EAST OF EVERYWHERE
11 June - 11 July
After throwing open the doors in November 2020, ‘East of Everywhere’ is Peek Gallery’s first group exhibition. Inspired by the adventurous spirit and geography of Australia’s most easterly point, Byron Bay, ‘East of Everywhere’ gathers the talents of a diverse group of ten artists who work across a range of media from painting and sculpture to photography, drawing and jewellery-making. From wherever they come, most of the group now call the Byron region home.
Ben Hellewell
West Australian born, Myocum- based emerging artist and sculptor, Ben Hellewell has developed a unique style, self-describing his work as an “imaginative collaboration” with the natural world. An avid explorer, Hellewell spends much of his time in a meditative search foraging for his ‘treasure’ along our vast coastlines and creekbeds. An instinctive vision and child- like inquisitiveness enable him to transform his meticulously selected driftwood pieces and beautifully weathered timbers into unique works of art.
The great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”. Similarly, Hellewell’s unique intuition engages with the untold stories of these foraged timbers, giving them a second life, a second purpose and a new stage for appreciation. Ultimately his works encourage the viewer to ponder the idea that humans are not separate from nature but a fundamental part of it.
‘East of Everywhere’ is Hellewell’s first exhibition.
Wedge-Tailed Eagle - Reincarnation
Mother & Calf - Faith
Humpback Whale Father - Solitude
View more of Ben Hellewell work here
Bill Undery
Working from his studio in Wilson’s Creek, Bill Undery is an established artist with a rich and varied history. Commencing his career over 40 years ago as a graduate of East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School), Undery works with oil and acrylic to depict his surrounds.
His work focuses on the frequently overlooked charm of everyday encounters, and captures the temperature and temperament of Australian rural, city and cultural life. Undery’s work has been exhibited in numerous national and regional exhibitions.
A past finalist in the prestigious Archibald and Wynne Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW, and The Blake Prize for religious art, Undery has also been awarded the Australian Production Design Guild Artisan Award for lifetime achievement on cinematic creative projects that include Baz Luhrman’s ‘Moulin Rouge’.
Truck Stop Acrylic on Canvas 92 x 92 cm
Nearly There Oil on Canvas 123 x 51 cm
View more of Bill Undery's work here
Back Roads Acrylic on Linen 153 x 122 cm
Cameron Foggo
Cameron Foggo is a New Zealand artist and designer now based in Byron Bay. A second-generation furniture designer, Foggo’s early career adopted the traditional apprentice-to-designer path.
Establishing his own studio in 2007, Foggo has become known for his refined, elegant and functional pieces. Turning to art, his early work paid homage to Renaissance masters. Eventually, this led to his more recent experiments with Gerhard Richter- esque blurred imagery. Foggo’s art works are as unique as they are varied in style and theme.
His latest mixed media works incorporate silk-screen printing and painting and have been described as having a nostalgic quality reminiscent of old printed photographs.
Foggo gained a Diploma in Visual Communication Design, studying at The Auckland Society of Arts, and Wellington Design School. Since 1991 he has held numerous exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia including at the Auckland Society of Arts and at galleries in Christchurch, Melbourne, and Byron Bay. He brings an unpretentious and humanised quality to a wide range of projects that have included architectural collaborations, contemporary furniture design and private commissions.
Festival Ghost - Mixed Media on Canvas - 210 x 150 cm
Craig Parry
Craig Parry is a multi-award winning, internationally acclaimed oceanic and nature photographer. Primarily working with exotic marine and landscape imagery, Parry offers his unique insight into the undersea world through an experienced but ever-curious lens. Engaging the audience visually and emotionally with the tenuousness of nature, his photographic pieces portray the palpable as abstract and the conventional as exceptional.
As a Sony Global Ambassador, Parry’s work sees him regularly travelling to all corners of the globe. Born locally, Parry is well-respected in his profession and has collaborated with industry giants such as National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Travel Channel.
The Leopard Shark A - 88 x 119 cm
*LEFT Warren Fox RIGHT Craig Parry
The Sea Turtle: Chelonia Mydas - 86 x 116 cm
*TOP Warren Fox BOTTOM Craig Parry
Warren Fox
Born in Melbourne, Warren Fox has been honing his art and illustration practice for more than 28 years. As a hyperreal artist, Fox focuses on the meticulous details found in people and nature. The elemental aspects of these environments have been brought to life by Fox’s ‘Two Original’ concept. An art-form that fuses the formal craft of his hyper-realistic drawings with the depth of the captured image. Working mostly in stripped-back black and white, Fox visually engages the viewer in a single moment. That decision when an artwork is truly complete. Challenging the notion of what makes an artwork finished, he boldly steps into the unknown by tearing his cherished illustrations, combined with the photograph in half. From a brave act, emerges a new creation.
A decade of practice in the UK, led to Fox’s crafted pencil illustrations presented to BAFTA in London. It shortly followed Fox’s first ‘Two Original’ collaboration with New York photographer Martin Schoeller. This sparked the start of this concept and after returning to Australia. Fox joined with iconic Sydney artist Gary Heery, illustrating a Cockatiel from Gary Heery’s ‘Bird Collection’ In recent years, he has recently turned his focus on the Honu - Sea Turtle and the Leopard Shark with award-winning ocean photographer Craig Parry. In 2019 Fox was selected as one of only seven artists for British Petroleum’s (BP) 100th Year Centenary Celebrations 2019 and in the same year was a finalist in Melbourne’s prestigious Mission to Seafarers Maritime Exhibition.
