Past
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Potts Point, Gathering Moss
Sue MacLeod Beere & Mary Porter 8 - 24 May 2025 Potts Point - Derrawunn, acknowledging the traditional owners and custodians, the Gadigal people.
I chose to paint Potts Point because it was the first place I called home upon arriving in Sydney, and I was immediately drawn to the area's distinctive Bohemian atmosphere.
I lived on Orwell Street, and the striking Art Deco building at the top of the road —the Metro Minerva Theatre—became a significant part of my experience, offering a unique sense of place.
With this series whenever possible, I painted en plein air, aiming to capture the vibrant sights of Potts Point and a few scenes from nearby Kings Cross. The challenge was to convey the pulse of life in this dynamic area in my work. My interactions with locals—listening to their stories and learning about the neighbourhood—added another layer to my creative journey. I uncovered fascinating histories, from Ginger Rogers dancing at the Metro-Minerva Theatre to the intrigue of Russian espionage - the Petrov Affair.
The Yellow House was the first painting I embarked on, and I returned four times to complete it, setting up my easel across the road from the iconic building. I painted beside a beautifully curated antique shop, with a florist next door, which always displayed exotic flowers on a table outside, creating a Parisian-like atmosphere.
Each painting begins with a small sketch to establish the composition, followed by oil painting on canvas or board. I like the chaotic nature of my initial brushwork, enjoying the abstract elements that naturally emerge during the process. I aim to keep the vitality of these marks in the final version.
Peter Sheridan’s book, Sydney Art Deco and Modernist Walks: Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay, provided invaluable insight into the area, and I was fortunate enough to meet the author while working on the Yellow House painting.
Sue MacLeod-Beere, 2025
"Gathering Moss" examines the intricate relationship between nature and human experience through the symbology of moss. This exhibition transforms a seemingly mundane element of nature into a profound metaphor for protection and renewal. Moss, with its ancient resilience and regenerative qualities, forms a comforting layer that shields from external dangers, akin to the protective measures we adopt to navigate the world's uncertainties.
My practice is rooted in abstraction, driven by an intuitive process that embraces the unknown. Recurring motifs such as moss, lichen, candles, and camouflage emerge organically, symbolising a surrender to the act of painting and a communion with the abstract. These elements reflect my belief in nature's inherent kindness and its imperative for us to collaborate in preserving our environment and well-being.
Through these paintings, I highlight the rejuvenating power of moss. It embodies the potential for new growth and transformation, emerging from the protective embrace of nature. Colours mixed intuitively defy the constraints of formal art training, embodying a release of control and an embrace of spontaneity.
The works often retain an unresolved quality, which I embrace as a strength. This unfinished aspect invites viewers to engage with the paintings on a deeper level, allowing their own interpretations and emotions to complete the narrative. It reflects my desire to step aside and let the paint speak for itself, free from the constraints of traditional expectations.
Living and working on the lands of the Gumbaynggirr Nation on the Mid North Coast of Australia, I draw inspiration from the region's rich and diverse ecosystems. This exhibition is a testament to the interconnectedness of all life. "Gathering Moss" invites viewers to reflect on the ways in which nature can guide and protect us, offering a contemplative and transformative experience.
Mary Porter, 2025
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Joie de Noël
An exhibition of exquisite small artworks 22 Nov - 24 Dec 2024 20+artists in a variety of genres & media.. BCFA will donate 10% of sales proceeds to Ars Musica Australis - the charity providing young artist scholarships in music performance, dance... Read more -
Impression, Sydney
Belinda Wilson 24 Oct - 7 Nov 2024 Belinda Wilson reinterprets Sydney's iconic landscapes with bold colours, inspired by Mosman's artistic heritage, including Curlew Camp and the influence of Streeton and Roberts. Following in the footsteps of artists... Read more -
Solstice
Winter 2024 8 Jun - 31 Jul 2024 Read more
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A BCFA Summer
January & February 2024 20 Jan - 10 Feb 2024 BCFA presents a vibrant selection of summer themed artwork by our artists. Read more -
9 by 5 Impressions
Christmas Miniatures 8 - 22 Dec 2023 The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition was an exhibition in Melbourne which opened on 17 August 1889 at Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street and featured 183 works, the majority of... Read more -
The Familiar in the Unfamiliar-A Spanish Landscape
Joanna Cole 26 Aug - 16 Sep 2023 What is it to gaze upon a landscape painting, its flora and fauna replicated through memory, perception, and craftsmanship? Painting can be an unmoving vehicle, transporting us to far off... Read more -
Nest
