On Friday evening, March 12, Maitland Regional Art Gallery will launch the Saturday exhibition, featuring six commercial artists who have been given an opportunity to "go rogue".
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"This is really the brainchild of Clare Hodgins who is our extraordinarily talented and nationally-award-winning graphic designer here," says gallery director Gerry Bobsien.
"Clare has links into a really lovely creative network of people who do work in the more commercial context. They are creative; they work in design, typography, text and virtual reality.
"Even though they're from a design and art foundations, there aren't many opportunities to really bust out and create in an uninhibited playful way."
Bobsien says that this exhibition gives artists that opportunity to leave their usually constrained scope. The show features virtual reality with an art context which nicely complements their new Terminus exhibition from the National Gallery of Australia, which Bobsien describes as "like art virtual reality on steroids."
This exhibition is called Saturday because of a conversation which emerged between Hodgins and local virtual reality artist Andy Gallagher. Gallagher told her that Saturday is the day he has to enjoy his family time, a day which he finds really inspires his creativity. Also, for many creatives, Saturday and Sunday are the only days they have free from the shackles of the design brief.
From this conversation Hodgins was inspired to give six commercial artists a different day of the week to work with.
Sydney-based lettering artist and designer Melissa So has Monday.
Newcastle writer and poet Alex Morris has Tuesday.
Sydney graphic designer Carlo Delos Santos has Wednesday.
Newcastle food photographer Zoe Lonergan is Thursday.
Newcastle typographer and graphic designer Sophie Elinor has Friday.
Gallagher, of course, has Saturday.
The Monday-Friday artists are the first to experience Gallagher's virtual world and are creating their own individual responses to go with their own week day exhibition.
Visitors will be encouraged to create their own inspiration - for Sunday.
The launch also celebrates the opening of five other new shows, which are currently on show at the gallery:
Terminus: a virtual reality experience created by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, this touring show from the National Gallery of Australia transports the viewer into an imaginary landscape of colour and pattern by human clones, moving walkways and gateways to new realms;
An Unending Shadow: Works Exploring Dementia by Ann and Sophie Cape: Featuring artworks by this mother and daughter pairing, the exhibition examines the emotional and psychological 'spaces' that people with dementia inhabit, as well as those of their family, friends and loved ones.
Artexpress: An exhibition of 36 high achieving Visual Arts Bodies of Work from the 2020 Higher School Certificate Examination created by Year 12 students from the Hunter Central Coast and Sydney area.
Maitland International Salon of Photography: featuring entries from all over the world, this is a selection of highlight images.
Made/Worn: Australian Contemporary Jewellery: the work of 20 contemporary jewellery artists working in Australia now.
