Central Coast artist Cathryn McEwen will be showcasing her latest paintings at the Gosford Regional Gallery from October 26 to December 1 in an exhibition entitled Call Me Old Fashioned.
McEwen’s still life paintings pay homage to the objects and memories of generations past – particularly the memories held in older glass bottles.
She invites a closer inspection and to appreciate the translucent qualities of this fragile material, especially to discover the colours, shapes and the textural effects distorted in collectible glass bottles, nostalgic layers of another time and place.
As a collector McEwen appreciates and respects the beautiful shapes, individuality and irregularity of bottles made prior to modern technologies, mass production and the advent of plastics.
“There are so many themes and connections that older collectible glass bottles provide, and I have continued to collect and learn more about them over the past few years,” she said.
“Glass itself is a beautiful material to capture in paint, but I’m also intrigued by the capacity of these everyday objects to conjure up memories another time and place – a time of our parents and grandparents.
“Miraculously, these fragile objects are often found intact under old homes, in backyard sheds and buried along riverbanks and they deserve a second life as mementos of small-town Australia, its history and people.”
McEwen is offering a workshop Perspective for Painters to complement the exhibition on Saturday, November 16 from 10am to 4pm.
For further information go to https://www.trybooking.com/CVZGS or contact the gallery on 4304 7550 between 9.30am and 4pm.
McEwen will also conduct an artist talk on Saturday, November 9 at 10.30am in the gallery foyer (tickets via https://www.trybooking.com/CVZIH).
The official opening, Friday, November 1 between 6pm and 8pm, is a ticketed event (www.trybooking.com/CLCUF).