Friday, November 11, 2011

Cycles

Currently my life is governed by cycles. However it was not until I had written the artist statement for my latest body of work that I realised that it may have been influenced by this.
So once again I think about how powerful making art is for the artist and how it is an integral part of my life.
Susan Buret, Penelope Series #7, 2011 

The works will be exhibited at Cloud Farm, Tourist Road Mt. Murray for the next weekend as part of the Southern Highlands Arts Trail. To read more about the works and see the series so far please visit my website .

Susan Buret, Penelope Series #5, 2011

After thinking about how I make art and it's importance to me I read a very interesting article on the relevance of art  in Inside Story by Andrew Ford. 
There are so many reasons to make art from the pure delight of creating an object to voicing opinion, creating universal narratives, giving voice to issues and ideas of our time. 
I am not doing justice to this topic with a rushed blog post so I hope to return to it in future posts.



Thursday, May 12, 2011

Dream Cabinets Now In Melbourne

Installation view Precursor, Anita Traverso Gallery 


A selection of my works from the Dream Cabinets Series are currently on show as part of the exhibition Precursor: A foretaste of solo artists scheduled from now until December 2012 at Anita Traverso Gallery, 7 Albert Street, Richmond. VIC 3121. The exhibition continues until 11 June.



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Image Update


I have spent a few hours today updating my website with professional images from my latest exhibition and decided that this blog was due for a facelift too. I'm not sure that I am happy with the results as it looks a bit stern. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Home Town Advantage. Some thoughts about exhibiting.

Last Saturday my exhibition flight dreams opened at loft gallery in Bowral 20 kms from where I live.
The opening was a great success and I had fun. Fun is not something I usually associate with openings. I think most artists would agree that they are often hard work.
I have described openings in the area here before and always comment on the warm atmosphere of a 'country' art  opening and, this opening was no exception.
When I woke up feeling happy instead of a bit flat on Sunday morning I thought about where we chose to exhibit and why.
I am fortunate to show with a Anita Traverso Gallery in Melbourne where their professional approach builds a market and following for my work and  several years ago I exhibited in North Carolina and was invited to talk about my work. This was also an enjoyable experience and made me hungry to show overseas and interstate in Australia. These are definitely a good career moves but, for me, nothing compares with the fulfillment that I get from showing my work to friends and peers. I hope I always have a good gallery near by to show my work.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Susan Buret, Dream Cabinet #7 Bees, © 2011, Mixed Media on Beech Panels, approx 20 cm 31 cm x 16 cm.
Steve Gray recently interviewed me about my art practice and upcoming exhibition on his blog Art-Resource.
The blog is a place where students, artists, art workers and enthusiasts could find information on how to do things, who does things, and how it all comes together. "Ideas, thoughts, theories, exploration, views, process, people, galleries, etc." The site includes interviews from artists working in a wide range of medium and style and provides insights to the inspiration and studio practices of artists which adds immensely to my appreciation of the artworks.
Thank you Steve for your interest in my work and for publishing the interview.


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Opening flight dreams



You are warmly invited to my exhibition flight dreams in Bowral to be opened by Andrew Ford, writer, composer and presenter of The Music Show on ABC Radio National, at 3:30 pm on 2 April 2011. Apologies to those on facebook who may already have received an invitation. Now that most of the hard work is done I am really looking forward to seeing my work installed at loft gallery. I have made a series of small to medium sized works which I think will look really good in the space. Images of all the works have now been posted to my website.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Five Coats of Matt Acrylic Varnish.

Susan Buret, More with Honey, © 2011, Mixed media on Linen, (diptych) 100 cm x 140 cm.
Yes, five coats of Atelier archival matt acrylic varnish! Now that all the work is ready for my exhibition I have to get down to the hard slog of making sure the works have an archival finish, naming any that haven't named themselves, labeling and attaching D hooks. This is when I wish I was successful enough to have an assistant. And, while I'm dreaming a secretary to look after mailing lists would be lovely too.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Four weeks to go!


Susan Buret, Painted and collaged hinged boxes. © 2011. 20 cmx 15 cm x12 cm.

