Singapore, Friday, 3 October 2008: If life imitates art, it is immortalised in the realism of the paintings by renowned Australian still-life artist, Nellie Crawford.
Inspired from her travels to Provence, south eastern France on the Mediterranean Sea, Nellie Crawford presents a series of 25 artworks in her solo exhibition, 'An Autumn in Provense - Still Life Series' at Red Sea Gallery from 18 October to 1 November 2008. Supported by Australian Trade Commission, the exhibition is one of the initiativesaimed to showcase and promote Australian artists and their art works in Singapore and among avid Australian art collectors.
About her paintings, Nellie Crawford says, "I try to impart a sense of harmony and balance through my work. My aim is to paint pictures that people can live with and look at with increasing pleasure - to capture a feeling or a moment in time which then becomes timeless."
Working with oil on canvas, Nellie's paintings feature the rustic pots and bowls, the fresh fruit and flowers and the simple scenes she came across during her sojourn in Provence in 2007 and 2008. The mellow autumn light of Provense evoked memories of grawoing up on an isoldated farm in the southwest of Australia, and of similar everyday domestic scenes. Freshly picked fruits scattered scross wooden tables, flowers thrust haphazardly into enamel jugs, soft sunlight highlighting bowls on window ledges. These memories inspired her to capture the pleasure to be found in the quiet, simple timeless routines of daily life.
Her works are a blend of artistic precision and sensitivity to mood, colour and atmosphere. While she follows in the long and respected tradition on the still-life genre, her paintings are fresh and distinctive, and demand for her work is high. Her most recent achievement was to be selected by the association of professional artists in Avignon, "L'Atelier d'Artistes" to exhibit in France in 2009. She was selected unanimously by the board - a rare honour.
Nellie Crawford grew up in the jarrah and karri forest country of the south west of Australia. After graduating from Edith Cowan University in 1978, she spent the following 19 years teaching in schools and technical colleges throughout Western Australia and Christmas Island and travelling and working in Europe.
In 1998, after many years of painting on a part-time basis, and studying with recognised artists, she left teaching to paint full-time. Since then she has gained recognition as a collectible still-life painter, both in Australia and overseas. Nellie now works from her studio in the harbour town of Fremantle in Western Australia, and is represented by galleries in Australia, the UK, France and Singapore.
Exibition Information
About Red Sea Gallery
Established in 2002, Red Sea Gallery was established by Brithis couple, Chris and Charlie Churcher. The gallery is housed in an old army barrack in Dempsey Road, part of a cluster of lifestyle and recreational developments.
The gallery exhibits a wide selection of orginal paintings, sculpture, glass art, and original prints from both emerging and established artists from around the world. Art from the Asia-Pacific region of Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Korea and Australia is exhibited alongside artworks from Europe. Some of the Australian Artists that Red Sea represents include Nellie Crawford, Rick Cook, Shannon Hamilton, Astrid Dahl, Susan Sowerby, Katrina Read and Patrick Hoban.
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