THE gala opening on Thursday night for the Hamilton Rotary Art Show was again a huge success with hundreds in attendance to preview the exhibition and enjoy the social gathering.
The annual art show is one of Hamilton Rotary’s biggest fundraisers along with the Lamb Bar at Sheepvention and the New Year’s Eve family event.
In his opening address, Rotary Hamilton president, Noel Howard, said money raised by the organisation had an enormous impact, particularly combatting global infectious diseases.
“Thirty years ago, there were over 300,000 cases every year (of polio),” he said.
“But due to partnerships with the World Health Organisation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we’re now down to two cases a year - (that’s had) a big impact in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Malaria is another big area of our focus.”
Mr Howard said in the local area our Rotary was committed to youth and community projects.
“75 per cent of our budget is spent on youth,” he said.
“This year we subsidised transport for two teens to travel to Warrnambool to go to the Science and Engineering Challenge.”
“We also work closely with the Shire (Southern Grampians Shire Council) and Western District Health Service.”
In welcoming guests to the gala evening, Hamilton Rotary Art Show director, Brian Jenkins, paid tribute to the hard work of the volunteer Rotary members and welcomed guest artist from Bendigo, Carolyn Marrone, whose paintings sold very quickly on the opening night.
“There were over 280 entries received in total to exhibit at the show,” he said.
“Thank you to Gerry Griffin and Gillian Jenkins and the team for hanging the paintings - they look a treat.”
Prize money totalling $8450 was distributed among the nine categories judged by Hamilton Art Gallery director, Joshua White.
Mr White was appointed as Hamilton Gallery director in April 2020, and has a Master of Creative Industries from the University of Newcastle, with more than 14 years’ experience working in the cultural sector.
Mr White commended the HPAC team for doing an amazing job behind the scenes and all the sponsors.
“Brian Jenkins and Rotary - all they do is really quite amazing,” he said.
“What a fantastic job - they’re very, very professional - the methodology they used is really quite amazing.
“Rotary and all the sponsors - they come together to bring something unique to the community that really makes a difference.”
He said he really enjoyed but also loathed the task of judging the paintings.
“To make me pick out of 180 plus works - was very difficult,” Mr White said.
“The quality of work was extremely high, and I’ve seen the Rotary Art Show for a couple of years now and the quality of work is getting better and better.”
The biggest prize money of $2500 went to regular entrant, Leanne Onley from Halls Gap, in the Best Work - Any Medium category for her (acrylic) painting ‘And Then the Rain Came’.
“I really loved the movement and emotion this work evokes,” Mr White said.
“The technical meets conceptual really brings the work to life.
“It has great depth of colour and I actually found myself revisiting it over and over again as I walked around.
“An artwork that invokes different feelings over a period of time is really quite special and unique.”
Runner Up for Best Work - Any Medium (acrylic), went to David Lewis from Narrapumelap South for his painting ‘Grampians Series 3, After Streeton’ winning $1000.
“It was really hard to choose runner up and winner of all these works.
“This work paid homage to Australian artist Arthur Streeton. I liked that it acknowledged our history, our region, our iconic landscape.
“It really sings as a painting.”
Best Oil Painting was awarded to Bruce Shield, first time entrant from Warwick in Queensland, who was present to collect his $800 in prize money for his painting ‘Daylesford Thickett’.
“I really loved this work - landscape almost descending into abstraction,” Mr White said.
“The use of colour and palette knife - effective and emotive, crossed with dark and light contrast - the movement and layers combined made it a really wonderful work.”
Nina Volk from Balwyn claimed $800 for Best Water Colour - ‘The Heart of Monsalvat’.
“This is a stunning technique in the use of a very tricky medium water colour - it was highly dramatic and effective. There was a balance of when to be detailed and when not to be - a very impressive work.
Best Contemporary Painting - Any Medium, went to regular exhibitor Britt Gow from Hawkesdale who was present to accept the award for her painting, ‘The Forest is my Temple’ claiming $800 in prize money.
“I really liked that this work, it was bold but also intricate and I loved how she used a natural material and thinking outside the usual convention of mediums was really fantastic,” Mr White said.
Ms Gow said she used a piece of timber sanded back.
“Then charred with a blow torch,” she said.
“I then inked it up with a roller and then put damp paper on top, then burnished the back and then it transfers from the wood to the paper, and to do the trees around the outside of the painting, I used ink.”
Vida Pearson from Haddon won Best Painting - Other Medium for her painting ‘Pygmy Possum Banksia’ winning $800.
“The colour and boldness in the painting was really quite striking,” Mr White said.
Best Painting by a Local Artist went to another regular exhibitor, Hamilton’s Carol Scherek, who was present to accept her award of $800 for her work ‘Cascading Waters, Nigretta Falls’.
“The movement and the perspective were really very beautiful,” Mr White said.
First place in the Young Artist Award category went to Baimbridge College student, Danielle Knight from Baimbridge College, for her work ‘Buzzy Here’, claiming $500 in prize money from the Downs’ family continuing the sponsorship from the late Barry and Stella Downs. She used coloured pencil on wood.
“I’m extremely impressed with the artist’s dedication to detail and the discipline of actually going through with how complex this work was.”
Second place for Young Artist went to Good Shepherd College Year 11 student, Katherine Rentsch, for her depiction (pair) of ‘Penshurst Main Street’ claiming $250 from the Barry & Stella Downs sponsorship prize money.
“This was a very strong work - there was a real confidence in the way the work was presented,” Mr White said.
The People’s Choice will be determined at the end of the show.
Opening hours for the show are today, 10am-5pm and Sunday afternoon, October 8, 10am-3pm.