Sister act at Gallery 54

Penola gallery set to host new exhibition

Gallery 54 is set to unveil a new exhibition this Sunday featuring the work of South Australian artists and sisters Jill Halliday and Lesley Stevens.

Lesley was travelling in the Limestone Coast earlier this year and discovered the Penola gallery, which kickstarted this upcoming exhibition, titled Evolving Landscapes.

Ann Carpenter will officially open the exhibition this Sunday at 1.30pm with both sisters on hand to present their work. The exhibition will run until December 10.

Through this collection of stylised and semi-abstract artworks, Jill and Lesley explore the effects of time, humanity, and the various elements of nature in the landscape. With a penchant for acrylic on canvas, they explore the rhythms of life, past and present on the world around them. Shifting sand, erosion, water on rocks, soil, plant and animal life affect natural environments continuously.

While Jill’s work emphasises the quiet, continuous changes of our environment, Lesley focuses more on the transient effects of humankind on the environments that we inhabit.

Jill studied Stage Design at the National Institute for Dramatic Art where she first started learning about scenic art and painting on various surfaces. Since graduating as a Stage Designer from NIDA Jill has designed and painted many sets, props and costumes throughout Australia. She also studied Applied Design – Interactive Multimedia, and Festival and Event Management and Design at Flinders University. All these studies enriched her passion for the creative arts.

Lesley has been drawing and painting from a very early age and has shown a flair for Art throughout her entire education. Art was one of her specialist chosen subjects when she studied teaching. Over her 41 years of primary teaching, apart from teaching art to her own classes, her role included being a specialist art teacher across 3-7 classes and also organising Student Art Shows across several campuses as well as arranging student exhibitions at local galleries.

It was only last year the sisters decided to start painting with the idea of perhaps exhibiting., with their debut showing in February at the Arts Centre in Port Noarlunga. The siblings have continued to exhibit through the year at a variety of galleries.

Gallery 54 is at 54 Church Street, Penola, and is open Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 3pm. Follow them on their social media platforms to keep up to date with all their exhibitions, workshops and other events.