Torquay Gallery bringing Brighter Things to town

The Interiors Assembly crafts its exhibition to follow the seasons, and now that summer is finally upon us, there are brighter days ahead.

After a successful In Bloom spring exhibition, the gallery in Torquay is welcoming the summer and the new year with its summer art release, Brighter Days group exhibition.

The exhibition includes a collection of 40 works by 11 Australian artists, all of which, exhibition curator Kelly Ferraro said, were original artworks influenced and inspired by the Australian summer.

“My brief to the artists involved was to ‘create bright and uplifting works with a touch of summer’, which they have certainly achieved.

“What I love about the collection is that our artists have a different interpretation of what our summer show means to them, and you can see this through their works.

“There are beautiful new abstract styles from Joan Blond, large scale florals from Aliki Kapoor and stunning still life works by Vanessa Encarnacaco, to just name a few.”

Ferraro said The Interiors Assembly represented 29 Australian artists as part of the group, with more on the horizon next year, based around Australia from Sydney, Queensland, Noosa, Central Queensland, Mt Gambier, Phillip Island and Melbourne to Anglesea.

Melbourne-based expressionist artist Joan Blond has her Summer Series showing in the exhibition, many of which are locally-inspired pieces including “Over the Beach at Barwon Heads”.

Blond described the collection as abstract expressionist, painted intuitively and based in life experience.

“My work is heavily influenced by my beautiful coastal surroundings, connection to the land and positive energy,” she said.

“I am blessed to share my stories and to evoke emotion through each and every piece. My hope is that my work will trigger a memory or a personal experience for the viewer.”

Mornington Peninsula-based abstract artist Jackie Green, who has multiple works in the collection, focused her contributions on a muted palette she felt had a summer feel.

Green said her mixed media artwork “She Sells Sea Shells”, in which she uses sand and crushed shells to give texture, was inspired by the rainbow colours of crushed shells.

“The summer beach vibe is alive with fresh lemon and lime hues framing the local landscape and beach shacks, while jet black seaweed reminds her that even the transient must stay grounded at times.

“At one with nature, she forages for shells on the shoreline collecting pastel jewels cast from the ocean’s treasure trove. She is a sea gypsy, a sea seeker and searcher.”

Warrnambool-based Artist Tim Freeman has created two beautiful hard lined mid-sized pieces for the collection.

His beach scene “Main Beach Byron Bay” features the iconic lighthouse in the background and hills against a pink summer sky.

Australian abstract artist Sabi Klein said the theme of Brighter Days was a perfect one for summer.

“The colours had to feel fresh and happy, so to me it was thoughts of brighter days ahead, summer, the sea, family time, a normal life after what we’ve been through the past few years. The colours were inspired by happiness, love and new adventures blossoming.”

The Interiors Assembly in Torquay is welcoming the summer and the new year with its summer art release, Brighter Days group exhibition Photo: LUCY CROCK

‘Kirro’ by Lauren Nicolas. Photo: LUCY CROCK

The exhibition includes artworks as small as 33cm all the way up to 1.5m in size, to cover every collector’s needs.

“Our largest piece from this collection is a stunning floral by Aliki Kapoor titled ‘Bohemian Love’, which is a floral abstract featuring textured pink flowers and has such beautiful texture,” Ferraro said.

Kapoor said her pieces in the collection were inspired by the summer flowers, the wild and free spirit of the ocean and the colours of sunsets.

“My work is spontaneous and free flowing, using a mixture of mediums and techniques and multiple layers.

“I love having my work represented at The Interiors Assembly, and having Kelly showcase my art along with so many other talented artists is amazing. Kelly’s love for original art and her beautiful gallery is why Interiors Assembly is the one stop shop for all art collectors.”