VALERIE VIGAR + GIORGIA BEL

LOVE STORY

2 – 13 February 2022

Opening Night: Wednesday 2nd February 6pm – 8pm (RSVP to attend)

Meet the Artists: Saturday 5th February 11am – 2pm

Catalogue & Price List: View PDF Catalogue (6.3 Mb)

VISIT ‘LOVE STORY’ VIEWING ROOM

Saint Cloche is proud to present our first Pas De Deux for 2022 with a luminous and deeply emotive curatorial amalgam between Valerie Vigar and Giorgia Bel with LOVE STORY.

Valerie, a Sydney based ceramic artist whose earthen vessels in clay have another-worldly distinction, a play on shape and form, with an ancient yet contemporary aura. Giorgia, who paints dreamy, misty landscapes both existent and fantasy on the path of figurative depiction of the Australian outback.

What emerges from the amalgamation of this duo’s creative spirits and open-hearted offering are substance, movement and balance with soft edges and an enduring serenity with an abundance of warmth.

ABOUT VALERIE VIGAR

Valerie is a Sydney-based ceramic artist who formerly trained as a fashion designer. She completed a Diploma in Fashion Design at East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School) and is currently studying a Diploma of Ceramics.

Born in Malaysia she began her styling career at Vogue Australia before travelling overseas. On her return to Sydney, she worked as Fashion Director of Elle Australia and then as a contributor for local titles including Marie Claire and Instyle.

As a stylist she avoided minimal and looked to introduce texture and a little chaos whenever shooting on location. Having been lucky enough to travel extensively her work today is influenced by past and present adventures and the everyday culture that surrounds us.

Drawing on her fashion background she likes to experiment with different materials, colour and silhouettes. Simple sculptural forms gain texture through the process. Currently sharing the shed with the occasional possum all works are nonpareil or made as part of a small series.

This body of work is an expression of optimism. It took shape during Sydney’s lockdown, through daily meditation within a shed and in my head and on daily walks above the ocean. It took form through repetitive practice that became zen flow, which led to now.

Many types of clay are featured, each with its own distinct character. It is through this sticky medium that I was allowed expression of my thoughts and emotions. A playful interpretation of classical ancient forms provided a canvas allowing the material qualities of each clay to manifest using predominately coil techniques.

Each finished piece has its own narrative where a past life, travel and the natural world play a key role behind the colour, silhouettes, and the textures of this body of work.

Weathered looking glazes, slips and oxides are used whilst textures are made organically through subtle movements of the fingers, imperfections are always savoured.

– Valerie Vigar

 

 

ABOUT GIORGIA BEL

Giorgia paints real and imagined landscapes in acrylic, oil, charcoal and pastel. Using a subdued palette and gestural mark making, the evocative landscapes showcase the beauty of the Australian outback.

Giorgia Bel is a self-taught artist based in Newcastle, New South Wales. After being unwell in her twenties, Giorgia turned to painting for peace of mind and for her own enjoyment. What initially started out as a personal journey has resulted in a rewarding career as a painter.

Through painting Giorgia learnt to embrace stillness and discovered a newfound patience which is evident in her considered approach to the natural environment from where she draws her inspiration.

“My practice is heavily inspired by the Australian landscape and the dreamt or imagined views of this. Exaggerated colour, abstract line and a ‘messy’ brush stroke may or may not be signature to my work. They are free but not rushed, like a child’s mind and play. This is important to me.” – Giorgia Bel

Some of the old life passes away and the new begins. Some of the old I hold onto and bring with me as well. Moments imprinted in my memory and the releasing of this onto canvas, means I get to keep forever. The driving factor within the pieces created for this body of work is love and time standing still.

This collection is brought to you from a depth in my heart that can’t be described by mere words. It is from the depths of my feeling world. The use of emotion for these works creates the calming hues and subtle bursts of bright colour. The use of emotional connection to places and memories create rough line, textured and abstract form. The lines and colours are organic, intricate, eccentric.

Taken back by the scapes, shadows, moments, designs-through-fashion, and the silhouettes known to me and a part of me.

I fall into all of these, I fall for them as I slow, bend and flow, a story of love.

– Giorgia Bel