Pippita Bennet is a wonderfully clever textile and fibre artist based in the Blue Mountains in NSW. Pippita has exhibited work with us over the past couple of years as part of group exhibitions and art prizes we’ve held at The Corner Store Gallery. I was immediately drawn to Pippita’s work due to it’s uniqueness, attention to detail and quality of work.

Pippita uses vintage and plant-dyed textiles with thrifted threads to create immaculate, stitched landscapes and other scenery. The colours and patterns are stunning along with the textures created by the different fabrics and fibres used. The incredible amount of work that goes into these pieces is evident, Pippita finds the process very therapeutic and finds herself with needle in hand most of the day.

Studio Visit with Amanda Holman

Local painter Amanda Holman has been consistently exhibiting with The Corner Store Gallery for a number of years now. We first discovered Amanda through one of our many group exhibition opportunities, as we do many of our fabulous artists. From one entry comes many, and her popularity has grown exponentially during this time resulting in Amanda’s first solo exhibition Beyond 4 Walls opening this April at The Corner Store Gallery.

Amanda Holman is a truly lovely and warm person, as well as a wonderful artist in her own right. Her quiet and beautiful depictions of the Australian landscape begin with field trips and drives across this beautiful country we call home. Sometimes painted within the landscape, sometimes painted form photographs back in her home studio. Amanda’s studio is the stuff of dreams, located on the ground floor of her home, accessible via a courtyard from the street. It’s here I first played eyes upon the new body of work for Beyond 4 Walls. Take a look and find out more about Amanda’s practice.

Guest Curator Holly Goodman

ello and welcome to our last Guest Curation for 2023! Today we have collaborated with regional powerhouse Holly Goodman, Founder of the Talent Stable and Peter Bill fashion label (she’s a busy girl).

A mother of three with a passion for the land, Holly is an entrepreneur and rural and regional advocate. Born and raised on beef cattle properties, Holly knew she would continue with a country lifestyle. She wants her own children to grow up in the space that she did.

In 2021 Holly started her own clothing label Peter Bill. One for little boys after having two boys herself. This expanded into girl’s and women's pieces. With a love for detail, art and fashion, her aim is to create clothing that is unique yet comfortable. In 2023 she worked on an artist collaboration incorporating exclusive prints to linen pieces. This is something she loves seeing come to life and is interested in connecting with artists in the future. The power of art and fashion is incredible, and it's really something special.[

Guest CurationMadeline Young17 December 2023The Corner Store Galleryguest curator, holly goodman, curation, exhibitionComment

Guest Curator Emma Rogerslee

Emma is a recipe creator and food photographer. I discovered Emma’s Instagram account The Irishman’s Wife about a year ago and was instantly hooked on her beautiful photography and aesthetic.

In 2020 Emma launched The Irishman's Wife. A cooking and recipe website, that focuses on delicious seasonal comfort food inspired by international, especially European, influences, drawn from her years of living in the UK and marrying an Irishman. Whether it’s a simple Apple and Blackberry Crumble, a Roast Chicken, or a slow-cooked Irish Stew, it's all about cooking good, from scratch, and achievable food to share with others around the kitchen table.

Emma’s recipes will come in super handy, especially around Christmas time, so hop onto her website and check them out.

Guest CurationMadeline Young5 November 2023The Corner Store Galleryguest curator, curation, exhibition, collectionComment

Winner of Mini Series Art Prize Karlie Simring 2023

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the 2023 winner of our Mini Series Art Prize Karlie Simring with her textiles series titled Animate. Karlie has won a solo exhibition with us here in 2024 as first prize. The Corner Store Gallery will champion Karlie’s work and provide an established and professional platform for her to showcase and grow her practice.

art prizeMadeline Young28 October 2023mini series art prize, winner, art prize, exhibitionComment

Q and A with Monique Fedor

We first discovered Monique Fedor through our Inside This Box Group Exhibition back in 2021. Monique submitted the most beautiful still life painting of a pear on a plate and has been part of The Corner Store Gallery family ever since. Every single painting she sends our way has found a loving new home immediately, they sell out every time.

