Top young artists from across the Sutherland Shire and St George area will display their art work at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre – after being recognised for their outstanding work.
Artexpress is an annual series of exhibitions held across NSW, showcasing the best art work created by HSC visual arts students.
This year, 228 works from 2016 have been chosen by curators to be displayed in nine exhibitions across NSW. Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre in Gymea is one of the nine locations.
Hazelhurst has just started displaying the students’ work and people can go and take a look at the exhibition until March 26.
Sydney Technical High School 2016 student Ebrahim Khanbhai’s striking oil and impasto portrait of his grandparents, Spice of Life, is currently on display at Hazelhurst.
Ebrahim said the portrait depicts his Indian heritage.
"It was only through the process of immersing myself within the textured wrinkles, the rough flesh and folds of traditional clothing, that I have come to understand the importance of my Indian background in moulding the way I think now, and what I will become in the future,” Ebrahim said.
Ebrahim cites the renowned Australian artist Ben Quilty as an inspiration.
“His strokes show the emotion of the portraits that he does, and I wanted to recreate some of that emotion through the texture of the painting.”
Ebrahim thanked his visual arts teacher Mrs Blake for her help. "My art teacher was really supportive. She gave advice on how to construct the different features of the portraits."
Danebank Anglican School for Girls 2016 student Claire Blayney will also be showing her work at Hazelhurst.
Her drawings Your unyielding perception: distorted, refined looks at the idea that we are all distorted. It also explores how the impact of society solidifies our perception of ourselves and the world.
Caringbah High School 2016 student Bethany Rose Hoyt’s sculpture will also be on display at the same gallery in Gymea. Her work Biophilia looks at the connection between humanity and nature.
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery director Belinda Hanrahan said the exhibition had been carefully curated by the gallery’s Kate Milner and Ingrid Dernee, and this year it was as strong in ideas as ever.
She said it revealed extraordinary technical skills by young artists from throughout NSW.
The 228 works, across all exhibitions, range from paintings, photo media, drawings, print making, sculptures, graphic design, documented forms, textiles and fibre, ceramics, time-based forms and collections of works.