Susan Buret. Do You Wanna Dance. © 2011. Mixed media on Linen. 80 cm x 80 cm.
It's four weeks until my exhibition Flight Dreams opens at Loft Gallery in Bowral. I always have a last minute rush of ideas at exhibition time draws close. I think it's because ideas gel when a significant body of work comes together. I suddenly want to be in the studio 24 hours a day when I should be devoting more time to PR, mailing lists etc.
Above are some images of works for the exhibition.
It's also the time when unnamed works have to be titled. The green work above has a pattern made from dragonflies cut from a map of the Ukraine. I think the pattern is 'dancelike' and I was listening to Dvorak's Slovakian dances as I completed it so I have titled it Do You Wanna Dance.
The painted and collaged boxes are still largely untitled and I am unsure how to describe them. They remind me of those leather bound photo frames/folios and perhaps little containers to hold memories of home when one takes flight.
Flight Dreams opens at 3:30pm Saturday 2 April 2011 at Loft Gallery, 8 Banyette Street (upstairs), Bowral. Ph 4861 3214.


Friday, March 4, 2011

The work of Louise Boscacci at Rex Irwin Gallery

When I last showed my work in Sydney one piece was purchased by another artist (a sculptor). After first seeing my work she returned several days later and said that she kept thinking about my work and then bought a piece.
I was immensely flattered as I have always named respect from my peers as my major professional goal.
Yesterday I went to Sydney and visited Rex Irwin Gallery in Woollahra. The gallery occupies some beautifully proportioned rooms on the first floor of a building in Queen Street. When I entered the gallery I was immediately greeted and offered a room sheet and catalogue for the exhibition. I often talk to other artists about how important it is to feel welcome in a gallery. Despite being rather 'plainly' dressed for a visit to Woolahra I was treated with respect and made to feel comfortable to look at the work on exhibition. To often one is surveyed and dismissed, as I was earlier in the day, on arrival at a gallery which considers itself to be important.
The exhibition of ceramics and photography by Louise Boscacci was really beautiful and I am still thinking about it. Beautifully crafted ceramic bowls and vessels had soft silken glazes. Some works were printed with photographs and others were covered with illegible poetic texts. The photographs were of Far North Queensland's cane growing areas in the 60s and I was powerfully transported to childhood holidays in my fathers home town of Ingham. The works also reminded me of old chinese ceramics which somehow held precious memories. Several works were multiple pieces displayed with the quiet stillness of the works of Morandi.
These really strong evocative works are still very much on my mind.
No images here as you should visit the gallery or the websites.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Open Studio

The last few days have been perfect late summer weather so I have been leaving the doors to the studio open. As a result birds have been visiting. I am working on my next exhibition Flight Dreams, which opens on 2 April at Loft Gallery in Bowral, so maybe I am on the right track.

Friday, January 14, 2011

nice day! now showing at Logan Art Gallery

Left: Works on Paper by Jen Conde
Left to right: 3 works by Uta Heidelauf, 2 works by Susan Buret, 1 work by Uta Heidelauf.
Left to Right: 3 works by Candice Herne, 2 works by Nicola Moss, 1 work by Uta Heidelauf
Installation by Sandra Landolt.
Left to Right: 3 works by Susan Buret, 1 work by Candice Herne
nice day! an exhibition of work by artists Susan Buret, Jen Conde, Uta Heidelauf, Candice Herne, Sandra Landolt & Nicola Moss about Queenslands hottest topic is now showing atLogan Art Gallery just south of Brisbane.
The exhibition comes at a time when many Queenslanders have lost family friends and possessions in the worst floods in decades. I intend give all proceeds of sales of my work from the exhibition after gallery commission to the flood relief fund.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Dream Cabinets and life after the Sydney exhibition.



Top : Anita Traverso at Depot 11 Gallery.
Middle : Dream Cabinet #1. Interior. © Susan Buret
Bottom: Dream Cabinet #1. Exterior. © Susan Buret
A lot of artists agree that the time just after an exhibition is often a period of angst and instability but when my last exhibition closed in Sydney I really didn't have the luxury of thinking time.It was one week until Christmas and no matter how I try to avoid it I always end up being swept up in the last minute rush of cooking and shopping. Since then we have celebrated New Year and spent a few days at the beach.
And, there's still not much time to think as I am part of a group show , nice day!, which opens at Logan Gallery in two weeks and I am working on some new pieces for my exhibition at Loft Gallery, Bowral, in late March this year.
For the first week of the Sydney exhibition Anita Traverso (see top image) was at the gallery and I had the opportunity to watch her talk about my work to gallery visitors and in the second week I was alone in the gallery and was able to watch the reactions to my work at close quarters. I have to admit that I found it quite difficult but, it was during this time I came up with the idea for the dream cabinets. I am still not entirely sure what they are. (Maybe I should not be admitting this in print!) but I think they somehow portray a mix of my childhood dreams and what I imagine might be the less idyllic dreams of others. Ideas of exhilaration, liberation and escape .... all sorts of flight dreams.