Things Near, Places Dear at Ross Creek Gallery

OBJECTS held near to heart and places held dear are celebrated in the new exhibition of work by Ballarat artist and illustrator Bren Luke.

The descriptively named Things Near Places Dear show opened at Ross Creek Gallery last Saturday and now continues through to Sunday 28 September.

Showcasing pen and ink drawings, paintings and photographs, it comprises some of the artist’s most personal creations and represents a year’s worth of work.

“These are works which celebrate and investigate, in great detail, some of the everyday and familiar objects that surround me,” Luke said.

The things near are an eclectic mix and range from the artist’s bottle of black ink to his partner’s collection of vintage cameras, through to period door handles at his mother’s house.

“The cameras are my partner Kelly’s cameras that I love looking at from different angles,” Luke said.

The exhibition comprises four paintings, 16 drawings and 13 photographic prints on fine art paper.

“The places dear are in some ways just as familiar as the objects near, but also hold their place in my memory as precious but fleeting experiences,” Luke said.

“At the opening on Saturday a lot of people were drawn to the work depicting the organized clutter of my late Uncle Leo’s shed in Mount Clear. He was 96 and he passed away just after Christmas.

“It was my job to clean the shed up while he was in hospital and I documented what was in the shed with photos and how he had everything arranged.

“It looked chaotic but on closer inspection everything had it’s place.

“It was a difficult drawing to get through at the time, but I felt really happy when it was finished, that it was a lovely tribute to Uncle Leo.”

Other work draws on treasured travel moments to depict the serenity of the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum Gardens, while others capture the bushlands of Indigo Falls at Yackandandah – “the area where my Dad, Mick grew up in the north-east of Victoria,” the artist said.

“Together, they are all snapshots of things that are near and places I hold dear.”

The gallery is open every weekend 11am to 4pm and by appointment.