23 September 2019

Nature’s Spectral Arch on show in Bungendore

| Alex Rea
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Standing firm against the ever flowing tide of time watercolour and graphite,11.5 x 11 cm, 2018 by Sharon Field. (Detail)

An exquisite exhibition of works by Burra artist Sharon Field is now showing at Suki & Hugh Gallery in Bungendore.

This is Field’s second solo exhibition with the gallery which opened on 2nd February 2019.

The exhibition entitled Nature’s Spectral Arch explores aspects of a changed environment around the former slate mining village of Corris, Wales, where the artist recently completed a month-long artists residency with Stiwdio Maelor.

The works are small and intricate, defying the eye. The artist’s hand in work is so light the viewer is drawn in close to inspect the details of nature.

The exhibition examines how with time, nature is reclaiming the once degraded landscape with gentle persistence and dignity.

In characteristic Field style, this body of new works delivers a sublime degree of subtlety and delicacy. And true to form, Sharon’s enquiring mind delves further into her subjects than surface detail conveying fascinating insights into the history of Corris and the cycle of the natural world in the region.

“I love the rocks and lichens around the village of Corris,” says Field. “Their colours complement each other beautifully. One seemingly so fragile, the other so tough, yet both had survived thousands of years. One through many lifecycles, the other by virtue of its mineral makeup. Every time I went out for a walk, I would find small treasures that told a story of the place they lived.”

Sharon Field at the opening of her show at Suki & Hugh Gallery in Bungendore.

This exhibition follows on from a big year of international recognition for Field who recently presented her work to the American Society of Botanical Artists at a conference in St Louis, Missouri. The presented work, called Monaro Runes, includes 18 paintings and drawings detailing eucalyptus dieback on the Monaro Plains in Cooma.

Sharon lives and works from her home studio in Burra, NSW. She is a volunteer firefighter with the Burra rural fire brigade and a multiple award-winning artist with work held in public and private collections in Australia and overseas.

Nuzzling into mother earth for security, Sharon Field, watercolour & graphite, 15 x 8.5 cm, 2018. Image: Rob Little RLDI.

Her work has been recognised internationally by the Society of Botanical Artists in the United Kingdom and the United States. A finalist in the Waterhouse National Science Art Prize, and a winner of the Queanbeyan Regional Art Prize, she has been twice selected as an artist in residence at Bundanon, the home of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd.

Now the glade waits dormant, Sharon Field, watercolour & graphite, 21 x 17 cm, 2018. Image: Rob Little RLDI.

The naming of the exhibition and the titles of the works come from the poetry of Toby Fay, London.

The exhibition will run at Suki & Hugh Gallery until 17 March 2019.

Suki & Hugh Gallery: Phone: 02 6238 1398 38A Gibraltar Street Bungendore. www.sukihugh.com.au

Mon by appointment, Tue & Wed closed, Thursday to Sunday 10 – 4 pm.

Original Article published by Alex Rea on The RiotACT.

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