About Us
As an adjunct to Sydney’s recent transformation into a Rainbow City hosting World Pride 2023, a celebration of equality, love and life, we are thrilled to reveal ABOUT US – a group show that amplifies all that Saint Cloche stands for and brings together the diverse and creative talents of nine Australian artists.
All practicing in a variety of mediums including painting, ceramic installation, and sculptural weaving installation, that examine themes around gender and identity, body and land, memory and place. The exhibition invites us to reflect on what defines each one of us individually and our relationship to each other, and deeper meaning, whether fundamental, associated or hereditary and the ever-changing world around us.
Featured Artists
Nick Barlow
Freyana Irani
Darren McDonald
Harry McEvoy
Greg Penn
Nick Pont
Stacey Rees
Jack Rodgers
Hayley West
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Nick Barlow
Nick Barlow (b.1993) is an emerging contemporary figurative artist that dabbles in most 2D media and sculpture but always returns to his first love of painting. Based in Mulubinba (Newcastle) he attended the University of Newcastle and received a bachelor’s degree with honours in 2017 and have since worked in a studio with other artists in Newcastle. He has exhibited in both solo and group shows in the Newcastle/Hunter region with some shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Working mainly in a realistic manner and primarily from observation he seeks to witness everyday life in its collection of strange, beautiful, and mundane moments.
Freyana Irani
Freyana Irani is an actor, writer, human rights lawyer, and self-taught artist. Her art practice is the product of busy hands, quietening an otherwise busy mind. Born in India and raised in Papua New Guinea and Australia, she was drawn to weaving and basketry as a study of connection across time and place.
Working primarily with textiles and fibre, Freyana’s practice sits at the intersection of functional utility and art. Her work offers a contemporary and characteristically playful perspective on classical forms and traditional techniques. Somewhat irreverent, slightly irregular, and a little bit fanciful, her pieces celebrate the fine art of not taking oneself too seriously.
Darren McDonald
Since the mid-1990s Darren has had 28 solo exhibitions, participated in over 30 group shows and completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT. In 2017 he was a part of an ideally suited Institutional exhibition alongside several major Australian Artists titled The Popular Pet Show at the National Portrait Gallery in 2017. Darren was a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize on four occasions since 2013, the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2006, as well as being included in important presentations at numerous other National and Regional galleries and Sydney Contemporary in 2015. He is in the Collection of the National Gallery of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, and Private Collections throughout Australia.
Harry McEvoy
Harry McEvoy is a dynamic young local artist who grew up along the Surf Coast. His work is a celebration of youthful energy and boldness but also thoughtfulness and reflection. He has just started his first year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts Course, majoring in Painting. This will allow him to continue to explore and develop his art practice over the next three years. He is currently also working on a body of work for a solo show in Melbourne planned for December this year.
Greg Penn
Greg was born in the UK, now Melbourne based. Greg studied Film & Photography at the Newport School of Art, Wales, UK and his Master of Fine Art at the Victorian College of Art, Melbourne and is currently completing his PhD. Greg has been awarded an ‘Honourable Mention’ at the Deep Focus Film Festival, an ‘Outstanding Achievement Award in the Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards at the 25th L’Age d’Or International Art-house Film Festival, ‘The Most Innovative use of Digital work’ at the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne and awarded a place on the LUMEN long list held at the V&A, Victorian & Albert Museum, London. Greg shows locally and internationally.
Nick Pont
Nick Pont b.1987 graduated with a BFA from the University of Newcastle in 2013 and now lives in Urunga, Bellingen Shire, Gumbaynggirr Country. Nick’s narrative-based work references literature and historical art while shifting between themes of utopianism, introspection, and transcendence. Nick’s trajectory is to keep shifting, growing, exploring, and to continue finding himself in places he did not seek out.
Nick has been included in numerous residencies and prizes including the Art Park/Linnaeus Byron Bay residency, the Fishers Ghost Prize, Muswellbrook Art Prize, Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, and the Waverley Prize. His work is held in private collections across Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America.
Stacey Rees
Stacey Rees is a contemporary abstract artist based in the Grampians, Victoria. An observer of life and people, she is mainly focused on painting but also loves to experiment in small sculpture and textural pieces just to mix things up. She looks beyond what is on the surface and is more interested in the inner workings of things.
Stacey has been exhibiting since 2002 and was most recently a finalist in the Percival Portrait Painting Prize, in 2020.
Jack Rodgers
Jack Rodgers studied a Bachelor of Fine Art at Griffith University Queensland College of Art and graduated with a double major in painting and drawing. In 2013 and 2014 He was a co-director of Brisbane based ARI, Addition. Rodgers is a two-time finalist for The Percival’s Portrait Prize in Townsville in 2020 and 2022. His most recent solo exhibition, ‘CHEAP SEATS’, was held at Woolloongabba Art Gallery in March 2022.
Hayley West
Hayley is a multifaceted artist, designer, and educator from Orange, on Wiradjuri land. Currently based in Newtown, Sydney, on Gadigal land, Hayley’s academic background, has earned her a BA in Fine Arts from UNSW COFA and a BA in Interior and Spatial Design from UTS, with first class honours. Over the past decade, Hayley’s artistic practice has evolved, with ceramics emerging as her medium of choice. Her works, both functional and sculptural, are imbued with a variety of themes and interests, reflecting her artistic vision and creative expertise. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Hayley also works as a ceramics technician and artist educator, sharing her knowledge to multiple ceramic studios and schools.
For more information, please contact us.