Nature’s beauty captured in three Benalla Art Gallery exhibitions

“In Claire’s work we experience the sensorial effect of rain on our landscape; its scent, the touch of falling rain,” Mr Nash said.

“She reminisces about childhood memories of engaging with nature, of the Bardi moth drawn to the family porch light on warm evenings just before the rains.

“Her experiences of searching for chrysalis shells beneath the red gums physically incorporated into a number of these works through the presence of delicate and dazzling wild silk cocoons.

“The subdued palette and intricacies in her work are borne out of her profound connection to her home.”

Light Shines, Shadow Falls

Drawn from the Benalla Art Gallery Collection, Light Shines, Shadow Falls presents a selection of landscapes by two of Australia’s finest watercolourists, Hans Heysen and Matthew James MacNally.

“The exhibition is a celebration of both artists’ mastery in rendering the Australian countryside, and the atmospheric shifts across the day as the sun rises and sets, shining its light for shadows to fall,” Mr Nash said.

Born in Germany, Heysen immigrated to Adelaide with his family in 1884.

He initially trained as a watercolourist before transitioning to oils, becoming known for his atmospheric landscapes that captured the essence of the Australian bush.

“His art often conveyed a sense of tranquillity and reverence for the natural world, inviting viewers to contemplate the serene landscapes he depicted,” Mr Nash said.

Such was Heysen’s accomplishment as a landscape painter, he was awarded the Wynne Prize nine times between 1904 and 1932.

He was awarded the OBE in 1945, and was knighted in 1959.

Born in Benalla in 1874, Matthew James MacNally was a well-known watercolourist, art teacher and critic, particularly renowned for his landscape paintings.

MacNally’s works often depicted the Australian bush and outback, capturing the rugged beauty and unique character of the Australian landscape.

“MacNally’s art frequently focused on the Australian bush, and he was held in high regard within artistic circles, noted for his ability to capture falling light,” Mr Nash said.

Embrace the Eucalypt

This exhibition, by Lesley Duxbury and Ruth Johnstone, pays homage to Australia’s native tree.

Duxbury’s artworks include large-scale digital prints of giant eucalyptus trees, part of a sustained effort to document specimens.

These demonstrate the experience of confronting the giant trees, which in this instance are lonely specimens. They’re the remnants of farming clearing, logging, and other processes which have seen them growing in isolation.

In contrast, her artist books compress multiple details of the tree in concertina form.

Ruth Johnstone explores the scars of bushfire and eucalypt survivors, commemorated by leafy garlands and in the multi-panel work, Fire Recovery, which visually documents the impacts of the bushfires that ravaged north-east Victoria in 2007 and later from as far as north-west Tasmania, Northern Ireland and Melbourne.

“The work itself is printed from eucalyptus leaves collected from these fires,“ Mr Nash said.

“Polished with powdered graphite and collaged to create a dark glistening cloud, I believe this is equally representative of the memory of bushfires past, as it is a looming cloud warning of the increasing regularity of these experiences.

“Nature’s palette and the experience of nature is the source of inspiration for these three exhibitions, which also indicate the depth and calibre of artistic talent from and within our region.”

These exhibitions are currently on display in the Bennett Gallery at the Benalla Art Gallery until July 28.