Margaret Olley continues to inspire in new exhibition
19 September 2019
Christine Druitt-Preston’s new exhibition ‘Olley Land’ opens at Tweed Regional Gallery
A new exhibition by Sydney-based artist Christine Druitt-Preston, Olley Land, will open at the Tweed Regional Gallery from Friday 27 September.
In March 2018 Druitt-Preston spent three weeks in the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio, at the gallery, as a self-funded resident. On-site accommodation and studio space enabled her to enjoy daily visits to Margaret Olley’s home studio re-creation, while working on the foundation of her new solo exhibition titled Olley Land.
Black and white lino block prints, including large panorama format prints, form the core of the exhibition. Unlike the ordered compositions of Margaret Olley’s paintings, where objects were carefully arranged and spaces ‘tidied’, Druitt-Preston’s artworks respond to the unedited, multi-layered, cluttered and visually fascinating rooms that were Olley’s home and studio in Duxford Street, Paddington.
Druitt-Preston uses lino block printing, collage, watercolour and embroidery to explore themes related to domestic interiors or gardens. Her artmaking acknowledges the themes and practices of earlier women artists and artisans - using machine stitching, embroidery and recycled domestic textiles. The patterns of the domestic and the potential offered by the everyday is at the heart of her practice.
Christine Druitt-Preston said: “I was drawn to the textures and colours of Olley’s lovingly nurtured domestic environment. Its dining room table that nourished many, collection of objects and artworks, and fabric details called out to inform a series of artworks and moved my focus from places that held memory for me, to a place that nurtured another artist, Margaret Olley.”
On Sunday 29 September between 2 - 3.30pm, Tweed Regional Gallery will be hosting a ‘Meet the Artist’ event. Join artist Christine Druitt-Preston for insights into her exhibition and her practice, and stay afterwards for an informal chat and refreshments. This is a free event and bookings are not required.
Olley Land is on display at Tweed Regional Gallery from Friday 27 September until Sunday 17 November 2019.
Downloads
Photo 1(JPG, 369KB)
Caption: Christine Druitt-Preston, Olley Land – Yellow room 2019, lino block print on Wenzhou paper ed.5 editioned Brenda Tye 50 x 71cm. Image courtesy the artist.
Photo 2(JPG, 176KB)
Caption: Christine Druitt-Preston, Olley Land - A lover's tale 2019, lino block and embroidery on vintage domestic textile, 40 x 60cm. Image courtesy the artist.