Human figure on show at Noosa Regional Gallery

Painting and drawing the human figure remains one of the most complex and eloquent tasks an artist can undertake.

With her exhibition Naked Beauty Displayed, on show at Noosa Regional Gallery from May 11 to June 17, artist Glenise Clelland rises to this challenge

Ms Clelland positions the naked figure front and centre in this exhibition, as she sets out to highlight the importance of drawing to the artistic process and reveal how the first marks made in this medium can evolve into significant and accomplished works.

Working predominantly from her studio on Noosa North Shore, Ms Clelland says that she employs the live model as a means to hone her powers of observation while providing a space for the exploration of composition, colour, texture and form.

“Drawing from a live model - life drawing - has been the backbone of all my artistic endeavours since my early days studying fashion design at the Brisbane College of Art,” says Ms Clelland.

“For me, drawing trains the mind and eyes to process what is seen and translate it, with feeling, on to two and three dimensional surfaces.”

Gallery Director, Michael Brennan believes that the power in this exhibition is the way it provides a glimpse into process.

“This exhibition allows us, as an audience, to step into the artist’s shoes and consider how a collection of drawings might pave the way for an ambitious painting of significant scale,” he says.

“For me, there is something special in the drawings themselves. Paintings often demand all the attention. Their colour and texture take up space. Drawings, however, ask for closer and quieter inspection. There is often subtlety in the marks that charcoal or pencil can make that reward intimate inspection.

“There is a tension in Glenise’s drawn line that make her figures seem sculpted and carved out of space. Her command of drawing is obviously the result of many years’ experience and make her works paradoxically appear difficult and effortless all at once.”

Naked Beauty Displayed opens at Noosa Regional Gallery, 6pm, Friday, May 11.

The exhibition runs until June 17, 2018.

Entry to the Gallery is free.

For details about upcoming workshops and artist talks, visit the Gallery's website.

9 May 2018