An exhibition of works by Margaret Builder, Joanna Cole, Gabrielle Pool, Belinda Wilson, and Claire Yerbury. 13 Apr - 7 May 2023 In tumultuous times we often return to places of familiar safety. However it is that same tumult that often prevents us from returning to these sites of comfort and security.... Read more
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Utter Bedlam
Brendan Kelly 23 Mar - 6 Apr 2023 Utter Bedlam (2023) is Brendan Kelly’s latest solo exhibition of mixed media paintings, which focuses on Australia’s first purpose-built psychiatric hospital, the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (later Gladesville Hospital), which... Read more -
OF THIS CENTURY
Australian Contemporary Art Since 2000 25 Feb - 12 Mar 2023 Brenda Colahan Fine Art is thrilled to present Of This Century , an exhibition of quintessential works by some of Australia's most respected trailblazers at home and on the international... Read more -
The Joy Effect
Belinda Wilson 10 - 24 Nov 2022 Brenda Colahan Fine Art is pleased to present The Joy Effect , the eleventh solo exhibition of Melbourne-based landscape painter Belinda Wilson. In brilliant colour, Wilson's work invites us into... Read more -
Drawn to the Land
Chris Stevenson 13 - 27 Oct 2022 Artist Statement: October, 2022 In Drawn to the Land viewers reconnect with a landscape that recalls others they may have experienced before. For me, connections to the Australian countryside began... Read more
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Uncovered: Northwood, Lloyd Rees and Beyond
A Contemporary Response by Brendan Kelly 21 Sep - 6 Oct 2022 Born in 1970, Australian contemporary artist Brendan Kelly was raised in Ryde during the 1970s and 1980s. He recalls a lively, carefree childhood along the banks of the Lane Cove... Read more -
Jorna Newberry
Pitjantjatjara woman 20 Aug - 3 Sep 2022 Read more -
Into The Quiet
Tracey Levett 21 Jul - 4 Aug 2022 Artist’s Statement- Tracey Levett “This suite of new paintings is intentionally contemplative and quiet, a direct response to the 'noise' of our modern hi tech world. For this exhibition I... Read more -
Saint Ned
Brendan Kelly 10 - 24 Mar 2022 Saint Ned (2022) is Brendan Kelly’s latest solo exhibition of mixed media paintings focusing on the infamous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his place within contemporary Australian society.
The artist seeks to analyse Ned Kelly through a broad lens, encompassing a wide range of elements, which have added to the Ned Kelly story, in order to comprehend the modern view of a man who, once thought a common criminal, hunted by police and executed in 1880, became Australia’s most well-known 19th century individual, an Australian hero and icon. Read more
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Floral Lush
Melony Kara Smirniotis 1 - 21 Nov 2021 The exhibition ‘Floral Lush’ presents a dance between colour, light and texture. Local gardens explored daily, often several times a day, from a variety of perspectives were the inspiration for... Read more -
Response to Landscape
Peter Griffen & Denise Lithgow 7 - 21 Oct 2021 “Response to Landscape” a two artist exhibition, explores the European expressionist landscapes of senior semi-abstract painter Peter Griffen. Executed over the 1990s to 2021, included are works first exhibited in... Read more -
Three Indigenous Women
Jorna Newberry, Debbie Brown Napaltjarri & Mary Brown Napangati 18 Sep - 2 Oct 2021 BCFA brings together three Indigenous women whose country spans the vast lands of the central and western deserts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Jorna Newberry, a PItjantjatjara woman... Read more -
Stranger at the Door
Sue MacLeod-Beere 15 - 31 Jul 2021 Sue is a locally based oil painter from Gladesville, Sydney. Her Stranger at the Door exhibition explores worlds within worlds, environments that aren't always what they seem. The title, "Stranger at the Door", comes from the painting of the same name, created in 2020 when anxieties were high, fearing our neighbours or even the groceries left at the door. MacLeod-Beere sets out to capture the unsettling presence in the everyday within moody canvases, mostly executed `en plein air'. Read more
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Yannima Pikarli Tommy Watson
Pitjantjatjara Master 1 - 30 Apr 2021 (c.1935-2017) Born Anamaraptji, west of Irrunytju, WA Read more -
Margaret Builder
Inner Landscapes 17 Nov - 5 Dec 2020 Margaret Builder Margaret Builder as born in 1938 in Sydney and was educated at Methodist Ladies College Burwood. A registered osteopath, physiotherapist and acupuncturist, Margaret lives in Noosa, QLD. Over... Read more -
Spring Collection
Spring collection of modern and Indigenous artworks 19 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 Read more -
Mary Brown Napangati
Ceremonies and Stories 23 Feb - 30 Mar 2019 A small, exclusive selection of current works by traditional western desert painter, Mary Brown Napangati. Employing traditional iconography and vibrant colour, Mary tells the stories of her youth and country... Read more
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20/20 Vision
20 Years 20 Women 1 - 30 Nov 2018 A survey of 20 Australian women artists over 2 decades, celebrating 20 years since the establishment of BCFA Read more -
Into Abstraction
Exploring the diversity of abstraction and its affiliations from the 1960’s until the present 16 Mar - 13 Apr 2018 Read more