nostalgia - michaelreidnorthernbeaches.com.au

K A T E V E L L A Nostalgia

When looking at Kate Vella’s ‘Nostalgia’ collection, one will note that the traditional rules of a fixed perspective that acts to herd our eyes along a scene are eschewed. To take in the full sweep of Kate’s work, the viewer must allow one’s eye to behave as though it were living and rolling inside the subject, tip-toeing around convention, amongst the vases and bottles. In the largest of her square pieces, these things are scattered at nearly every point; propped up on some undefined surface which looks more like a colour-field painting. All the common signs of roominess - light, shadow and background - are skewed - and the viewer, robbed of an obvious way in - must “cartwheel” delightfully over the canvas.

Born in Malta, Kate Vella now lives and works in Robertson NSW, a small country village in the state’s Southern Highlands. Aside from a handful of short courses in acrylic, oils and other mixed media, Vella is mostly self taught. This might surprise an audience that, no doubt, notices her sure sense of balance, proportion and design - but this is a credit to years spent privately at the home easel. Where formal training is patchy, the kitchen is her long term classroom (the curriculum is her counter top). It’s this space that enables her to slowly break down challenges and freely sample from old movements; a complicated egg beater or the tiny cubism in her cut fruits, for instance.

Vella’s artistic persuasions did not, however, arrive out of nowhere. She remembers sketching and painting in her childhood farmhouse, facing one way to the Mediterranean and another toward the Maltese mainland. Her handling of light in Nostalgia (glaring and direct) might seem distinctly Antipodean, but, in fact, it’s surely drawn from the bleaching sun of this early life, beating down on the archipelago. The acrylic greens, pale yellows, pinks, blues, white and black that are loosely mannered in the paintings are equally - we might think - autobiographical.

Vella was recently profiled in Country Style magazine for their annual ‘Arts Issue’ which was published in tandem with the ‘The Australian Country Table’ at Michael Reid Murrurundi (where her works were quick to sell). Shortly before that, she was selected as a finalist in the prestigious 2020 Ravenswood Australia Women’s Art Prize and in the same year, she made her debut with Studio Direct as part of ‘Florals’.

Her work is held in private collections across Australia and in Canada and the United States.

Fern, Tea and Fruit, 2021Acrylic on linen

78 x 78 cmRaw timber shadow box frame

$1,800

Pink Windflowers and Fruit, 2021Acrylic on canvas


$1,400

Oysters, Pears and Figs, 2021Acrylic on linen


$1,400

Breakfast Scene with Black and White Gingham, 2021

Acrylic on canvas 53 x 53 cm

Raw timber shadow box frame$1,175

Breakfast Scene with Lilac Blooms, 2021Acrylic on canvas 53 x 53 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$1,175

Breakfast Scene with Smeg Toaster and Orchids 2021Acrylic on canvas 48 x 48 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$990

Magenta Peonies, 2021Acrylic on canvas


$990

Camellia, Teapot and Fruit, 2021Acrylic on canvas

43 x43 cmRaw timber shadow box frame

$890

Rockmelon, Correa and Stories, 2021Acrylic on canvas 43 x43 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$890

Spring Blossoms and Apples, 2021Acrylic on canvas 43 x43 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$890

Breakfast Scene with Rockmelon and Figs, 2021Acrylic on canvas48 x 38 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$890

Daphne and Marmalade, 2021Acrylic on canvas


$750

Butter, Sugar, Eggs, 2021Acrylic on canvas


$750

Pink Rose, Apples and Secateurs, 2021Acrylic on canvas


$750

Oysters and Pink Champagne, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 23 x 23 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$475

Teapot and Fruit, 2021Acrylic on canvas 28 x 23 cm Raw timber shadow box frame$550

Pear and Egg, 2021Acrylic on canvas 17.5 x 17.5 cmRaw timber shadow box frame$400

Pawpaw and Egg, 2021 Acrylic on canvas 23 x 23 cm Raw timber shadow box frame$475

Kate is an emerging artist based in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Largely self taught,

Kate has completed part time courses in Acrylics, Oils and other Mixed Media. Kate now predominantly

works with acrylics and paints the things she knows most intimately, capturing the beauty of homegrown

flowers and the bucolic landscape that surrounds her. In 2018 Kate began showing her work in Group

Exhibitions. In 2019 Kate had her first solo show Antidote in Sydney which swiftly sold out, followed by

a very successful second show Shadow And Life in November 2019. Kate ‘s work was selected in the

Pirtek Still Life Prize Bowral 2019 and was awarded Commended in Belle Property Prize Bowral 2019.

Kate is a finalist in Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize 2020.

“In my painting practice I explore with tone , form, light and shadow. My work is spontaneous and

intuitive , with an emphasis in reimagining the still life genre. I am constantly inspired by florals and

domestic curious objects found in the home. Depicting these interesting objects and vessels mostly

found on the kitchen table , these evoke memories of gatherings with family and friends celebrating

and sharing many meals together. My process involves searching antique stores , or looking for the

right objects in my home, then arranging them with the correct light and surface, imbuing these

homely things and flowers with a new life and identity. I work with a simplified style drawing the

attention on the subject matter and the exaggerated shadows, leaving the negative space pared

back , and finding an equilibrium and harmony in each story telling piece”.

Michael Reid Northern Beaches showcases a selection of emerging Australian artists. The program is curated and thoughtfully presented by the highly creative Amber Creswell Bell.

Amber selects all artworks on offer in Michael Reid Northern Beaches. Her curatorial eye, and reputation for excellence as-sures both artists and collectors that they are in the best of hands, dealing through Michael Reid, one of the most respected galleries in the Australian art market.

Michael Reid Northern BeachesAmber Creswell Bell+61 0414 747 761

northernbeaches@michaelreid.com.aumichaelreidnorthernbeaches.com.au

nostalgia - michaelreidnorthernbeaches.com.au

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