AT BUNDANON: 29 October - 30 November 2019
ASHLEY FROST presents a series of portraits, interiors and landscapes created during his recent residency at the Bundanon Trust.
An artist whose practice is defined by an ongoing study of landscape, FROST’s residency can be seen as a continuation from his bush studies of the Sydney Harbour shoreline. Painted in the bush at Bundanon and along the Shoalhaven River the works revel in the in-between space where the bush meets the river. Working within both spaces – land and water – there is a sense of jubilant freedom in the ephemeral beauty of the Shoalhaven.
Observing the shared histories and practices that take place within the land, FROST painted works in response to events such as after a burn at Bundanon by the Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks team. In doing this FROST memorialised an act of revitalisation and renewal. With attention to light and its movement, the works trace light atop the trees and hills, and exude the vibrancy of the artist’s encounter.
Moving from landscapes to interiors, FROST continues his evocative study of light and its transition. Painting interiors at dusk, or at turning points in the day there is a glow that warms the palette.
In the spirit of Bundanon’s artist legacy, FROST invited fellow friends and artists that he has known since the 1990s to sit for him. Over a series of sittings FROST painted painter John Bokor, who he met during his degree at National Art School in the 1990’s; Nicole Kelly who he regularly paints with en plein air around Sydney and Wollongong; and journalist and writer Caroline Buam. The confident mark making and playful use of colour and tone brings liveliness to the works and subjects. Painted within Bundanon there is a sense that FROST has added new and personal memories in a place that is intrinsically embedded in Australian art history.
Ashley Frost studied at the National Art School and was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship for his PhD research into Public Art at the University of Wollongong. He was a finalist for the NSW Parliament Plein Air Art Prize 2017, a finalist and Winner of the Viewer's Choice Award for the Mosman Art Prize 2017, and a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2017 with a portrait of Janet Dawson. He has had residencies in Antarctica and the United States.
All enquiries please go to: www.stelladownerfineart.com.au
To download the catalogue please click here: PDF Catalogue
About the Residency |
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Established in 1993 Bundanon Trust supports arts practice and engagement with the arts through its residency, education, exhibition and performance programs. In preserving the natural and cultural heritage of its site Bundanon promotes the value of landscape in all our lives.
Project Description for the Residency July 2019
My background as an exhibiting artist is working as a plein air landscape painter and a portrait painter. Both these elements of my practice are somewhat disparate to each other. My proposed activity is to invite three prominent artists to sit for portrait/ figure studies during my residency, and to position them within the landscape and surroundings of the Bundanon residency. The three artists are Caroline Baum, writer and broadcaster; Nicole Kelly, visual artist (painting) and John Bokor, visual artist (painting) .
Through the rich legacy of Author Boyds work that are so evocative in the geographical place of the residency, I want to begin to merge my portrait and landscape work and to embark on a series paintings that are imbued with more of a figurative narrative. The three artists I have asked to sit for me are colleges I have worked, painted and drawn with for over ten years. Each with a unique and successful practice, they will bring to the painting exercise a rich tapestry of ideas, personal stories, philosophies and narratives.
I have visited the studios when my friend Nicole Kelly was a resident artist and we painted together on the site and so am very drawn to the landscape from an aesthetic painting perspective. I plan to paint each sitter in the Bundanon landscape. I also plan to video document the project and to at a later date create and edit a short film about the residency.
Project Description for the Residency July 2019
My background as an exhibiting artist is working as a plein air landscape painter and a portrait painter. Both these elements of my practice are somewhat disparate to each other. My proposed activity is to invite three prominent artists to sit for portrait/ figure studies during my residency, and to position them within the landscape and surroundings of the Bundanon residency. The three artists are Caroline Baum, writer and broadcaster; Nicole Kelly, visual artist (painting) and John Bokor, visual artist (painting) .
Through the rich legacy of Author Boyds work that are so evocative in the geographical place of the residency, I want to begin to merge my portrait and landscape work and to embark on a series paintings that are imbued with more of a figurative narrative. The three artists I have asked to sit for me are colleges I have worked, painted and drawn with for over ten years. Each with a unique and successful practice, they will bring to the painting exercise a rich tapestry of ideas, personal stories, philosophies and narratives.
I have visited the studios when my friend Nicole Kelly was a resident artist and we painted together on the site and so am very drawn to the landscape from an aesthetic painting perspective. I plan to paint each sitter in the Bundanon landscape. I also plan to video document the project and to at a later date create and edit a short film about the residency.
