Unique jewellery exhibition

GALLERY 54 Penola is set to present an exciting collection of contemporary jewellery by gold and silversmith Katrina Newman – an artist whose practice is grounded in the elemental and the enduring.

Working with the ancient technique of cuttlefish bone casting, Katrina invites chance and nature into her process, allowing the fragile architecture of the cuttlefish to impress itself into molten metal.

Each piece emerges as a quiet collaboration between artist, material, and time.

The resulting works – rings, pendants, earrings – bear intricate, tidal textures: striations that echo wind-scored desert plains, shifting coastlines, and the deep memory of the sea.

These are not simply adornments, but intimate landscapes, worn fragments of place and passage.

Drawn from the Australian terrain and shaped by journeys as far as West Africa, Newman’s forms hold both geography and gesture, restraint and boldness.

From her Mornington Peninsula studio, Katrina works slowly and attentively, embracing a process that resists repetition.

Sawing, carving, filing, and finishing by hand, she allows each piece to arrive in its own time. No two works are alike; each carries the trace of its making, the imprint of fire, and the subtle irregularities that give it life.

On the opening weekend, Katrina will ignite Gallery54 with cuttlefish bone casting demonstrations – fleeting, performative acts where flame, and molten metal converge.

These moments reveal the alchemy at the heart of her practice: transformation, unpredictability, and the beauty of imperfection.

Cuttlefish Bone Casting Demonstrations

Saturday, May 16

11am, 1pm, and 2pm

A graduate of the Canberra School of Art (1983), Katrina Newman has dedicated over four decades to her practice.

Her work speaks in a language – one that invites touch, reflection and a deeper connection to the natural world.