The annual sculpture exhibition welcomes back George Lianos, Bruce Webb and Beatrice Magalotti and excitingly introduces Larissa Gray and Aukje Van Vark.
Dense with bronze, a highlight is the subtlety and play in each varied patina between the artists and each work, many of which are unique. Connections are also explored curatorially through whimsy, humour, mythology and the contrast of form.
Larissa Gray – five one-off pieces, in which Larissa captures ‘the fleeting moments when I feel a sense of awe at the beauty in the world I see around me.’
“Throughout all my work I try to conjure an illusion of possibility, mystery and beauty. Through imagery that provokes nostalgia and introspection. My aim is to create not only technical skilled work but also emotionally charged, quietly thought-provoking pieces, with complex underlying narratives that invite multiple interpretations.”
‘Forgotten’ received the Yarra Valley Arts Sculpture Award Prize 2024.
Aukje Van Vark – also new to The Hive, based in Cockatoo in the Dandenong Ranges delights in adding a touch of humour to her designs and ” when creating Art, my mission is not to depict life, but to reflect on life. ”
“My need to make leads to and comes from, the animal world. Animals give me freedom to show what I see and what is important.”
Aukje hails from the Netherlands but has called Australia home for 17 years. She has been an integral member of the Victorian Association of Sculptors of Victoria and participated in many ASV, MSWPS, and Toorak sculpture exhibitions with several awards in the process.
Beatrice Magalotti. It’s been a significant year for Beatrice with artist residencies in Assissi, Italy and Unerud, Denmark in late 2023. Recent recognition has been received for the Valda Cumming Award Winner for sculpture from MSWPS 2023 and the CSA Winner in 2022. Exhibitions include Sol Gallery in Melbourne and the IAssissi International Contemporary Art Exhibition.
Her exhibited unique bronze works, include “The Norns” – The three sisters of destiny: Urd (the past), Verdandi (the present) and Skuld (the future), representing a different aspect of time.
George Lianos. 5 decades in the arts and continuing love to explore figurative themes, pushing and pulling between abstraction, classical and geometry. A graphic design background feeds ‘Geometry’ seen here once before, but this edition on a striking bright cerulean. Figures are paired back to their naive elements and the patinas are a key feature. “These sculptures are inspired by the freedom and excitement I feel in exploring the infinite possibilities of 3 dimensional designs using lines, shapes, geometry, mass, energy, abstraction and imagination. In each of the sculptures I tackle a different design challenge.”
The organic curves of the feminine form also continue to inspire George, and we embrace more ‘Woman in Stone’ from this series of work, developed in many poses over many years.
Bruce Webb Retirement from his business has given a greater focus on his long-standing art practice in which Bruce explores form between his sculptures and paintings in a continual dance and interplay.
His inspiration is incredibly diverse, from ‘the reflection of a man in a mirror’, ‘the dreamland of fairies’, to ‘the birth of a planet’ & more, explored in abstraction and materially in steel, with a painted or rusted patina.
