AN ART BLAST FROM THE PAST

 

Click on photos to enlarge!

 

I just had such a wonderful and bit nostalgic time with artist Ron Nyisztor, who is exhibiting at the great PS Art Space in Fremantle’s Pakenham Street.

Ron’s abstract paintings show BC-AC Body Clock Atomic Clock will be on show till June 21, so go and have a look and buy some works!

Ron and I were reminiscing about the good old times when my then partner Brigitte Braun had the ARTPLACE gallery in Claremont and where so many now well-known WA artists, like Ron Nyisztor, had their first exhibition and were represented by Artplace in Sydney and Melbourne and some even had artist in resident times in Nuremberg, Germany.

There were very many young artist who got their first chance at Artplace and among them were Joana Lamb, Indra Geidans, John Cullinane, Julie Dowling, John Paul, Olga Cironis, Garry Anderson, Michael Doherty, Kati Thamo and many more.

Ron Nyisztor now also has his own gallery in Melville on Canning Highway, so go and check it out.

Oh, those good old times, hey Ron!

Roel Loopers

 

JOHN CULLINANE’S GREAT ART AT TURNERS

Artist John Cullinane has a very special place in my history. Many years ago my then partner Brigitte called me one Sunday and asked me to come to Beaufort Street to a small studio in a tower above a dentists. She had discovered this amazing painter and wanted to buy one of his works. We did. A few years after that Brigitte opened an art gallery in a vacant shop in the Bayview Shopping Centre in Claremont. Management was happy for her to have it for free, as a gallery looked better than an empty shop during the Christmas trade. John Cullinane was one of the many artists she showed.

The gallery was such a crowd puller that the centre management asked her to remain open after Christmas and the first solo exhibition of Artplace was held. It was John Cullinane’s work and a sell out show. Artplace became an institution, opening a huge three level space in the Old Theatre Lane next to the shopping centre and later in a purpose built gallery in Northbridge and Cullinane was always part of it.

Over the years John has had many sell out shows at Artplace and also in Melbourne and Germany, and from a struggling artist he became a successful one who bought his first car. It was very special to see this reserved and highly intelligent artists doing so well.

Artplace moved to Melbourne so this Friday John will exhibit at TURNER GALLERIES in Northbridge for the first time. They are at 470 William Street near Bulwer Street. The exhibition will run from October 26 to November 24 and is well worth a trip to Perth for.

Roel Loopers

Painting by John Cullinane

CREATIVE THINKING FOR VACANT RETAIL SHOPS

Interesting to read an article by Fremantle councilor Tim Grey-Smith in the Fremantle Gazette today, that copies the sentiments we discussed at the last meeting of the Fremantle Society about making empty retail space available to artists. One only has to go for a stroll through the centre of Fremantle to see the opportunities.

Surely it would be better to have vibrant art on display, and artists working in the now vacant shops, than looking at empty dark windows. Empty shops are of no benefit to anyone, especially not to adjoining businesses.

Hiring exhibition space is often too expensive for artists, and commercial galleries can only support a small number of artists, as they do a maximum of 12 shows a year.

My ex partner Brigitte Braun started her very successful gallery Artplace in an empty shop in the Bayview Shopping Centre in Claremont. Centre management there could see the benefit of given her the space for free for over a year, as long as she paid for the outgoings. Later she bought a space in the Old Theatre Lane next to the shopping centre and opened a superb gallery there, to the delight of all traders in the centre. She has since moved to Melbourne and now has the Brigitte Braun Gallery there.

Come on Fremantle. We can do it!