Beno French with her ‘Our Gallery’ chosen work Landscape Painting by Caroline March Williams, 1987. Photo: Stephen Winkler.
While Benalla Art Gallery is closed for redevelopment, while celebrating its 50th birthday, the Ensign has been sharing the gallery foundation’s ‘Our Gallery’ project with the community.
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The project involves local people choosing their favourite art work from the gallery collection and explaining what it means to them.
This week we feature works selected by local nurse Beno French, local boxer Christopher Catalaõ and Chesney Vale-based mechanic David Soyer.
Beno French
Chosen artwork: Landscape Painting by Caroline March Williams, 1987.
Beno is a nurse at Benalla Health. She has a long connection to the Benalla Art Gallery, having visited many times with her painter grandmother, Maureen French, and her father, Peter, who was involved in building the gallery 50 years ago.
She appreciates the gallery showcasing talented artists and hopes her children will appreciate it too.
“I admire all the different colours of this landscape painting,” she said.
“It draws me back to the Kimberley and Flinders Ranges landscapes which I have visited.
“It is a very structured piece and I love the light coming through the hills.”
Caroline Marsh Williams is an Australian artist known for her expressive paintings that capture the landscapes and light of regional Victoria.
Working across painting and printmaking, she often explores themes of nature, memory and place.
Her works have been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows, reflecting a deep connection to her local environment and community.
Landscape Painting was gifted to Benalla Art Gallery by Andrew and Richard Rogers in 2003.
Christopher Catalaõ
Christopher Catalaõ with his ‘Our Gallery’ chosen work, Digging in the Rain, by Euan Macleod, 2008. Photo: Stephen Winkler.
Chosen artwork: Digging in the Rain by Euan Macleod, 2008.
Christopher is an active member of the boxing gym in Benalla and an active tree planter.
He believes art is an important means of expression.
Christopher is a regular visitor to the gallery and is a great fan of the Benalla Street Art Festival.
“My chosen work resonated with me because I’ve recently been dealing with capeweed on the farm where I live,” he said.
Euan Macleod was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1956 and moved to Sydney, in 1981, where he lives and works.
He is best known for his expressive landscapes featuring real and imagined people.
Digging in the Rain was donated to Benalla Art Gallery through the Australian Government’s cultural gifts program, by Dr Douglas Kagi in 2020.
David Soyer
David Soyer with his ‘Our Gallery’ chosen artwork, Sheep in Shadows, by Walter Withers 1910. Photo: Stephen Winkler.
Chosen artwork: Sheep in Shadows by Walter Withers, 1910.
David is a self-employed motor mechanic who lives with his young family at Chesney Vale.
He has been a local for most of his life and an active member of the CFA for 28 years.
David was a new visitor to the gallery and applauds the city for providing places that different people enjoy.
“I chose this painting because of the rural outlook and the outdoors, which remind me of our area,” he said.
“I like that it looks realistic rather than abstract.”
Walter Withers (1854-1914) was an English-born, Australian landscape painter and key member of the Heidelberg School.
He is known for tranquil, rural scenes. He captured light and atmosphere with poetic sensitivity, reflecting Australia’s developing national artistic identity at the time.
Sheep in Shadows was gifted to Benalla Art Gallery by Wooleen Pty Ltd in 1980.
