Flower Show Contemporary Australian Artists investigate the botanical world.

30 August - 22 November 2015

Flower Show Introduction Welcome to Flower Show, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Spring exhibition suite. This suite of four exhibitions celebrates the botanical world and the relationship of humans with it. In recent years the Gallery has sought to program exhibitions and public programs which look to celebrating the natural world and our very own garden. We do so in recognition that the Gallery stands in one of the most glorious gardens of the region, attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year. The property was gifted to the people of Penrith in 1980 by the daughters of artists Margo and Gerald Lewers. The Lewers had held the property since the early 1940s, moving into it as their principal place of residence in the 1950s. As known to many, the original house and gardens became a place where modernist ideas and art practices were expounded. It was a gathering place of many, particularly so because of the gardens created by Margo on the edge of the Nepean. For Margo, the Gardens with their deliberate plantings and placement of sculpture were to be enjoyed as an ‘aesthetic experience’ which was restorative to the spirit. It was Margo Lewer’s desire that the gift of the property (house and garden) be received in its entirety as a gallery. In the intervening years hundreds and thousands of visitors have enjoyed it thus. Spring is of course the best time of year to enjoy the garden. We see the blossoming of our glorious magnolia and wisteria, and we welcome the Blue Fairy Wrens and Honey Eaters back to our garden. Flowers, gardens and landscapes are a favoured subject matter for artists (amateur and professional) the world over. Artists are beguiled by their beauty

and complex systems, their strength, their delicacy and significations of love, hope birth and rebirth. The botanical world is also a means for artists to explore and to comment upon the impact of humans upon the environment - our health as a species is dependent upon theirs. Across the Gallery spaces and upon the Artists Boards outside the Main Gallery we see the diversity of artist engagement and commentary. In the Main Gallery is the work of sculptor Tracey Deep. In Desert Song (2005-201) we are witness to the great inspiration of the Australian bush and its spiritual nature. Deep’s artist eye sees that which many of us would walk past. In her selection of dried plant matter and waste materials she has created both landscape and vignettes of place, spirit, meaning and beauty. In Lewers House is Hot House. Curator Justine Holt invited four contemporary artists, Tully Arnot, David Haines, Genevieve Lown and Salote Tawale to respond to the botanical world through an exploration of movement and the senses of taste, touch and smell. Using the printed and audio guides provided audiences have an opportunity interact with these artworks and listen to artists talk about their practice and the ideas under consideration. In the Lounge Room Gallery is Bloom, the artwork of Nepean Arts Society and Penrith Valley Creative Embroiderers. Here may be found fine floral embroidered samplers and glorious paintings of flowers, gardens, and landscapes. In Ancher House is Seasons, a selection of prints from one of Australia most individual printmakers, Barbara Hanrahan. Across twelve artworks, Hanrahan’s immense talent and particular vision is on display. These

Flower Show Introduction works were donated to the Gallery in recent years by Robin Gurr. Our Spring show marks the first time these works have been exhibited at the Gallery. On the Artist Boards on the outside wall of the Main Gallery is Thomas C. Chung’s knitted and fantastical world Where Do I Start? And, from Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group, a display of origami in the form of cherry blossom. Finally, thanks is offered to the Gallery’s exhibition team. What you see before you is a result of their combined creativity and dedication in providing the region with outstanding exhibitions and associated programming. Please enjoy! Dr Lee-Anne Hall Director Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 Tracey Deep Essay Tracey Deep’s eyes are always wide open. Whether she’s wandering in a park, returning to the same spot at different times of the day to study foliage under the changing light, or on a scavenging expedition, dragging back to her burrow a large tree branch gifted to her by a recent storm. As an artist, nature is not only her source of inspiration but also her medium and subject matter. She obsessively gathers all sorts of organic detritus such as dried tree branches, seed pods, kelp, raffia, and driftwood and breathes a second life into them, transforming them into ethereal, woven sculptures that enunciate her fascination for the natural world around her. Desert Song (2005–2015) brings together a selection of Deep’s sculptures made within the last decade and includes a series of new works, as well as the large installation ‘Wonderland,’ created specifically for the exhibition. In Deep’s words, ‘Desert Song is a celebration of her love for nature and the inspiration she derives from it.’* Together with the adjacent exhibitions Hot House, Barbara Hanrahan: Seasons and Bloom, Deep’s Desert Song welcomes the arrival of spring and embraces the history and significance of the gardens enveloping Ancher House. As a child, Deep spent most of her time between the park, beach or her backyard, gathering objects that she treasured but whose beauty was easily overlooked by others. Daughter of Lebanese migrants, she grew up behind a green grocer and fondly remembers the sensory excitement of exploring the forms, textures and colours in the shop. Her connection to nature was unescapable.

