Kim Nelson’s daughter Caitlin Nelson and his partner Therese van Leeuwen have curated an exhibition to honour his work at Tyger Gallery, Yass. Photo: Sally Hopman.
Artist Kim Nelson was many things to even more people.
Beloved partner and father, tireless advocate for his Yass Valley community, mentor, philanthropist – and acclaimed artist.
When he died suddenly on 12 August 2015 at his home at Mountain Creek near Yass, everyone was in shock. At age 57, he was taken too soon.
So his community decided it had to celebrate his life. From the standing-room-only funeral service at the local club to the seat and adjacent shade tree the council installed at a local park in his memory, his spirit lived on.
With the 10th anniversary looming, his partner Therese van Leeuwen and daughter Caitlin Nelson decided to mark the occasion with a retrospective of his work. Not just a display of his paintings, but an exhibition that showed the complete artist – a unique look behind the scenes at the artist and the man.
Despite winning many awards for his work and for it to be displayed in galleries and private homes across the country, Kim’s passion was more for his art than the commercial world it was ruled by so, Therese believes, he rarely received the acclaim he deserved.
“In his lifetime, Kim was not celebrated by the art world,” she said. “He worked so hard and was so talented. But he got many knockbacks and that affected him. This exhibition will show how talented he was, how he could turn his hand to any genre in the art world – and how generous he was.”
“Burnt Sienna” is one of Kim Nelson’s most well-known works. Photo: Caitlin Nelson.
The exhibition includes ephemera used by the artist from his palette, to ideas sketched on bits of paper that were to become works of art, to a history of his work as recorded in the media. It will reveal many of the passions that inspired his diverse work – from the beauty of the foothills of the Brindabellas where he lived and worked for many years, to his interest in astrology and fascination for ancient European art.
Caitlin joked that her father would have been both “horrified and chuffed” for people to see behind the scenes of his creative world.
“He was such a perfectionist,” she said. “But we want people to know how he worked.”
Therese and Caitlin have spent months going through files of the artist’s prolific work, not the easiest of journeys.
A retrospective of the work of artist Kim Nelson will be celebrated in Yass in September. Photo: Sally Hopman.
“It has been a difficult process,” Therese said. “But doing it has been a great bonding experience with Caitlin, which has been lovely.”
“It’s been like a treasure hunt,” Caitlin said. “You find something and think it’s just a folder but when you open it you see these amazing sketches.
“He kept everything. We found lots of sketches and understudies of work we didn’t know existed.”
Also to mark the anniversary, the artist’s niece, Katherine Nelson, will paint a mural on the wall of the Oddfellows Hall in the main street of Yass, a venue Nelson used as a studio for many years. Her mural will feature elements of his work and also pay homage to the beauty of the Yass Valley, so loved by Kim Nelson.
Tyger Gallery in Yass will host the retrospective of Kim Nelson’s work from 12 to 27 September. Works will be available for sale to subscribers prior to the opening – go to the Tyger Gallery website for details. The exhibition will be officially opened on Saturday 13 September at the Yass Soldiers Memorial Hall, next door to the Tyger Gallery, at 10:30 am.
