Iconoclasts

 6 – 21 February 2014

Yvette Coppersmith
Chelsea Lehmann
Paul Williams
Heidi Yardley

The exhibition Iconoclasts takes the etymology of the word ‘Iconoclast’ literally as a ‘breaker of images’. Artists explore this concept individually and collaboratively with the directive to ‘break’ each other’s images, resulting in paintings that are layered, excavated and ‘Frankensteined’ in the style of exquisite corpse.

 This project is supported by Arts NSW’s NSW Artists’ Grant Scheme, a devolved funding program administered by the National Association of the Visual Arts on behalf of the NSW Government.

Image Above: Chelsea Lehmann, Berlin, 2013-14. Oil and resin on linen, 82 x 75.5cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

 Artist Profiles

 Yvette Coppersmith

 Arrangement with Grey and Orange, 2014. Oil on linen, 61 x 46cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
$2500.00

Arrangement with Grey and Yellow, 2014. Oil on linen, 61 x 46cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

 Pranks of Destiny (Justin & Troy), 2014. Oil on linen, 51 x 41cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Yvette Coppersmith holds a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) from the Victorian College of the Arts (2001). Coppersmith has exhibited in Melbourne and Sydney at Utopian Slumps, Gallery 9, Chalk Horse, Gallery Ecosse, Rubicon ARI, Blindside ARI and Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts. She was the winner of the inaugural Metro 5 Art Prize in 2003 and has been a finalist in the Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize, Arthur Guy Painting Prize, Fletcher Jones Art Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Award, Archibald Prize and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. Coppersmith’s works are held in the collections of Artbank, Trinity College, The University of Melbourne, Supreme Court of Victoria, Benalla Art Gallery, Melbourne High School and the Jewish Museum of Australia.

 Chelsea Lehmann

Berlin, 2013-14. Oil and resin on linen, 82 x 75.5cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Chelsea Lehmann is an artist working primarily in painting and drawing using sources such as art historical painting and contemporary images of the figure combined in non-illusionistic pictorial spaces. Her current work explores the aesthetic potential of scientific imaging techniques such as x-ray and Infrared photography. Lehmann was listed as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists (Australian Art Collector magazine, 2008) and has been awarded several grants, residences and awards including the Ruth Tuck Scholarship (SA), project grants from Arts SA and the Helpmann Academy and recently the Australian Post Graduate Award. Chelsea Lehmann is currently a PhD candidate at UNSW Art & Design.

 Paul Williams

Paul Williams is a Sydney-based artist working across a range of media. The process of making is central to Williams’ practice, which playfully links memory, time, materiality and gesture through the accumulation of marks and processes of layering, erasure, destruction and renewal. By blurring the lines between painting, drawing, sculpture, form and function, Williams’ practice reveals the conundrums of the artist in the studio and reflects how we build and shape the physical properties of things.

Heidi Yardley

Meeting the Shadow (detail), 2014. Charcoal and gesso on paper, 48 x 38cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Fallow (detail), 2014. Charcoal and gesso on paper, 48 x 38cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Melbourne-based artist Heidi Yardley explores uncanny worlds of the familiar and strange in her depictions of fractured figures, scenes and still lives. In her current work she appropriates found images, creating collages that become the source material for her detailed drawings and paintings. Yardley was listed as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists (Australian Art Collector magazine, 2011) and has been a finalist in a number of prestigious awards including The Archibald Prize (2013, 2014), The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2009, 2011, 2013) and the UQ Museum Self-Portrait Prize(2009). She has held two artist residencies in New York funded by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust (2011, 2014) and her work has been acquired extensively in Australia and internationally. Yardley is represented by Arthouse Gallery in Sydney and Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane.

 Reviews

Review by Glenn Locklee SIXTOEIGHT