Deep began working with floral design over 20 years ago, although she always considered them living sculptures – they were never ‘flowers in a vase’*. During this period she unknowingly attended her very own art school; she learnt about materials, line, texture and sculptural form through her own hands. Deep began exploring her sculptural practice through experimentation with branches and other dried up flora, drawn by the tones and new lines that came forth as her materials decayed. The emerging sculptural qualities of the plants themselves invited Deep to bring about their ‘second life’. Deep locally sources her materials from the markets and from nature itself, often hunting for debris around parklands and streets. In her studio, her collection is so abundant that you can barely find your way. The desk where she patiently weaves for hours is completely surrounded floor to ceiling by towers of branches, wire, and string, sprouting out of every corner; stacks curled on top of each other and hanging from every wall, like a giant nest. Her working process is completely intuitive. Materials are always the starting point: they direct a process, one that is organic. Through play, experimentation and with a kind appreciation for the materials she uses, her mantra is ‘not to force materials but to let them speak.’* There’s nothing mathematical or calculated about her method and she does not desire perfection, instead, she embraces the chaos of nature. As she spends hours weaving or looping a work, some other hidden material from her library will demand her attention. And after hours of working with the new material, another bundle will do the same.

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 Essay Although she began weaving solely organic matter, she has recently incorporated industrial waste into her practice. Interestingly though, she only selects objects that have been to a degree reclaimed by nature: rusted, brittle and timeworn. Whether organic or man-made, she is always mindful of allowing the original materials to speak and hence only subtly intervenes. Her aim is to foster a sort of essential connection between the audience and the works’ materials, a sensory engagement that may trigger memories of how we discovered the world. That primal aspect of her work is not only present in the materials she chooses but also in her making processes. The act of weaving itself pre-dates written history, and in that sense, her craft is connected to something that is ancient and essential to our humanity. Similarly to the Tjampi weavers in the western and central deserts of Australia, her process carries a sensibility that comes from a deep understanding of place.

Deep often uses native plants and locally sourced materials but her influences stretch beyond Australia. Her fondness for patterns has led her to admire Islamic Art and the fluid geometry of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. There is also a strong connection to the work of late New Zealander-Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne, who also began making assemblages after experimenting with traditional floral arrangements. With a natural eye for design, both Deep and Gascoigne repurpose discarded and found materials into works that convey their meaningful connection to land. They share a sensibility that allows them to distil their experience of a particular natural landscape into an artwork. For example, inspired by the light changing through the trees, the shadows and patterns shifting, Deep created a series of kinetic, suspended works whose shadows similarly morph under the light. In many of her works, the process is not finished once the work is put together. Her assemblages have a gravitas of their own; they evolve as they are animated by light: ‘…the shadow is a drawing of the piece. I create the work and the work creates a sketch of itself. I work in reverse.’*

Tracey Deep, Desert Song 2005 - 2015, install shot.

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 Essay Inhabiting the centre of the gallery space is Wonderland, a forest of elements such as tree branches, petrified roots and trunks, which both stretch up from the ground and hang from above. This ambitious new installation invites the audience to have an immersive sensory experience, as if they were joining the artist in one of her expeditions in Centennial Park. In another piece Moon spirit, Deep has hand-sewn a ring of branches and burnt their tips so that they will inevitably leave their mark on the white wall. Evocative of fading memories, this piece invites us to reflect on the transient and finite nature of our own existence. Also part of the exhibition are a series of rusted wire pieces such as Moonscape, Falling Star and Dusk, which continue the artist’s interest in drawing through sculptural form. The coils of metal curl and twist in a very gestural manner, as if someone was drawing through space with a piece of charcoal. The artist’s intention is generous and crystal clear. Like in her early memories of the bustling green grocer, she hopes to awaken our senses so that we can unearth the poetry and find nourishment in the lights, sounds, smells and textures around us. The gift of her desert song is the suggestion that the most striking piece of architecture might be lying in our backyard.Quoted text has been sourced from a series of conversations between Tracey Deep and Ivan Muñiz Reed, July and August 2015 Ivan Muñiz Reed Independent curator and co-director of The Curators’ Department

Tracey Deep, Desert Song 2005 - 2015, install shot.

