Together with co-curator Will Bennett we have delved into the animal archives to present an exhibition of Old Friends.
Artists include Locust Jones, Patricia Bellan-Gillen, John Pusateri and Joseph Scheer
Exhibition Dates Friday 2 February – Saturday 9 March
About the Artists
Born in Christchurch and now living in Australia, Locust Jones works have been primarily influenced by his travels and close attention and concern to current world political issues. Through his works on paper, Jones challenges and delves into issues of contemporary politics. In 2010 Locust completed a Masters of Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts (Sydney University) where earlier in 1993 he completed an undergraduate degree in Print Media. Since graduating Jones has held over 25 solo exhibitions within Australia and internationally. He has participated in artists residencies in Lebanon, Beirut and New York. He is the winner of the Hazelhurst works on paper award in 2009 and the Dominik Mersch Gallery Award 2010. He has works held in numerous public and private collections throughout New Zealand and Australia. Jones has been awarded the Blake Prize Finalist (2020), Dobell Drawing Prize Finalist (2019), Wynne Prize Exhibition Finalist, Art Gallery of NSW (2016), Australia Council for the Arts New Work Grant (2014), 18th Street Art Centre Residency, Santa Monica CA (2014), and the National Contemporary Art Award Winner, New Zealand (2010).
Patricia Bellan-Gillen lives and works in rural Western Pennsylvania. She recently retired from Carnegie Mellon University after 29 years as a professor in the School of Art where she held the Dorothy L. Stubnitz Endowed Chair in Art. The university honoured her with the Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching in 2000. Bellan-Gillen’s paintings, prints and drawings have been the focus of over 50 solo exhibitions including venues in Washington DC, Nashville, TN, Las Cruces, NM, Albany, NY, Bloomington, IL Portland, OR, Grand Rapids, MI, Wellington, NZ and Wimbledon/London, UK. Her work has been included in numerous group shows in museums, commercial galleries, university galleries, and alternative spaces. Venues have included: Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, Chelsea Museum of Art, New York, NY, The Art Museum at FIU, Miami, FL, Frans Masreel Centrum, Belgium, University Art Museum, Laramie, WY, Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, WA and the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan.
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) from Syracuse University in 2001, John Pusateri’s artistic journey led him from an internship at Artist Image Resource (AIR) to pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (Hons) at the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating in 2006. Following a distinguished teaching career at Unitec Institute of Technology, where he held a position in the School of Architecture, John has recently retired from teaching. He has relocated APS Editions, the studio he founded in 2008, to Ruakākā, New Zealand, bringing his master printmaking expertise to a new setting. His work, held in numerous public and private collections, reflects over two decades of studio experience, collaborating with prominent artists locally and internationally.
Joseph Scheer’s digital photographs and works on paper express the beauty of nature and the splendour of science. Using a microscope camera, the artist captures butterflies, moths, and other winged insects in exquisite detail.
Scheer is the leading American exponent in the development of digitally derived applications for a fine-art printmaking context. A Fulbright Scholar and co-director/founder of the Institute for Electronic Arts in Alfred University’s School of Art and Design, he has served as vice president of the International Academic Printmaking Alliance based in Beijing, China. He has held more than 120 exhibitions worldwide, and his works are held in more than 200 public and private collections. Featured in National Geographic, the New York Times, ArtNews, ArtForum, Science, Nature, Forbes, American Photo, DERSPIEGEL, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.