We are absolutely thrilled to present Field Notes by Monique Fedor, her newest body of work. Exploring her immediate surroundings and the poetry of every day life, Monique paints moments in time with graceful determination and a conspicuous aesthetic.

Guest Curator Lucy Moss

Our Guest Curator this Month is Lucy Moss of Mink and Me fame in Coonamble. Lucy has curated a collection true to her very distinct fun and colourful aesthetic.

Lucy is the owner of Coonamble colour haven Mink and Me. Opened in 2015 due to a desire to be surrounded by a fun, welcoming space, it has evolved to be a community space that incorporates a cafe, yoga studio, hairdresser and beautician in the small North Western NSW town. The boutique business is an eclectic mix of gifts, jewellery, furniture and homewares that are good for your home and your soul. Lucy also runs and operates an airbnb 'Peppertreee House' in a historic homestead in Coonamble as well as currently renovating an old Church into a community space. She lives on her husbands's family farm with her husband Will and sons Digby and Monty.

Guest Curator Kasturi Wren

In 2023, Kasturi launched The Artist Residency program at her home in Coolah, NSW. The residency is open to all artists who want to spend a period of 4-7 days in a rural country town where they will have access to the beautiful Coolah Tops and idyllic surrounds as well as be inspired by country home interiors. The residency shall also provide the artist an opportunity to be open to a new audience through a collaborative process of social media promotion on the Wren & Whippet instagram platform during the residency. At present, there are no residency vacancies open until April 2024. All applications are welcome to be sent via direct message on the Wren & Whippet Instagram account.

Guest Curator Fiona Schofield

“I found it hard to choose just a few pieces for this exercise, but I am always drawn to works that have interesting line, texture and colour. I particularly like earthy colours, though Mary Donnelly’s interesting pastel colours always draw my eye. I adore abstract work and have especially loved having this big work by Raphe Coombes right near my desk in the gallery for the last two weeks.” - Fiona Schofield.

Curating a Gallery Wall

Curating your own gallery wall, or even just putting together a small group of works can be challenging. I know a lot of people find it tricky to pair artworks and are unsure of the best way to arrange them, so let’s talk about some of the things to look for when creating a collection of your own.

Start with the artwork that speaks to you the most. People often go with their first instinct and they don’t always know why. Don’t worry about whether it matches the cushions on your couch. If you love it, you’ll find somewhere to hang it. From there you can look for the following qualities to “match” your favourite artwork.

Studio Visit with Emily Heath

Emily Heath is one of our favourite emerging artists here at The Corner Store Gallery and is fast becoming one of Australia’s most popular still life painters. She’s also, I might add, a hilarious person and we click very well. We first discovered Emily’s work back in 2021 when she was a finalist in our Inside This Box group exhibition. After being invited to join our stable, Emily’s paintings became hard to hold onto as they quickly started walking out the door with their happy new owners.

Emily’s work is beautiful, unique, skilled and deeply personal. Her natural talent and eye for colour and composition are apparent in each and every work. The juxtaposition of traditionally depicted household items against more modern and unusual elements is at once humorous and intriguing. This body of work is an exploration of what it means to be a working artist and a mother and wife in the domestic environment.

Studio Visit with Jo Fernandez

We are absolutely thrilled to present to you the first solo exhibition by talented local artist Jo Fernandez Mostly Cloudy. Jo has been exhibiting through The Corner Store Gallery for several years since 2019, she is a full time, self-taught artist living just outside of Orange in the beautiful village of Millthorpe. Surrounded by picturesque views of rolling green hills and the lush, Central West landscape, Jo has no shortage of inspiration and subject matter. The ever-changing and tumultuous climate and weather patterns of late have provided a magnificent skyscape for Jo to recapture on canvas in her home studio. She paints and draws meticulously on the canvas, having learnt tips and tricks along the way from attending multiple workshops and short courses.

This magnificent, dramatic body of work Mostly Cloudy is sure to impress, with the exhibition open to the public from November 23rd to December 4th. Pre-sales launch online at 8pm Tuesday November 22nd and we’d love you to join us for drinks with the artist from 6pm Friday November 25th.