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 Artist Statement - Tracey Deep Desert Song 2005 – 2015 brings together works from my sculptural practice produced over the past ten years. These works have been inspired by nature and my love for the Australian landscape. The natural world is a huge part of my heart & soul. It is a constant source of inspiration, it replenishes my creative juices and feeds my hunger and desire to create. The beauty of the desert is revealed in the harshness of the bush, in the intensity of its colour palette, of sky and ochres and the burnt remains of eucalyptus trees. All have left a permanent mark on me. The materials used in these sculptural works – whether organic or industrial have been chosen for their texture, shape and tone. Over time these materials trigger an inspirational moment, and gradually take form, evolving into something whimsical, playful and poetic. As sculptured forms each work has a play of light and shadows. It is in the casting of beautiful shadows that the spirit of the artwork is revealed and a drawing appears upon the wall as if sketched by hand. Tracey Deep - Artist

Tracey Deep, Desert Song 2005 - 2015, install shot.

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 List of Works Tracey Deep Black Forest 2009 industrial fabric, metal Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Mud Sticks 2010 metal, wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Spirit 2013 bamboo Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Desert Song I 2013 wire and raffia Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Rust 2009 wood, metal, paint Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moon Spirit 2013 sticks Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Desert Song II 2013 wire and raffia Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep River Bed II 2010 sticks Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Wind Spirit 2013 wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Dreaming 2009 industrial fabric, metal Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Shadow Spirit 2013 wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Wisdom 2009 underwire and wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Dusk 2010 wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Song Lines 2013 coated mesh Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Woven Dream I 2012 rope Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moon Light (edition 3 of 3) 2010 metal, beads Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Soul 2012 wire, lace Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Rainfall 2010 tin, wire Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moon Shadow 2014 painted steel, silver coral Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Soul Spirit 2015 palm fronds, string Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Vine 2010 wire, wood, rubber Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moonscape 2011 rusted steel Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Soul Spirit II 2015 palm fronds, string Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Spirit III 2013 bamboo Courtesy of the artist.

Desert Song 2005 - 2015 List of Works Tracey Deep Spirit Child 2012 wire, lace Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moon Light (edition 1 of 3) 2010 metal, beads Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Moon Light (edition 2 of 3) 2010 metal, beads Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep, Desert Song 2005 - 2015, install shot. Tracey Deep Desert River 2015 cork tree woven with thread Courtesy of the artist.

Tracey Deep Desert Sun 2015 fibre, string Courtesy of the artist. Tracey Deep Desert Moon 2015 bamboo, string Courtesy of the artist. Tracey Deep Moon Dreaming 2012 cotton, wire Courtesy of the artist. Tracey Deep Free spirit 2013 painted metal Courtesy of the artist. Tracey Deep Rock Pool 2010 coated Metal Courtesy of the artist. Tracey Deep Desert dreaming 2012 driftwood, string Courtesy of the artist.

Hot House About Hot House exhibits art works by Sydneybased artists Tully Arnot, David Haines, Genevieve Lown and Salote Tawale, all of whose practices have an abstract relationship with the botanical world. Like its namesake, this Hot House creates an environment for the growth of new ideas and activities. Bringing together artists who utilise elements of the botanical world to question our modern state of being, Hot House creates a warm and inviting atmosphere to investigate these challenging practices. Challenge yourself to experience contemporary art through multiple senses. In each room, visitors are invited to investigate the works through a particular action: move, watch, smell and touch. Please take a room sheet to discover more information about all of the exhibited works. Follow the instructions to download the multimedia tour on your smartphone to hear more from the artists. As artist Marcel Duchamp once said, ‘art is a game between all people of all periods’, so move, watch, smell, touch and most of all, play in the Hot House.

Salote Tawale, (detail) Sometimes you

make me nervous and then I know we are supposed to sit together for a long time, 2012.

