Untitled, Tonya Graham
Tonya Graham and Nina Machielse Hunt have collaborated on many art ventures including establishing and co-curating a commercial gallery in Millthorpe, NSW. They have exhibited together in Orange and Sydney and have been active members of the Central West of NSW art scene for the past 10 years.
Both artists have taught Visual Arts in secondary schools, TAFE and in correctional facilities. They have also been influential in the promotion of emerging and established artists in the central west of NSW region and have initiated many events including large group exhibitions for International Women’s Day and Wine and Food week events in Orange, NSW.
Graham and Machielse Hunt have been invited to talk at art openings and public forums and have been active members of various Artist Run Initiatives and public events in the Central West, Sydney, Broken Hill and other regional centers.
Tonya's artist statement: "We all touch and smell the landscape, we break it down and take what we want from it. I take the shapes. Rubbing back and concealing, leaving only the shapes in the landscape."
Nina's artist statement: "The landscape is expressed through gestural brushstroke and complexities in colour and shape relationships. I am not preoccupied with precise appearances and in the studio rely on emotions and memory to develop paintings from en plein air sketches. The initial scribble becomes a spring board and the original landscape is reinterpreted and an emotional energy is generated during the process. For the past few years I have moved away from the Central West and lived in the NT and SA, now settling in Beechworth Vic where the varied natural landscape really has a hold on me. 'I love being alone in the landscape; walking, sitting, thinking, feeling and returning to absorb it. More aspects are revealed the longer one looks, actual, imagined or desired."
See our behind-the-scenes studio visit with Nina here.
See our behind-the-scenes studio visit with Tonya here.
Untitled, Nina Machielse Hunt
Untitled, Tonya Graham
Untitled, Nina Machielse Hunt