Catherine Hickson
Catherine Hickson

Exhibition ‘sea ∙ shore ∙ sky’ at Art2Muse Gallery 9 – 22 February 2021

This body of work captures my relationship to the beach landscape where I live. I walk the track along the coastline from Bondi to Coogee frequently.   I regularly watch the sun rise and set from North Bondi. I am in awe of the constancy and power of the ocean. I meditate to the sound of the waves. I listen to their rolling, surging rhythms in the still of night.

In some paintings I have included urban features of this coastal landscape but in other paintings I wanted to consider how it was before white settlement when there was simply sea, shore and sky supporting sustainable indigenous Eora culture. The series began with figurative oil sketches and evolved into abstract impressions of the sea, shore and sky.

 

Catherine Hickson paints still life, landscape and abstraction. Catherine’s practice revolves around her ability to paint whatever she finds compelling – whether it be the light and shadow on a collection of treasured bottles, the calming splash of a wave as it reaches the shore, the passing landscape on a country road or the lasting impressions of abstraction.

Catherine has been exhibiting since 2005 and has been featured in many publications. She has also been a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize and the Waverley Prize. She has studios in North Bondi and the Hunter Valley.

 

 

Still Life Paintings

Catherine has been engaged by still life painting for many years and she is interested in the physical and collective nature of objects. Her compositions allow her to investigate objects and their relationships to each other on the picture plane. Forms including glass bottles, fruit, bowls, mugs and vases in muted pastel tones with pops of yellow, blue and green, captivate the viewer and allow us to pause, observe and feel.

“For me, still life painting supports a strong desire to capture stillness. In a world saturated by noise and visual information I value simplicity, space and stillness. My painting practice becomes a meditation on form and tone. Sometimes the objects I chose have significant meaning, other times they are chosen simply to make sense of a composition. I like to think they operate not only on an aesthetic plane, but also create a sense of calm, elegance and quietness.

“My palette changes with my feelings and my surroundings…sometimes contemplative, at other times bold. My process always begins with sketches and detailed tonal drawings before I begin to paint. After some time, I move into a creative flow where I abandon all my ideas and outcomes and just simply respond to what is going on in the painting.” – Catherine Hickson, 2018

 

Landscape Paintings

I grew up in the bush. I love being outside. My practice usually begins with sketching en plein air. I then move to oil paint in oils in my studio. I work from my sketches, photos and my visual memories and feelings. I let the paintings take me back into the landscape. This body of work collects places I have been, places where I have sketched, places that hold space in my visual memory. Places I love to remember.” – Catherine Hickson, 2020

Click here to view Catherine Hickson discussing her exhibition Soft Country

Click here to view Soft Country in Art2Muse Gallery

 

Education
2014    Master of Art History / Museum Studies, University of Sydney
2001- 2004 Oil Painting, Charlie Sheard Studio School, Sydney
1999    Drawing, National Art School
1999    Diploma of Languages French, University of Sydney
1998    Diploma of Education with LOTE, University of New England
1985    Diploma Graphic Design, School Visual Arts, Sydney
1981    BA Communications, University of Technology, Sydney

Exhibitions

2020 “Soft Country” Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney
2018 “Still Life: Shifting Perspective” Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney
2017 “The Paris Paintings” Michael Reid Murrurundi
2016 “The Brunswick Drawings” Michael Reid Murrurundi
2016 “Landlines”, Curve Gallery, Newcastle, group show
2016 “Still Life”, Michael Reid Murrurundi, solo
2015 Recent work, Michael Reid Murrurundi, solo
2015 “Catching Colour II”, Michael Reid Murrurundi, solo show
2014 “Catching Colour I” Michael Reid Murrurundi, solo show
2012 Recent Work, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, solo show
2011 My sister’s garden, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, solo show
2009 Still Life, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney, solo show
2008 Recent Work, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney, solo show
2006 Paddington Contemporary Gallery, Sydney, solo
2005 Paddington Contemporary Gallery, Sydney, solo

Awards
2017 Finalist 9×5 Landscape Prize Waverley Woollahra Art School
2016 Finalist Waverley Woollahra Art Prize
2009 Finalist Paddington Landscape Prize
2004 Finalist Waverley Woollahra Art Prize

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