Hot House Tully Arnot Tully Arnot Nervous Plants 2015 Artificial plants, servo motors, microcontrollers, electronics, light sensors, programming. Assorted components, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist. Artist Statement Nervous Plants is a series of robotic plants which use simple branch-mounted servo motors to create movement in artificial plants. These motors are programmed to gently sway side to side, but if the audience gets too close, a light sensor will instantly freeze all motion. The work imagines a future where lines between organic and digital begin to blur, and where the audience’s desire for interactivity and action influences our relationship with traditionally motionless objects. Additionally, the tension between simulacrum, animation and the uncanny explores the complex way in which we now negotiate reality.

Tully Arnot, (detail) Nervous Plants, 2015.

Artist Biography Tully Arnot’s work explores the subtle, almost alchemical, alteration of everyday objects, shifting the audiences perception of these familiar forms. His sculptures poetically interpret the intangible relationships we have with everyday items and illuminate new ways of thinking and interacting with the world around us. Arnot’s research explores various real and imagined Artificial Intelligences, addressing the value of our relationships with non-sentient forms. His current body of work looks at the way these relationships feed back into our own capacity to interact meaningfully with one another. This work often integrates complex technologies with quotidian components, investigating the clash between old and new modes of thought. More specifically, his recent work engages with emergent fields of plant robotics and the tension between organic/digital existence. Inherent to this approach is an exploration of the isolating nature of our increasingly connected, but ultimately disconnected world.

Hot House David Haines David Haines Violet Gas (Phantom Leaves) 2015 Aroma chemistry, glass, metal and timber stand, painting on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney. Artist Statement People of a certain age seem to have forgotten the smell of Violets. I see that Violets are growing outside the gallery in the garden. Modern aroma chemistry has allowed the Violet to aromatically become huge and more powerful smelling than it ever has in nature. Violet aroma is the most ghostly and futuristic smell I can think of. Violets smell to me unearthly, as if they have come from outer space, it reminds me of a woody confectionary sweetness flip flopping with the hissy astringency of gasoline. The multiplicity of single molecules that make up the smell of Violets are ringing harmonically in the far-infrared part of the spectrum and aroma makes a kind of music delivered thermodynamically that the ear cannot hear but that the nose certainly does. The Ionones in this work – alpha, methyl, gamma supreme, delta demascone, all are fleeting to perception. They appear into consciousness and reach threshold very quickly. They are the shape shifters that show their many faces, woody, banana, floral, metallic, and sweet. They are the perfect actors in the networks of the ghostly apparitions that form part of the everyday. These are the chemicals that signal the blinding beauty of pale freckled skin on a crowded footbridge in Kyoto, one boiling hot summer’s day, at least a decade ago.

Artist Biography Born in London, England; lives and works in Blue Mountains, Australia. Since the late 1980s David Haines’s work has been concerned with the intersection between hallucination and landscape and he works across mediums from photography to aroma. Haines has produced technologically innovative and rarefied works for museums, festivals, and galleries both in Australia and Internationally. David has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally including Energies: Haines & Hinterding MCA Sydney, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Breenspace, Ian Potter Museum of Art, La Panacee Centre for Contemporary Art, France, Dutch Institute of Time based Arts, Netherlands, Taipei MOCA, Kuandu Museum of Fine Art, San Jose Museum of Art, Art Gallery of NSW, Wellington City Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland, Sendai Media Tech, Japan, FACT Liverpool England, Sao Paulo Biennale, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2004, Liquid Sea, MCA Sydney 2003. The world may be Fantastic 13th Biennale of Sydney 2002. Scott Donavan Gallery Sydney 2002. Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand in 2002. Space Odysseys – Sensation and Immersion, AGNSW 2001 and Deep Space – Sensation and Immersion at ACMI Melbourne 2002. Remembrance + the moving image ACMI Melbourne in 2003. The Physics Room New Zealand 1998. Artspace Sydney in 1997, 2005. ZA MOCA Foundation Tokyo 1996, Artspace, Auckland New Zealand. Tate Gallery Liverpool in 1993.

Hot House Genevieve Lown Genevieve Lown Lewers’ Brambles 2015 Oil on structural ply. Courtesy the artist.

