Five young artists met for the first time on the opening night of their own collaborative art exhibition.
Emerging artists, Harriet Adams, Liam Wilson, Naia Webb, Olivia Pannell and Solomon Karmel-Shann showcased their work as a group last week at The Gallery @ Big Fat Smile in “The New Millennials” art exhibition.
Chief Creative Officer, Jennine Primmer was excited to showcase the emerging talent of the five exceptional young artists, highlighting the continuity of work between artists.
“I am amazed by the way five artists who have never met can come together in one show and how the pieces all work so well together,” she said.
When deciding on this exhibition Jennine said the Gallery had displayed lots of young children and adult artwork in the past, but not young adults.
“I thought, what a great way to show our younger kids the work of their peers and to engage and inspire them,” she said.
Of the artists aged 16-19 years old, Jennine mentioned that each artist had been chosen for their exceptional talents.
One of the artist is Big Fat Smile’s very own Naia Webb who works as an Artspace Assistant and has been part of 3 exhibits at The Gallery so far.
Jennine explained the team at Artspace had been so impressed by her artwork.
“Naia was originally a student at Artspace for many years and is now helping young children express their creative side through her work at the Artspace Studio,” she said.
The other female artists Olivia Pannell and Harriet Adams were chosen from a local school, Saint Mary of the Sea College, as the best performing students from 2016.
Jennine said she had found Liam Wilson and Solomon Karmel-Shann through following both artists on Instagram and I knew they would be perfect for the exhibition.
“Liam had been given the opportunity to exhibit his artwork at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the lead up to this exhibit,”
“I was so amazed by Liam’s desired to be a part of the exhibition and could not believe when he took the time to create all new artworks specifically for The New Millennials,” she said.
Liam will be displaying work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the year in the Art Express showcase which includes a selection of outstanding student artworks from the NSW 2016 HSC.
The New Millennials exhibitions will be on display for the general public to view until 10 May in The Gallery @ Big Fat Smile and it is expected at least 500 visitors will see the exhibit over the next month.
Do you have a favourite artist or artwork that inspires you?
Solomon, 19 years old.
“I am inspired by Shaun Tan, a great Australian surrealist artist.”
“I really like the American artist Sol LeWitt. All of his artwork inspires me.”
“As a young artist it is hard to pin-point just one, but I love conceptual and performance art as well as graphic design.”
“I really like Monet impressionist art as I feel it’s a bit freer and of course the Ruben style and the flow of those paintings.”
“My favourite art work is Bob by Chuck Close. I really love artwork that focuses on the human face.”
Blog contributors: Eliza Burrell, Jennine Primmer