Art Gang in Spoleto: September 2007

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Purchase of a painting

Friends of Wallace from Wallace’s Art House here in Spoleto were visiting for just two days. They came into the Gallery twice and purchased paintings.

Friedrich purchased a Silas Hobson – Salmon Season 2006.

Sunday, 23 September 2007

Finland, Long Island, USA, Bratislava, Milan, Rome, Turin , Terni and Spoleto - visitors to the exhibition Friday 21 September. The visitors include travellers, art curators, architects, art students and local Spoletinas who are interested in seeing this new art from indigenous Australia.

With the Lockhart River works, there is continuing appreciation of the works of the Artgang members and the Old Girls are proving extremely popular. Today a young architect from Milan, Stefano spent hours here trying to decide which painting to buy for his apartment in Milan. He kept coming back to Joanne Butcher’s work Sand Rhythms 2007.

Then there was a young art restorer who had spent a year in Australia in the desert regions and was delighted to see the Ku Arts works from the Red Desert Country. She had read about the show when she was holidaying in northern Italy in the summer and had brought a group of friends and family with her to see the works. All were off to tell their friends who live around Spoleto and in Rome and Perugia to visit during the last 10 days of the Exhibition.

People are asking am I pleased with the Exhibition and with the choice of Spoleto as the place for the Exhibition and the answer is a resounding “ yes”. The choice of Spoleto as the only city in Italy to see the total works was made on the grounds of the historical relationship with Australia during the 1980’s and the Festival of the Three Worlds. In curating this exhibition for Spoleto in the fiftieth anniversary year at the invitation of the Mayor of Spoleto, Massimo Brunini, we are creating an experience of offering an insight into the oldest continous living culture in the world - that of the Australian Aboriginal culture - to the city where all the cultures of the world are welcomed to present and contribute their stories and culture in this gem of a present day hill town – Spoleto in Umbria - a One World City.

The next step is to take selected works to Milan for a private showing to collectors and curators in late October 2007 at the invitation of the Australian Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, Tim Gauci, Austrade Milan. We are looking forward to this opportunity to show these wonderful paintings to a new audience in Milan. In the intervening period, collectors may view the works at the following locations:

Spoleto:

Poli d ‘Arte

Piazza della Signoria,5

Via Duomo,27

Spoleto Tel 0743/222111

An exhibition of 10 works by Rosella Namok, Fiona Omeenyo, Samantha Hobson, Silas Hobson and introducing Joanne Butcher, emerging artist from Lockhart River, will be shown from Thursday 5 October – 28 October 2007

Rome:

Maria Teresa D'Ecclesiis
"NOMADES interiors"
Via di Ripetta, 224
00186 Roma
tel. +390632110036
www.nomades.it

I can be contacted on +393314489791 for private showings.

Andrea Larkin

Exhibition Director

Tuesday, 18 September 2007

Evening at Virginia Ryan's

Virginia is an important Australian born artist in living in Trevi which is near Spoleto. Virginia is currently working on the Castaways Project which is a work-in-progress composed of sculptural paintings created from organic and inorganic materials washed up along shorelines of Ghana. From left, Cecilia, Rodney, Virginia, Andrea and Carolina. Virginia invited us for a lovely evening at her home where we had a great night absorbed in the world of art.

Monday, 17 September 2007

The Gallery with staff at the information desk

Sue at the Gallery

News Flash

Staff with Banner

Designer David and Translator Massimo

The Gallery and the information desk

Thursday, 13 September 2007

The team saying farewell to David the Designer with cafe

The Office

Rosella Namok and Samantha Hobson

Andrea with a painting by Denise Fruit

Paintings of Maria Butcher and Denise Fruit

The lead Exhibition painting by Rosella Namok overlooking Carolina at work

Painting by Fiona Omeenyo

Gallery staff at the information desk

Monday, 10 September 2007

What is happening at the Gallery

Whew after the excitement of the opening etc we are able to give you some sense of what is happening here on the ground.

Today, Sunday was a busy and another rewarding day. There were the residents of Spoleto, surrounding areas and further afield, all out and about with their families in the beautiful warm sun perambulating up and down the medieval hill town and many of them visited our Exhibition (Art from Australia).

One young couple who came in saw details of our Exhibition on regional television and made the journey from Lake Trasimeno which is north of Perugia at the northern end of Umbria. Lake Trasimeno is the largest lake in Central Italy. They were delighted by all the works and want very much to buy a painting or a textile but can’t decide so have gone away armed with the catalogue and CD to help them in their decision making.

They engaged with Andrea for nearly an hour while they viewed all their favourite pieces and were entranced with the stories. Another appreciative visitor from Rome left contact details as well regarding his interest in the exhibition.

Another couple who visited were coming home from their summer holidays to Rimini a coastal town in the far north west near Trieste. They saw our big canvas notice of the Exhibition upstairs in the main Gallery and were delighted with the unexpected pleasure of seeing the works. They were thrilled with freely available catalogue of the Lockhart River works.

Today our friend Wallace who is currently running a B&B in Spoleto arrived with his guest of six embroiderers from the British Isles as they started their discovery of Spoleto.

Also, we had a number of visitors who made a special visit to the service desk and said “complimenti on the exhibition” It is so rewarding to know that we have touched the hearts of Italians with our uniquely Australian story.

And last but not least, today the sister city to Spoleto delegation from Germany arrived and we have arranged to have a copy of the catalogue included in their welcome pack.