Artist Statement

Genevieve Lown Embalmed #1 2015 Resin and plants from Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Heritage Garden Courtesy the artist.

I am interested in Australian society’s relationship with its landscape. In these works I have embedded elements of the landscape directly into resin sculptures. It is interesting to note the textures created by the chemical reaction between the plants and the synthetic resin - it is almost as though the natural elements are refusing to be encased.Touching these plants while they are embedded within the sculptures is a metaphor for our estranged relationship with the Australian landscape: we tend to understand our own landscape through images of the outback rather than through our own urban experiences.

Genevieve Lown Embalmed #2 2015 Resin and plants from Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Heritage Garden Courtesy the artist. Genevieve Lown Embalmed #3 2015 Resin and plants from Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Heritage Garden Courtesy the artist. Genevieve Lown Embalmed #4 2015 Resin and plants from Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Heritage Garden Courtesy the artist. Genevieve Lown Embalmed #5 2015 Resin and plants from Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Heritage Garden Courtesy the artist.

These works were created in response to the Penrith Regional Gallery & Lewers Bequest Garden.

Artist Biography Genevieve Lown is a visual artist whose multi-disciplinary practice encompasses painting, print media, drawing, sculpture and installation. Self-described as a contemporary landscape artist her work explores the Australian landscape and how it is perceived by contemporary society. It addresses the ways in which we access images and investigates the dislocated interrelationships between the physical and technological that are created as we navigate through our environment and relate to ideas of nature in physical and ideological terms.

Hot House Salote Tawale Salote Tawale Sometimes you make me nervous and then I know we are supposed to sit together for a long time 2012 Wood, plastic fruit, tarpaulin, cardboard, sticky tape, TV, film on loop. Courtesy the artist. Salote Tawale Portrait #38 2012 Inkject print unframed Courtesy the artist. Artist Statement Sometimes you make me nervous and then I know we are supposed to sit together for a long time, was filmed on the Mexican ‘Day of the dead’, a holiday in remembrance of those who have passed away. Dressed in white and black face paint the subject grotesquely feasts on succulent colours and textures smudging the mask to reveal a fleshy skin tone behind. This work is a reflection on states of being, the fragility of our mortality clashing with the possibility of the afterlife and the remembrance of the past relationships. As the subject she stares at the viewer without flinching allowing them to view her but on her own terms, almost belligerent in her gaze, offering a counter position to ethnographic imagery of the past, this is a self-portrait through cultural and social transferences.

Artist Biography Through self- performance Fijian born artist Salote Tawale explores the identity of the individual in collective systems. Projects draw upon personal experiences of race, ethnicity and gender, growing up in suburban Australia. Employing photography, video, installation and live performance in her work’s, Tawale is heavily influenced by the feminist video artists from the 1970s. Interested in the viewer’s experience within a work she often employs tactics of resistance, repetition or pathways for the audience to negotiate. Having exhibited widely within Australia and internationally: including the Wellington Art Centre (NZ), Indonesian Contemporary Art Network Yogyakarta (IE), and Oxford Modern (UK), Tawale also undertook a self-devised tour of American video archives (Chicago and NYC), funded by the Australia Council. She has been included in national and international publications including, Mapping South: Journeys in South-South Cultural Relations edited by Anthony Gardner; Art in Australia; Realtime and Artlink. Tawale is currently completing a Master of Fine Art and the University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts.

Seasons Barbara Hanrahan - Print Folio Barbara Hanrahan (1939 – 1991 Adelaide, Australia) This exhibition, Barbara Hanrahan Seasons, displays the boxed set of prints Barbara Hanrahan, Twelve Linocuts, a Suite of Prints gifted to the Gallery by Robin Gurr in 2010. The collection was created by Hanrahan in 1989 and, in addition to the 12 linocut prints, includes a letter press title page, introduction and colophon. It was printed and published by Alec Bolton of The Officina Brindabella, Canberra in 1990. Barbara Hanrahan was an artist, printmaker and novelist with a relentless commitment to depicting moments of everyday life. Raised by her mother, grandmother and great aunt, Hanrahan grew up in a household of resilient women, which shaped her world view and influenced her artistic practice; a practice often depicting women, and their relationships with men, through an ‘earthy’ sexuality. Hanrahan was first inspired to draw watching her mother work in the evenings as a fashion sketch artist for a department store. Her early interests were also greatly shaped by the richly decorated books within the family home, including the Bible, romantic poetry and Victorian illustrated books. Later at art school, artists such as the

