Emily’s words, “I made myself a selfie with memories of my dad. Because we are the best father and the best daughter. It’s my dream come true. It’s my dream of my Daddy. I watched him flying his beautiful planes in the fields. He made amazing models. This painting is very special to me, because he’s my lovely father."

On being selected, Emily said “I’m loving it and so happy! I’m feeling good and great about myself and being in the Archibald. I’m loving it so much. And I love my friends and family because they’re around me and supporting my artwork. Kiss kiss hug hug…I am a champion!”

Emily is Studio A’s first Archibald finalist and her achievement is a testament to her artistic talent and professional commitment as an artist. We are very proud of you Emily.

Photographs by Studio A

Mobile Colour at Cement Fondu

“My work is about transformation. The degradation of colour reflects and allows the expression in my brain to change. Rainbow colours allow me to change colours and moods. The chess characters are inspired by my watercolour paintings. Using my new creative ensemble I invite you to check mate with my duplicates.”
- JAYCEE KIM
“Colourful patterns inspire a sense of warmth and love, like the tin man finding his heart. I would love to live in a colourful mansion with the tin man and his heart.”
- KATRINA BRENNAN
“I dream of living in a disco house. Swimming in sparkling colour and feeling so good, good, good.”
- EMILY CROCKFORD

On March 7 Cement Fondu presented Mobile Colour, a group show of three Studio A artists – Jaycee Kim, Katrina Brennan and Emily Crockford – inspired by the artists’ deep connection with colour and pattern.

Drawing on their established repertoire of palettes and forms, the artists created a space that danced and vibrated with colour and pattern. In this vibrancy, the artists find calm and focus; a sense of identity and place. Audiences were invited to bathe in this energetic aesthetic. On opening night, audiences were invited into an epic chess battle with Jaycee himself on his Ultimate Chess Board artwork. (Jaycee reigned victorious!)

Cement Fondu unfortunately had to close its doors shortly after the opening, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for a virtual tour of exhibition or here for a fully online iteration.

Photographs by Four Minutes to Midnight and Jessica Maurer.

Peter & Paul In Print at Hazelhurst Arts Centre

In 2019 Peter Dudding and his long time collaborator Paul Williams were invited to undertake a three month residency at Hazelhurst Arts Centre with Master printmaker Matthew Ablitt.

Matthew introduced Peter and Paul to two techniques sympathetic to their established painting and drawing practices: monoprinting and etching. The fluidity of painted monoprints and the resistance of the etched mark provided a method that was familiar yet fresh, inspiring experimentation.

The resulting works were exhibited in March 2020 at Hazelhurst Arts Centre under the apt title Peter & Paul in Print. Possessing the immediate mark making, intense colour and intuitive line typical of their individual styles, the works appear elevated and fresh, as a familiar object seen from a new angle. Iridescent with ink, they are exciting, representing an infinite sea of possibility.

Reflecting on the residency Peter Dudding explained, "I liked printmaking and watching and learning about art making with Paul...My favourite song from the studio time was Morning Train by Sheena Easton".

The Peter and Paul residency was undertaken in partnership Hazelhurst Arts Centre.

Studio A Online Exhibitions

With COVID-19 temporarily eliminating the option of traditional gallery exhibitions, we decided to launch a series of ONLINE only exhibitions to bring the art to YOU!

In May we kicked off our offering with Annette Galstaun’s Flights of Fantasy, Whimsical Dreams & Fairytales, a dreamy yet also vibrant collection of art. Each exhibition focuses on the work of one Studio A artist, presenting a curated collection that highlights their unique perspective and talent.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on the release of our next exhibition and please get in touch via enquiries@studioa.org.au for any artwork purchases.

Enjoy!