Eastern Suburbs Art Group

Studio 551 is a small but elongated gallery, easy to walk through even when full. The space benefits from two large street-facing display windows, one on each side of the entrance, which bring in strong natural light and make the gallery visible from the street. Despite working in very different mediums, the artists ( Fiona Roderick, Maggie Stein, Marina Civiero, Paola Talbert, Helen Ashley) formed a surprisingly harmonious group exhibition. A key curatorial factor was that each artist had a dedicated table, creating personal “micro-spaces” within the room. The exhibition attracted a lively crowd. Conversations flowed easily; many attendees mentioned they enjoy these events for the pleasant social experience and the opportunity to connect with beautiful work while sharing a drink or fruit.

Sausage Gallery is almost certainly one of the smallest gallery spaces in Australia—essentially a single glass-fronted display window functioning as an installation space. Its extremely reduced scale forces the visitor to engage with the work in an unusually direct and intimate way. Yellow Journalism by Jenny Brown is a politically charged installation addressing misinformation, propaganda, and the historical roots of media distortion—particularly in relation to wartime narratives. The title references the term yellow journalism, originally used to describe sensationalist reporting associated with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. According to Brown’s accompanying text, excerpts from a film biography of Hearst and imagery linked to political cartoonists are interwoven with contemporary references.  Elizabeth went o the show in her car and took the photos. From a distance the iconography of the show nis intriguing due to the presence of the Bayweuz Tapestry, a sort of embro...

Elizabeth went along to this show in October at a time  when the gallery was already completely full . From the outside you could sense a lively , positive energy . The space , though small , felt warm and inviting , with good lighting and an atmosphere that encouraged people to stay. The exhibition featured Carol Muller and Fiona Ferguson , two artists with distinct visual languages that complemented each other beautifully. Muller is passionate about architecture , presented images capturing fragments of different cities - she mentioned Lisbon , Hong Kong and a few others I couldn't fully catch because of the noise . Ferguson on the other hand , works with image layering and digital    manipulation . She uses photographs of details many taken by Carol herself , as she told me to build complex compositions full of depth and texture. The warm , festive mood and intimacy of the venue embodied the idea of " living art , approachable and unpretentious . ..

I wasn't there unfortunatley I had too much occupying my mind but some friends went along and took photos on my behalf, so thanks espcially to Mark for his shutterwork. Some of the textual apparatus for Fergus Berney-Gibson's photographic work is a bit opaque but you sort of expect no tto be able to understand public gallery labels these days. I find it a bit hard but other people might have a different opinion. I liked this artist's use of photos from personal archives, images from his family past. Above just a shot of people in one of the staircases in the odd shaped buildings that make up the school. I liked the camera angle. The following two shots show works I cannot find attrabutive material for apologies, I just liked them. Funny how we have here two black and white images that caught my attention. Below- another great camera angle from Mark, very inventive use of the window as a frame. Below - works by Aislinn Connolly, lovely soft focus and minimal colour rage. But...

 The recurring themes were evident: the female figure and flowers dominated the show, rendered in a way that balanced sensuality with delicacy. Some pieces clearly belonged to the same collection, while others — though stylistically related — seemed drawn from earlier series. Thommen’s visual language blends the beauty of the feminine silhouette with the organic richness of floral forms, creating compositions that feel both intimate and decorative. His palette and framing choices enhanced the emotional tone — warm, expressive, and accessible.

Elizabeth from Esag went along to this show and she felt that the space was too stuffy and the works not ordered correctly. When she spoke with James they discussed 'No. 4, Tiger Prawns, Cottesloe, Perth 2025' and explained that it represented family gatherings at Christmas, a cultural custom where his family eats prawns every year. This was his way of reflecting moments that hold emotional and personal meaning, Elizabeth said. She stayed for around 50 minutes.  The above image is one James told me about. It is a shot showing a deserted urban space, actually in Rozelle before Westconnex. I had mentioned to him that it reminded me of a scene in a movie.

Last month I had a chance to go to Concord to see a friend's works in this show. The friend is a member and I joined too because I am an artist as well. The quality of the work is high, I bought a watercolour by Oliver Addis showing Lake Burley Griffin. Other members of the society were exhibiting their works as well including Chris Smith who had paintings and tea towels on display in one room (see below). We had works and objects by Angela Iliadis (see below). Paintings and tea towels by Diana Borinski (see below). These works are nicely packaged too suitable for presents. Not excess packaging but what is needed, just right. There were also works by Lois Janik, including cyanotypes (see below). It's funny because today I applied to join a cyanotype group on Facebook. Serendipity you see! More (below) by Lois Janik including polymer clay earrings.