Surfacing

Sue Lovegrove’s paintings reflect her close relationship to the natural environment, in particular the wild and remote landscapes of Tasmania. She is well known for her serene and delicate renderings of shimmering light, air, space and the way invisible phenomena of the wind and weather imprints on the landscape. Her highly detailed and exquisitely fine brushwork captures subtle shifts and movement of the wind as it weaves patterns across the surfaces of wetlands, rivers or the extreme forces of the weather in the Southern Ocean.

sHer most recent exhibition for Bett Gallery in Tasmania is comprised of two series of miniature watercolour and gouache paintings on paper. The Voice of Water collection captures the lilt and fleeting nature of life in ephemeral freshwater wetlands of Tasmania’s East Coast. The paintings score rhythms and patterns of sound as frogs call through rustling reeds. The intensity of the miniature draws us in to see the stunningly rich, delicate and complex weave of reeds and shimmering light on water. This series has its origins in the artist’s recent collaborative publication of the same name, with Tasmanian poet, Adrienne Eberhard.

The second collection of miniatures, titled Interiors, seeks out the enigmatic darkness of solitude. Reflection turns to introspection as we follow Sue along the trickling, tannin-inked rivulets of lesser known paths. Sue describes them “as a poetic contemplation of edges and threshold spaces where water and land or water and air meet.”

In this exhibition, Surfacing, Sue combines her knowledge of historical techniques in both European watercolour traditions and Persian miniature painting to interpret the Tasmanian landscape within a contemporary context. Sue has undertaken numerous residencies in remote locations including Tasman Island, Maatsuyker Island and as an Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellow, she has spent time in Antarctica and Macquarie Island. Sue has exhibited extensively over 30 years across Australia and in the UK and her work is held in numerous private and public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Parliament House, Macquarie Bank, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and University of Canberra