Robin Wells: Artist Statement & Bio

Growing up in a rural Western Australia, surrounded by bushland has had a lasting impression on Robin, with her work being an ongoing narrative of concerns for our natural environment and the effect we have on it.This work explores the changing face of the landscape along coastal Western Australia.  It forms a documentation of the ongoing impact of urban sprawl through wholesale clearing of bushland, reduction in plant biodiversity and theincreasing risk of bushfires due to climate change.

Robin graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Curtin University, Western Australia in 1991, and after moving to Melbourne in 1994, completed her Certificate IV in Gemmological studies.   Her jewellery making career spans more than 25 years of constant making.   She has a vital production jewellery practice in addition to making one off works for exhibition. Robin is represented by leading galleries around Australia including, Beaver Galleries,  Studio Ingot and Gunyulgup Galleries. She has exhibited widely, with recent exhibitions including “Left and Right” at Studio Ingot, Melbourne and “Love Lace” at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.  Robin was also selected to be part of the “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor” Exhibition of 100 brooches by 100 women, curated by Artisan, Queensland, touring nationally in 2014.

Robin Wells: CV January, 2020 Download

Brenda Ridgewell: Artist Statement & Bio

Brenda is always greatly influenced by the repetition, structure and finish demonstrated in mechanical and architectural forms.

Her work through the interplay of forms that move both physically and visually in relation to the human form, develop ideas and concepts related to the spaces both on and beyond the body surface, developing spaces connected to the human body that can hold and nurture relationships. These are spaces for intimacy, the space reserved for a lover or child, the space that is increasingly difficult to maintain in our society. Jewellery is the perfect media to explore these ideas of intimacy, as the viewer needs to invade the personal intimate space to view the works as they are worn. She uses precious and semi precious materials to explore the preciousness and tenacity of life, and repetitive forms to demonstrate the repetition in everyday life.

Brenda Ridgewell is a born and bred Western Australian, having worked within the state for the entirety of her career, with the exception of one life-changing year spent at Workshop 3000 in Melbourne.

A graduate from Curtin University and later RMIT with an MA, she has worked extensively in arts education, including primary and secondary teaching. She has also worked full-time as a Lecturer for a number of years in the Jewellery /3D Design courses at Curtin University.

Brenda has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in group and solo exhibitions. Her two most recent solo exhibitions were Personal Pleasure: Personal Space (Gallery East 2006), and Personal Space Defined (Gallery East 2011). Her work is represented in major collections both nationally and internationally, including the National Gallery of Australia, West Australian Art Gallery and the Alice and Louis Koch Collection in Switzerland.

Brenda Ridgewell: CV July, 2020 Download

Christel van der Laan: Artist Statement & Bio

A collector of all manner of things, Christel searches for carefully considered relationships between sometimes disparate elements in her jewellery, with the intrinsic qualities of the materials as her starting point. There are two facets to her practice:  The precise carving of ceramic honeycomb components, a refractory material intended for the jeweller's soldering bench, and the use of found materials.  Placed together, the mundane, the discarded, the overlooked and occasionally the precious, create new poetic possibilites, inviting the viewer and wearer to see jewellery in a different way.

 

Christel’s work has been exhibited in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Norway, Japan, and Poland and is held in private and public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney and the Alice and Louis Koch Collection in Switzerland. She has staged two solo exhibitions, Price-Less (Katherine Kalaf Gallery Perth, 2006) and Parts of the Story (Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney, 2014) 

Born in the Netherlands, Christel has lived and worked in Perth, Western Australia since 1981.

Christel van der Laan: CV April, 2023 Download

Claire Townsend: Artist Statement & Bio

I have been making jewellery that explores the marks we leave on each other through our interactions. This has previously resulted in two part rings; how they work together and the impressions or marks they leave. 

Claire lives and works in The Perth hills, surrounded by nature and her family. Claire has been a jewellery educator for the past 15 years, working at University, TAFE and hobby level. Claire has a thriving practice selling and exhibiting work around Australia.

Claire Townsend: CV January, 2020 Download

Helena Bogucki: Artist Statement & Bio

Helena Bogucki combines formed and found pieces that reflect a passing moment or conversation. 

Her work begins in the field. Researching; taking samples; and collecting field notes from her explorations whilst revealing fragments of Western Australia’s history and her role within the portrayal of these narratives. She documents the collection and making process from her studio; the catalogued information and findings provide souvenirs that are often as valuable as the finished objects. 

Helena Bogucki graduated from Edith Cowan University with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2003. Her recent exhibitions’ include; 2013 Breathe Into, COTA, NSW. 2013 Very Simple Proofs; The Trivial Ring; Studio 20/17, NSW. 2013 Convergence JMGA WA Percolator, QLD. 2012 Paper, Cotton, Wood, Leather. Midland Atelier, WA. 2012. She has held three solo exhibitions’ to date; SS Koombana: Oceans and Secrets, Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery and FORM, Perth, WA. 2008 Field Notes From Tabekistan, Stairwell Gallery, WA and 2008 Helena Bogucki presents a Field Guide to Collection, Distracted, Perth, WA. Helena’s work is held in the public collections of the City of Perth, WA, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Midland Redevelopment Authority, WA and the Edith Cowan University Collection.

Helena Bogucki: CV January, 2020 Download