Bondi Art Lounge Exhibition

Bondi Art Lounge-inset

Just a block from Bondi Beach is the Bondi Art Lounge, an artists’ space to paint and exhibit. It opened in July 2014 increasing the number of art galleries in Curlewis Street.

Sally Belcher (originally from Melbourne) opened doors for artists painting at home who needed easing in with the next step. Most hadn’t backed themselves and hadn’t exhibited before.

This Creative Hub includes a coffee lounge and Creative Art classes. Located at 151 Curlewis Street, Bondi Beach, it is open 7 days a week from 10am – 5pm. The space is light, open and welcoming. Unfortunately, for the time being it is not wheelchair accessible.

Several of Sally’s currently exhibiting artists have had other day jobs and professions and took a while to call themselves artists. Whilst some had completed tertiary studies in art, others have been mainly self taught post-school.

The current exhibition embodies an open acceptance of art in its diversity of subject matter, media, scale and form. Coasters, t-shirts, cards and paintings show indigenous elders, animals, pets, flowers and butterflies, scarabs, Bondi surfers, land and seascapes.

The dominant painting in the current exhibition is Eleni’s striking large mixed media portrait of Tjilpi Bob Randall. Her authentic use of colour and materials from the land pay tribute to the subject shown with a gentle, profound, knowing smile. The depth of character is again repeated in her other portraits.

Showing a fragility and sensitivity through the use of origami paper in her mixed media collages, Lucy Prior conveys a perspective of a better future.

Laureen Maschek defies any simple concept of pencil on paper by producing rich vibrant colours for flowers, butterflies, angels and beetles by applying sacred geometry. Trying to evoke the vibrations of particles, her colourful works have a magical quality which will attract young viewers.

Definite crowd pleasers are painted by Jacqueline Burgess in her bold clear depictions almost portraiture of animals. Max the Daschund was particularly cute with his dot painted coat.

Carmel McGrath showed her bold and playful depictions of sea, city and landscapes. The definite graphic quality makes them accessible to most viewers.

Michele Rice is a consummate ceramic mosaic artist, able to cloak any object in beautiful mosaics which make the viewer reconsider their initial interpretation of the object.

Sally Belcher showed that she is adept in various styles of painting, from abstracts to the ‘more apparently commercial’ clear rear views of Bondi surfers, both male and female.

Bondi Art Lounge has member artists but also welcomes casual artists to work and exhibit.

Exhibitions tend to change after 6 weeks, so it is worth dropping by from time to time.

For more about Bondi Art Lounge Exhibition, visit http://bondiartlounge.com.au