At the age of 96, Kath Giovanelli of Macmasters Beach is exhibiting for the first time as a solo artist at Gosford Regional Gallery.
Her exhibition, Drawing from Life, features a collection of life drawings and paintings and will be one display until February 28.
Giovanelli said had been drawing for a long, long time.
“The curator came and looked at my work and decided to give me a show, and there it is, sitting in the Regional Gallery now,” she said.
“It is an exploration of life drawing from many aspects, so I have covered a lot of ground with it.”
The exhibition features only a small number of the many pieces Giovanelli has completed over her lifetime.
Born in 1924, she began her career as an artist in the 1960s following a summer art school run by legendary Australian artist John Olsen.
Her artistic influence include her teachers John Olsen, Ruth Faerber, Meike Cohen, Robert Klippel, David Fairburn, and the work of European modernists (such as Matisse) and American abstract expressionists encountered on her travels.
She has experimented with various styles and techniques for figurative representation throughout her career, including expressive drawing, tonal painting and collage.
Her work has always been grounded in a love of drawing.
She views “life-drawing” as an essential practice, an essential part of being an artist.
“Art has been a lifelong journey,” she said.
“Seeking and searching fulfilment all the way; I can’t say I ever arrived.”
Kath Giovanelli has exhibited as a finalist in the Hunters Hill Art Prize many times since 1955 and received the Nora Heysen Award three times.
She has been exhibited as a finalist in the Gosford Art Prize three times (2008, 2014, 2019).
Jacinta Counihan