Brendan Brown

This is Perth-born, Melbourne-based Brendan Brown's third exhibition at Ruck Rover's monthly Mini Art Mart and we're rather excited to have him back.

Brendan is renowned for creating works from unique and unusual materials. Check out some of the intricate combinations he's created for us before here!

This time Brendan's designed and crafted four works in watercolour painted onto coffee-stained paper adhered to foam board.

The designs themselves are inspired by vintage sailor tattoos, but with twist. Traditional ink designs for sea-faring fellas depict optimistic symbols of luck, of love and dreams of being 'homeward bound'. In his exhibition, Brendan plays with these icons and sneaks in less optimistic notes of loneliness, tricky sea creatures and troubled waters. All within the pallet and character of vintage nautical ink.

They are vividly colourful, beautiful works.

Each watercolour is available for purchase at $60.

Exhibition runs until November 30.

Ceramic Snippets

Ceramic Snippets
Kate Stevens

1-31 October 2013

  

Kate Stevens loves clay, from the first time she touched it she felt compelled to create with it. Kate makes pieces that aren’t necessarily what you’d expect to find in clay – a lot of her pieces have a bit of whimsy or melancholy. She also likes to be playful with traditional pottery ideas. She uses traditional clay transfers in unusual ways, a generic pattern seen a hundred times on mass-produced ceramic bowls will pop up on her sculptures as the pattern on the outfit of a melancholy mouse or a the costume of the lesser-known superhero ‘Catman’. Kate is not a big planner or sketcher; she often has the spark of an idea, and with that in mind starts working and lets the clay take her where it wants to.

Kate draws inspiration from all over; commissions are obviously her interpretation of other people’s thoughts – be they vague or detailed. Of course they’re always delivered with a distinctly ceramic snippets twist! Some of her work is functional, but she particularly likes working on small sculptures; little pieces that can sit anywhere or be popped in unexpected places to catch the eye. 

 

Very rarely does Kate make a similar piece twice and she definitely doesn’t mass-reproduce; she wants her art to be inimitable. She feels her love of clay should never be a chore – what she makes comes from the heart and mind, flows out of her hands and into the clay, and when a piece gets passed on, that’s a little snippet of her going to someone else. She is in love with sculpting in clay and wants to share this love with the world! Kate's aim is to make affordable art pieces that enchant and enliven the imagination of the recipient.

Contact: hello@ceramicsnippets.com  / ceramicsnippets@gmail.com

Website : www.ceramicsnippets.com

Online portfolio : http://www.ceramicsnippets.com/work.html

E-commerce : www.ceramicsnippets.etsy.com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/ceramicsnippets

Other social media : @ceramicsnippets (pinterest, instagram, twitter, google+)

Emiko Watanabe

Emiko Watanabe
Over Land, Over Water

1 – 30 September 2013

Emiko likes a lot of things, but mostly she likes to take photographs. She is drawn to otherworldly landscapes and likes to capture the little details of the world around her. Emiko loves that moments in time may be quickly forgotten or go unnoticed but when it becomes a photograph that fragment of time is preserved forever.

Prints are $35 each or $85 for a series (Water or Land).

Kate-Anna St. Valentine

Kate-Anna St. Valentine

You & Me (Part 1)

3-31 August 2013

Kate-Anna St. Valentine is a Perth based artist and writer who has a hard time thinking about much except what goes on inside her heart (which is a lot). She recently left Paper Mountain studios, where she based herself for 2 years, and now works downstairs in a rundown, 1970s, brown brick house, surrounded by her pets and the memories she hoards.

This body of work entitled You & Me (Part 1) is a self indulgent exploration of the common bonds and subsequent breakage of those bonds that lie between different humans and each others' hearts.

Kate-Anna explores these feelings in tiny ways, using universal and infinite concepts to embed feelings that seem to be small and focused inward on ourselves, but are actually the largest and most common threads that tie every human together.

Kate-Anna has used materials such as minerals, meteorites, glass, paper, home tattoo and found creatures in this collection, stepping away slightly from the illustration based work she has done in the past.

OPENING NIGHT: Friday 2 August, 6-8pm, Ruck Rover General Store, 242 William St Northbridge

EXHIBITION RUNS: 3 – 31 August

OPENING HOURS: 11am-6pm Monday to Friday, 11am-5pm Saturday & Sunday

Joshua Tavener

1-31 July 2013

Joshua Tavener brightens up our winter at Ruck Rover with his seductive watercolour illustrations.

A third year Fine Art student at Curtin University, Josh's watercolour-and-ink prints are inspired by the back pages of Vogue Italia, and photos from the backstage of Paris's exclusive runways. With undertones of surrealism expressed through neon colours, Josh's fashion inspired sketches (featuring decadent headpieces) will cheer up the grey winter months.

If you'd like to see more of Josh's work, take a gander at his instagram: @yosh_tav, or facebook page: www.facebook.com/JoshTavenerIllustrations.

Sarmarie

4-31 March
Sarmarie believes that you should 'use your hands, enjoy the process, live life, eat well, be strong and use loads of colour', a philosophy that weaves its way into her bold, layered art.

Inspired by her regional home, Sarmarie's vivid abstract pieces are influenced by the 'wild and uncontrollable' temperament of the natural world. She enjoys pushing her art beyond name and form, inviting the viewer to interpret her work 'purely through feeling'. A style developed from her recent 'exploration series', Sarmarie's pieces invite the viewer to share in her artistic process, creating a spontaneous rhythm with rich, striking colours.

Sarmarie's art can be found at Ruck Rover until the end of April.

See more: www.sarmarie.com.

Alina Tang

Flowers and fickle feelings
Alina Tang

Alina is head-over-heels in love with printmaking!

She enjoys wearing cute aprons while printing but also delights in the magical, process-driven aspect of printing: mixing the perfect ink colour, rounding the corners of every plate, and meticulously wiping with yellowpages.

Alina is in her final year of art school at Curtin University and tries her best to make work that makes her and other people happy. She also loves flowers, people who smell nice, kittens, floral patterns, hand-made things, small children, and long cuddles.

All of Alina's prints are handmade, from oil-based ink, paper, and an etching press. The Mipsy and Pixie prints (the sweet ones of the cats dancing) are made by collagraph etching, with some hand-painted watercolour editions.

These prints aren't part of a limited edition run exactly, but are 'U/S' (Unique State) - which means they're printed uniquely, and coloured differently each time. This also means Alina can make custom colour and floral backgrounds!

Exhibition runs until May 31.

Hayley Welsh

Wonderland
Hayley Welsh

Following her sell out show at the FORM Courthouse Gallery in Port Hedland and her pop-up shop at Carillon City, children’s book author and illustrator Hayley Welsh showcases her latest creations in this new exhibition at Mini Art Mart entitled Wonderland.

 

Using found objects as her canvas, Hayley illustrates imaginative new worlds with her whimsical characters, exploring the childlike escapism into fantasy and the process of opening up one’s mind to impossible realities.

Hayley has established herself as an artist to watch. Having moved to Australia from the UK in 2009 with exhibitions in London and New York under her belt, she has been in demand of late.
With a history in scientific and natural history illustration, Hayley’s paintings display a technical approach that is mixed with nostalgia and humour. Yet at the same time, darker undertones are present in her pieces, reflecting a fear of the unknown.
 

Exhibition runs throughout February.