SIX acres of land on the outskirts of Oberon were the inspiration for the Michelle Collocott: Three Ponds Series exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (BRAG).
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For the past decade, Black Springs artist Michelle Collocott (née Martin Collocott) has diligently recorded Three Ponds’ seasonal changes through photographs, newspaper clippings, journal notes and sketches.
“I’m interested in climate, the shapes and shadows of the land, animals, fence-lines, textures, oscillations of colour,” Collocott, 73, explained.
“My works are like musical instruments, each with a significant part to play.”
Michelle Collocott: Three Ponds Series is the first exhibition of the artist’s work in Bathurst. It showcases 30 bold paintings that gradually increase in size and incorporate the artist’s documentation of the Three Ponds site using collage of photocopied archival material.
“Collocott is a compulsive archivist. Her personal archive, now in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW, contains a huge collection of visual diaries that document art happenings, the daily weather, politics, breaking news, the unusual and mundane details of her daily life,” Art Gallery of NSW head of library services Steven Miller said.
Michelle Collocott: Three Ponds Series includes a selection of Collocott’s archival material and one of her first paintings from the Three Ponds series, Three Ponds Series A: On the Goulburn Road (2000).
The painting, an aerial depiction of the Three Ponds site, was recently gifted by the artist to BRAG.
Collocott trained at Sydney’s National Art School, graduating in 1965 with a Diploma in Design and Craft.
As Martin Collocott, she was a finalist for the Wynne Art Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW (1969, 1970 and 1980) and was invited to exhibit in the McCaughey Art exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (1973 and 1975).
Her work has been exhibited in Australia, the US and the UK. Group exhibitions include Australia Artists of Fame and Promise (NSW House, London, 1980), Modern Australian Paintings Survey (Charles Nodrum Gallery, 1986), In the making (Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, 1989) and Register of Women Artists (Artlet, 1993).
Michelle Collocott and close friends Steven Miller and Janet Clayton will discuss the development of the Three Ponds Series at a free artist talk on Saturday, November 10 at 11am.
Michelle Collocott: Three Ponds Series will be on display until Sunday, December 9.
For further information, visit www.bathurstart.com.au or go to our Facebook page.
The gallery is open 10am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday and 11am-2pm Sunday and public holidays.