The Leopard Shark B - 88 x 119 cm
*LEFT Craig Parry RIGHT Warren Fox
Collaboration
‘Two Originals’ is a concept crafted by Warren J Fox, which evolved with a selection of Craig Parry’s award-winning images.
Warren referenced the photography, capturing detail with the first in the collection, titled ‘Honu’ (Green Sea Turtle).
100+ hours brought the illustration to life, with the final piece holding the true depth and detail of Craig’s photography. Once complete, overlaying the illustration with the original photograph was the next step. Warren’s focus was to then ‘let go’, tearing the overlayed artworks in half. A process perceived as deconstructing, somewhat destroying, was in fact, creating two entirely breathtaking artworks.
Each Original illustration was crafted on quality Fabriano 250gsm paper, with the completed composite artworks presented within a carefully hand-crafted hardwood timber frame.
CRAIG PARRY / WARREN FOX
Davide Uliana
Davide Uliana’s broad scope of creativity combines his traditional Italian heritage with a new interest in painting. Seven years ago, Uliana made the move from Vittorio Venetto in Northern Italy and is now an Australian citizen. Currently painting from his waterfront studio on the Brunswick River, he draws on these experiences to produce a range of expressive abstract works that reflect a growing engagement with his surrounds.
Since taking up painting in 2016, Uliana has already gained attention through several expositions at Peek Gallery.
In 2018, his work was included in ‘Eclectic’ at the Gold Coast’s TBC Gallery. His paintings are widely held in private collections across Australia.
View more of Davide Uliana's work here
Minyon Falls Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 153 x 153 cm
Gabrielle Pool is an established artist recognised as much for her innovative painting as for her explorative spirit. Originally from New Zealand, she has travelled extensively and honed her inventive skills in some of the most eclectic locations on the planet. From an early mentorship in Japan, she has created her own residencies at their creative source – from traditional techniques in the Chinese Guilin mountains, to rough-hewn innovation on the remote banks of Southern Ethiopia’s slow moving Omo River. Left without assistance by a National Geographic producer to immerse with the vanishing Hamer tribe, Pool developed an original painting technique using the tribe’s traditional body paints and pigments.
Pool has been exhibiting globally since 1993. In 2004 she was invited by Nelson Mandela to collaborate in the 2004 Unity Series. A finalist in the Sir John Sulman Prize, Mosman Art Prize and Paddington Art Prize, she is best known for her large-scale commissions now held in private and public collections. Pool’s work has also been featured by various media outlets including TVNZ and National Geographic.
Gabrielle Pool
View more of Gabrielle Pool's work here
Ocean Country Oil and Acrylic on Canvas 175 x 175 cm
Jimmy Kearns
James (Jimmy) Kearns is a self-taught artist who developed his artistic skills while working in design and advertising. In 2010 he expanded his repertoire into painting and buoyed by a chance meeting with several prominent Australian artists, Kearns was rapidly catapulted into a full-time art career. After spending much of his adult life living and travelling through the Australian outback, Jimmy is now based in Byron Bay. Inspired by his travels and lured by the freedom of shape, form and colour, Kearns’ paintings are not easily categorised with his style shifting freely between reality and abstraction.
In 2014, Kearns won the Painting Prize and People’s Choice Award for the Mungindi Art Prize. Kearns has exhibited in several regional Australian galleries and art exhibitions. His work is held in private collections in the USA, UK, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Bovine - Mixed Media on Canvas 108 x 85 cm
The Big Game - Mixed Media on Canvas 105 x 155 cm
Libby Pool
New Zealand born Australian artist and jeweller Libby Pool has lived in Byron Bay for more than 20 years. Working with native New Zealand Paua shell and inspired by the ocean, her contemporary bespoke designs use naturally sourced materials including her eco ocean-friendly thread. After working this way for more than a decade, Pool’s natural talent coupled with her intimate connection with the Paua shell culminates in her uniquely crafted pieces of stunning wearable art. Pool’s jewellery has featured in magazines including Vogue and Qantas, and more recently she was selected to feature in an upcoming international feature film. All materials in her jewellery are sustainably sourced.
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View more of Libby Pool's work here
Paua Mithral - Paua Shell and Waxed Linen Thread
Rhonda Arsmistead
Rhonda Armistead is a well-known established artist based in Lismore, NSW. Armistead’s landscapes, etchings and contemporary works incorporate a range of unique materials and showcase our regional environment in a distinctive and expressive resident style.
Each piece explores the intrinsic biodiversity and natural beauty of the Northern Rivers region.
Armistead has curated the Lismore Cafe Trail exhibitions for the past 8 years and is a member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. She was the 2012 Caldera Arts Regional Biodiversity Fellowship Recipient. Her works are held internationally in private and corporate collections, including the USA, Japan, Spain, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand and Australia.
Kooreelah is Crumbling - Oil on Canvas 100 x 70 cm
The Last Post - Oil on Canvas 100 x 70 cm