_Current Exhibition - February/March 2008

"Eclectic Mayhem "

by Edward Dyas & Geoff Cadogan-Cowper

Artist Statements

Edward - The work depicted in Eclectic Mayhem is a perfect example of the versatility I enjoy practising. Some paintings and drawings are as recent as January 2008 while others stretch back to the “miniatures heydays” of 2000/2001.

It is also transition exhibition as “local flavour” has featured strongly in my 2D art over the past 2 years. This takes the form of landscapes and nature studies seen around my property in Forest Tasmania. It also demonstrates a keen interest in local bird species. The interior of my home is represented by still life pastels and oils, both miniature and large, while the “immediate family” is also present in pastel studies of my Murray River Retrievers.

From 2.5cm square miniatures to 120 x 90cm landscapes, the range of media includes oils, pastels, charcoal, graphite and mixed media.

Two exciting new ventures are also being launched. For the first time I have released limited edition prints of 4 bird miniatures. Sold as a set and one image as an individual print, they are actual size litho reproductions of miniature oils, hand signed and numbered, they are limited to only 200 world wide.

Extending the flexibility of uses for miniatures, I have designed “frame lid” keepsake boxes which have been beautifully crafted by Mr Gene Treanor of Western Australia. These boxes of solid Jarrah with Thai silk lining have an original miniature oil painting in the frame lid. Mr Treanor and I have also designed double, boxed frames to house a pair of miniature works. These Jarrah hinged frames close together magnetically for ease of travelling. Carefully balanced construction allows for the boxed frames to sit on a horizontal surface or each inner frame may be removed from the box setting to be wall mounted.

An interest in photography is also shown in card form with a selection of bird photographs which have been used as references for my work.

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Geoff - In the way a sculptor works with stone, glass itself works with light to produce its own art. The glass artist seeks ways to intrude upon this relationship and direct it to other visions.

Working with glass is a privilege and a frustration: A privilege because light is one - sometimes the most significant - carrier of beauty to us; frustration because the medium requires high temperatures and involves complex chemistry. This distances the artist from the process at critical times.

Glass also has the unusual characteristic that it can be viewed by reflected and/or transmitted light. This makes a fully satisfying work a rarity simply because it works with one form of light or the other but rarely both. Adding texture and colour to this creates many opportunities for the artist to test their skill and vision.

In this, my first exhibition, my unusual art glass ‘plates’ are unique. They required many kiln firings to produce a “fabric” of colours and surface textures. A fabric which changes with the light and how it is viewed.