Former federal member for the Riverina turned sculptor Noel Hicks has returned to Canberra with his first exhibition of indoor/outdoor stone sculpture.

Together with two Griffith oil painters he admires, Karen Bellincanta and Lorraine Blackwell, the show “Riverina Breeze” kicks off the 2006 season at Mawson Gallery.

Mawson Gallery owner and artist Monika Leone says “Riverina Breeze”, to be opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party the Hon. Mark Vaile, proves that  “the capital cities have no monopoly on creative excellence.”

Noel served as the member for Riverina from 1980 to 1998 and continues to serve the community as an honorary member of many local committees.

“Following my retirement from parliament, my wife Annie and I established a garden around our new home in Griffith. Having a great admiration for sculptural forms within a garden, whether they be plants or other objects of interest and beauty, I decided that our garden required some pieces of sculpture,” he said.

“Wanting the items to be original I decided to create my own works and subsequently attended the Tom Bass School of sculpture in Erskinville.”

Since then, Noel has also studied with Griffith artist, Jeff Wright, attended a drawing course at summer school at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, under Jocelyn Maughan and sculpting weekends with Conrad Clarke. He regularly attends life drawing classes.

In 2003 he won the sculpting prize at the annual Yanco Agricultural High School art competition. 

Noel was born in Adelaide and experienced what he describes as  a “less than normal childhood” which saw him educated at Largs Bay Orphanage and Boystown in South Australia. He went on to work as a plumber and draughtsman and was Mayor of Broken Hill before being elected to represent the Riverina in federal parliament.

“Tom Bass imbued in me a great love of sculpture and parallel to this I have developed a passion for stone and stoneworks.  My work therefore is mostly in stone and because I am interested in basic shapes it could be referred to as being primitive in nature,” he said.

“The closest stone to the Riverina suitable for carving is sandstone which still has to be carried a great distance and which, while not the hardest of stones, still requires real effort to shape.

“Most of my work is done without the use of electrical or pneumatic machines, not because I have an aversion to modern methods but only because I do not wish to disturb the neighbourhood.  I must admit however, that there is something fundamental about direct contact with the stone and the action of carving by hand provides a natural rhythm.

“It is my hope that the love of form imparted by Tom Bass is evident in my work and that in pleasing my own sensibilities, I in turn please others,” Noel said.

Karen Bellincanta – driven to the Australian landscape
Karen Bellincanta paints mainly in oils and pastels and her love of the outdoors drives her to paint the Australian landscape.  This is her first exhibition.

Karen was born and bred in the Riverina and is a second generation Australian of an Italian migrant family who traveled to the Riverina to seek a new life after the 2nd World War.

She started art classes while working as a chartered accountant in Sydney, attending drawing classes at the Julian Ashton Art School and Chatswood Evening College.

On her return to the Riverina, Karen began oil painting under the tuition of artist Jeffrey Wright and also attended weekend workshops and Charles Sturt University Summer School.

“With Jeffrey Wright’s teachings and the support of a close knit group of fellow artists, I was able to pursue my love of art and experience the beauty of working with oils,” she said.

“I enjoy landscape painting mostly because of the opportunity to work outdoors.  Armed with a packed lunch, sunscreen and insect repellent, it is certainly a challenge to tackle a painting amongst the elements of heat, cold and wind.”

Lorraine Blackwell – the beauty of life’s simplicities
Also a student of  Jeffrey Wright, Lorraine’s works aim to portray the beauty of the simple things that surround us in the “every day” - if only we pause to take a closer look. 

“I find inspiration comes from the joy of observing the colours and shapes of natural objects whether lurking in the fruit and vegetable department or discovered roadside on my early morning walks,” she said.

“A solitary rural childhood gave me a strong connection to the environment and plenty of time for introspection.  As a young child I spent many hours roaming our farm and Mirool Creek wilderness imagining roots growing from my feet and sinking into the land with each step.”

Lorraine has studied at the National Art School in Sydney and at Julian Ashton’s learning life drawing, oil painting, etching and sculpture.

“Form and colour are my two competing passions and so still life and life drawing are ideal vehicles for this expression.  They also fit my painting hours of 7.00pm till midnight!

“I have an innate desire for simplicity of composition and design, this probably stemming from connections with the semi-desert Riverina landscape with its vast flat expanses and big skies.  Even with irrigation the plantings are regimented with repetitious rows of fruit trees or vines.

“I am also experimenting with a more abstract interpretation of form using lines in ink and mixed media to describe shapes.  This combines my love of form and drawing skills, while allowing a more spontaneous and impulsive expression.

The exhibition begins at MAWSON GALLERY, 63 Wilkins Street, Mawson on 7 February and runs until 12 March.  It will be opened by the Leader of the National Party, Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Mark Vaile, MP.  Opening hours are 10.30am – 5.30pm Wednesday to Sunday. Or by appointment anytime.  Phone 6161 2177,  mobile 0438 473 902.

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High resolution photographs are available at www.mawsongallery.com/hi-res.html