Pre-Raphaelites, William Blake and Aubrey Beardsley influenced her developing practice, as did her exposure to the work and ideas of the young British pop artists such as Peter Blake and David Hockney while she lived in London. Hanrahan often worked intuitively. Beginning with a general idea, she worked directly onto the plate with no preliminary studies and, at times, worked on the plate or stone upside down so as to ‘free-up’ the creative process. This manner of working engenders spontaneity and, combined with a level of detail bordering on opulence, generated images of a spiritual world grounded within the cyclical wonders of nature. Hanrahan’s unrelenting interest in the ordinariness of daily life has, in turn, resulted in insightful and somewhat raw interpretations that are at once both celebratory and prosaic. Her interest in image and text sustained her throughout her lifetime as both a practicing visual artist and as a writer. Hanrahan produced over 400 prints, held more than 30 solo shows, and had her work exhibited in many countries, including, London, France, Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Hanrahan met Adelaide born sculptor Jo Steele In 1963, while living in London. Three years later they began living together and, although never marrying, established a long lasting partnership until her untimely death in 1991. Steele later established the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship for South Australian writers in her memory.

Seasons Barbara Hanrahan - Print Folio - List of Works Barbara Hanrahan Acrobat 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Cat and Dog 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Lovers with a Bird 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Autumn 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Cats and Birds and the Sun 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Mother and Child 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Beauty and Beast 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Girl with a Bird on Head|1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Butterfly Hunter 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Girl with Birds 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Barbara Hanrahan Rooster Girls 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010. Barbara Hanrahan Tiger Lady 1989 / published 1990 Linocut Collection Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest. Donated Through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Robin Gurr 2010.

Bloom Nepean Art Society As part of Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest Spring exhibition suite Flower Show, Nepean Art Society was invited to provide art works which engaged with our floral theme. The natural and botanical world, including landscapes, flowers and still life remain favoured subject matter for artists the world over. This is no different for members of Nepean Art Society. In this group exhibition, Bloom, we see a world of private gardens, bush settings, floral arrangements and cut flowers. Also evident is the clear passion the Nepean Art Society members evince for their subject matter. Displayed as a group, there is an evident diversity of practice, such as style, technique, palette and materials. The range of painting medium employed, for example, includes the delicacy of watercolour, the vibrancy of pastels, acrylic and oil paints, as well as the versatility of pen and ink, and collage. As the world explodes with blooms this Spring, we hope audiences will find equal delight in these colourful works. Formed in 1967 by a group of enthusiastic local amateur painters, the Nepean Art Society has continued to support the creativity of the local community and grown to over 150 members. Meeting regularly to paint, both in studio and plein air, the society holds workshops and exhibitions and provides members with opportunities to discuss their work.

Bloom Nepean Art Society - List of Works Shirley Ayers Lilac 2005 - 2011 oil on board Courtesy of the artist.

Sue Gasser Chrysanthemums 2014 pastel on paper Courtesy of the artist.

Shirley Ayers Pansies 2005 - 2011 oil on board Courtesy of the artist.

Rose Gilbey Lewers Gallery and Garden 2014 charcoal on paper Courtesy of the artist.

Shirley Ayers Roses 2005 - 2011 oil on board Courtesy of the artist.

Rose Gilbey Early Summer 2013 oil on canvas on board Courtesy of the artist.

Shirley Eyres Japonica 2005 - 2011 oil on board Courtesy of the artist.

Frank Hodgert Windsor Cottage Garden 2015 oil on board Courtesy of the artist.

Stafford Bennett Flannel Flowers 2012 watercolour Courtesy of the artist.

Frank Hodgert Cottage Garden, Factory Road 2015 watercolour Courtesy of the artist.

Joe Cartwright Iris 2012 watercolour Courtesy of the artist. Steve Ethridge Wild flowers, Flannel Flowers 2015 pastel Courtesy of the artist.

Frank Hodgert Picton Cottage Garden 2015 watercolour Courtesy of the artist. Laurence Hogan Pierre’s Roses 2005 oil on canvas on board Courtesy of the artist.

