promotes an understanding of the world with a local, national and international perspective.
Current Exhibitions
First Fridays
During 2010 while the Gallery is undergoing redevelopment, exhibitions will be held outside the Gallery walls. From February 2010 Riddoch Art Gallery has hosted exhibitions called First Fridays at Molten Chocolate Cafe. These small-scale exhibitions focus on local artists.
Molten Chocolate Cafe is located at 39 Commercial Street West, Mount Gambier.
Open: Mon, Tues, Wed, Friday 8am-4:30pm
Thursday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-2pm, Sunday closed
'Exposed - What happens after hours'
Staff from Country Arts SA, Riddoch Art Gallery & Tafe
Friday 2 July - Saturday 31 July 2010
They are often unseen and unheard............. They are the staff that work extremely hard behind the scenes to deliver first class visual arts to our region. Now it is their turn to be in the exhibition spotlight.
Participating staff and artists include Lucia Pichler, Director, Riddoch Art Gallery: Carly Jakutavicius, Community Engagement Officer, Riddoch Art Gallery: Chris Pudney, Administration Officer, Riddoch Art Gallery: Jo Fife, Gallery Assistant, Riddoch Art Gallery: Bronwyn Mitchell, Gallery Assistant, Riddoch Art Gallery: Dagny Strand, Lower South East Arts Officer, Country Arts SA: Deb Rogers, Lecturer, Visual Arts and Craft, Tafe: Anne Carpenter, Lecturer, Visual Arts and Craft, Tafe.
Come and see the 'Exposed' during the month of July at Molten Chocolate Cafe.
Image: Dagny STRAND, The Swimmer Wakes?, 2010
Past Exhibitions
JoJo Spook - Iron Maidens
Friday 4 June - Saturday 26 June 2010
JoJo has always enjoyed using a variety of mediums and in particular welded metal and found objects. JoJo’s favourite work is based on the painful etiquette of fashion: shoes, corsets and clinched waists.
The metal in her works are heated and hand formed then welded or riveted. The harsh materials then contorted and transformed into a sensuous lush fashion piece. Resembling cage like appearances the work has elements of the corset, transforming ones shape and the desire to be beautiful at whatever the cost, together with the urge to buy fashion pieces for all occasions. Consumerism has brainwashed many with flashy advertising and the desire to spend money. We as consumers are lured into a false sense of security when we chase the item of purchase and believe that these items will not only make a change but transform our lives for the better. The viewer, through her works can see the link between feminism, domesticity and the changes in society today.
Image: JoJo SPOOK, Winged Angel & Church, 2010
Friday 7 May - Saturday 29 May 2010
Everyday is comprised of things that we have to do, and in amongst our daily tasks can be moments of joy, excitement and relaxation, the challenge is to embrace those moments and...just do.
Susie has always loved the smaller things in life like, collecting eggs, walking in the rain, watching raindrops fall onto a puddle or riding a bike.
Some of Susie’s subject matter has captured people escaping daily routines and is a comment on human nature. Her appreciation of the simple things in life has resulted in the emergence of a new body of work, depicting a very ’human’ and ‘undemanding’ side to our existence.
Susie usually works on several pieces of work concurrently. The process of creating the pieces frees her imagination and provides many opportunities for happy accident and grace to influence the finished product.
Susie’s paintings employ layers of colours and subtly collaged printed matter. Environmental backgrounds and simplistic line work have become a prominent feature of her work. The images provide clues to content and interpretation.
Just do is part of Riddoch Art Gallery’s Beyond The Gallery Doors program of 2010. It is a program which is seeing normal exhibition programming outside of the Gallery walls due to the redevelopment of the main corner.
Image: Susie CLARKE, Take That Holiday, 2010
Sandy Heenan & Maggie Baguley
Discovering the Extraordinary
Thursday 1 April
- Saturday 1 May 2010
Through textile and mixed media the artists describe that they have “tried to express the integrity of nature, the hidden beauty of detail. We stopped, looked and lingered to discover the mystery kept out of sight, viewing the ordinary with fresh eyes to discover the extraordinary”.
Image: Sandy HEENAN
The Friendly ShowCelebrating 25 years of the Friends of Riddoch Art Gallery Saturday 26 September - Sunday 25 October 2009
In celebration of 25 years of the Friends of Riddoch Art Gallery a selection of artwork from the Riddoch collection will be on view. Approximately 30 works have been acquired through funds raised by the Friends which we are pleased to present.
Catastrophe, Courage
and CommitmentThe Story of the Wreck of the Admella 6th August 1859
7th August to 20th September
IIt was August 5th 1859, The SS Admella a luxury steamer set sail from Port Adelaide to Melbourne. At the time, the ship was praised as one of the safest and most luxurious ships ever built. However, the storm on the next day was ferocious, and forced the Admella onto Carpenter Rocks. The lodge ship split into 3 parts. 100 people were stranded on the rocks and had to wait 8 days before the could be rescued. This exhibition relives this historical event. See a model of the SS Admella, view a collection of artifacts that survived the wreck, read about our local ancestors, Mr. Crouch, Mr. Fidler, and Dr. Wehl and their attempts to rescue the stranded passengers, and read of the stories of other heroic rescuers.
Iris
FrameLand of Fantasy
1st September to 20th September 2009
Iris Frame collection is a recent acquisition for the Riddoch Collection.
Mrs.
Iris Frame (1915-2003) was born in the Murray River and lived her last
years in Tarpeena. Over her lifetime she would have painted
thousands of paintings. Unfortunately, many paintings were
lost,
so the series of works that the Riddoch obtained are from her last
period of life. From the 1950's onwards she created
mythological creatures that inhabitated the southeast landscape of
South Australia. Frame incorporated lyrical poems into her
paintings. One painting, Sharra Sharra Wira Lees she refers
to
them as rascals and they are responsible in her mythological
landscape for turning the
- "...The more you look at her work, the more you see. Naturally, the work speaks for itself visually, and critics no doubt will make their own judgement in good time."
- Rimas Riauba, artist/writer
- For further information on Iris Frame and her work listen to Lucia Pichler, Director, Riddoch Art Gallery on ABC Radio. Click Jewel: Iris Frame