Steve Ethridge Lilies 2015 pastel Courtesy of the artist.

Kieran Jenkins Lillies 2003 watercolour Courtesy of the artist.

Sue Gasser Agapanthus Dripping Wet 2012 pastel on paper Courtesy of the artist.

Kieran Jenkins Magnolias 2013 watercolour Courtesy of the artist.

Chrysovalantou Mavroudis Mother’s Favourite 2015 Watercolour Courtesy of the artist. Hanna Piza Flowers 2015 modeling paste, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, print Courtesy of the artist. Lynne Ruicens Still life with Pink Flowers 2013 watercolour Courtesy of the artist. Lynne Ruicens Daphne 2013 watercolour on paper Courtesy of the artist. Monika Scheffler Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens 2013 acrylic on canvas board Courtesy of the artist. Yvonne West Flannel Flowers 2013 watercolour Courtesy of the artist. Gail S. Horowitz Forrest Creek 2015 oil on board Courtesy of the artist. Deirdre Dixon Grevillea 2010-2011 pastel Courtesy of the artist.

Flower Show Creative Embroiderers’ of Penrith Valley A Floral Embroidery Banner 2015 Embroidered textile The Creative Embroiderers’ of Penrith Valley is a community group who meet regularly to discuss and share their passion of embroidery. Existing in various forms over the past 20 years, the community group has created large embroideries currently housed at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith City Council Building and the Penrith City Council chambers. The group regularly hold children’s workshops at the Penrith City Library. Courtesy of the Creative Embroiderers’ of Penrith Valley. Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group Cherry Blossom 2015 Origami The Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group were invited by Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest to produce a tribute to Spring using traditional Japanese paper folding technique, Origami. Led by Co-ordinator Tomoko Ward, a group of eight women met to create a suitable design, and subsequently make hundreds of origami flowers and petals. The flowers were arranged in the form of a Cherry Blossom tree then pasted onto board along with bark and fabric pieces. The beautiful blossom of the Cherry tree is emblematic of Spring time in Japan. Its glorious colours and graceful form welcome the warm weather and new life. Courtesy of the Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group.

Thomas C. Chung Where Do I Start? 2015 Yarn and acrylic stuffing Artist Statement My practice draws inspiration from folk tales, childhood memories and events from my personal relationships. I devote myself to labor-intensive and handmade processes. The artworks from the last few years are part of an ongoing series that I have been creating - knitted sculptures made of yarn and acrylic stuffing, which recall a loss and hope within their suspended present. Each piece inspires to evoke a memory, giving the viewer something which they can no longer have. I aim for the viewer to see something beyond the obvious. Cuteness, tactility, fibres, textures and minimal forms in the work are merely a veneer to hide an unspoken anxiety. My works weave difficult issues about the world into the forms of food, flowers, toys and stories. Viewed through the eyes of a child, my works continue as an unfolding narrative, beginning and ending in the memories of a life once lived. Courtesy of the artist.

Flower Show Acknowledgements This exhibition has been made possible through the generosity of the artists and community groups involved. Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest would like to thank participating artists and groups: Tracey Deep Tully Arnot David Haines Salote Tawale Genevieve Lown Nepean Art Society Joe Cartwright - President Nepean Art Society Shirley Ayers Stafford Bennett Steve Ethridge Sue Gasser Rose Gilbey Frank Hodgert Laurence Hogan Kieran Jenkins Chrysovalantou Mavroudis Hanna Piza Lynne Ruicens Monika Scheffler Yvonne West Gail S. Horowitz Deirdre Dixon Thomas C. Chung Creative Embroiderers’ of Penrith Valley Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group Tomoko Ward Co-ordinator Penrith Japan Women’s Friendship Group

Flower Show Exhibition Team Director: Dr Lee-Anne Hall Exhibition Project Manager: Micheal Do Collections Manager: Dr Shirley Daborn Public Programs and Media: Dimity Mullane Design and Catalogue: Justine Holt Hot House Curator: Justine Holt Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest is operated by Penrith Performing and Visual Arts. It recieves the funding support of Penrith City Council and Arts NSW. Our partners: Penrith Lakes Development Corporation Wirra Wirra Wines

Front Cover Image: Tracey Deep, Desert Song 2005 - 2015, install shot.

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