ROBERT GILMOUR

A Curved Line Flowed - Exhibition Close

The exhibition "A Curved Line Flows" by Bob Gilmour in Cairns closed on Saturday.

For the most part, the show was successful as far as the goals I had for it. Whilst sales weren't exceptional, I managed to tick most of the boxes I wanted to.

It was the first time I'd had the opportunity to set up a showing of my work in a dedicated gallery space ... without the intervention of a curator. This gave me some valuable experience in placement of objects for maximum visual appeal in a well lit gallery environment.

I also made several contacts during the exhibition which could prove valuable in the medium-term future. And, of course, media coverage generated to promote the event helps to augment local exposure.

Mundane as it may seem, one of the benefits of the exhibition was the opportunity to capture some photographs of my work in the space. It is uncommon to have unrestricted access and the time to set up camera gear and capture images of the work on show without the pressures usually associated with a retail or exhibition gallery.

Lastly, one of the things I was interested to find out was whether there is a difference in public reaction and behaviour in a gallery space as opposed to my market store 'gallery' in Port Douglas, which I've operated for 10 years. The short answer was no.

I packed up all the work and reverted the gallery to a clean bare space ready for the next occupant on Saturday night. Then, drove two hours, unloaded everything and reloaded my market stall for a 4 am start in Port Douglas on Sunday. By the time I was ready to trade, I was sleep deprived and fuelled by pure adrenaline ... sales that day were explosive!

Comments (0) May 24, 2011

A Curved Line Flows :: Comments from the Artist Bob Gilmour

"A Curved Line Flows" is a retrospective exhibition of works I've created during the past 10 years. The exhibition runs from Tuesday May 17 to Saturday the 21st (10am to 4pm, daily) at the c.1907 Contemporary Artspace in Cairns. C.1907 is located the Cairns Museum (old School of Arts) building in the City Place, Lake Street.

I will be showing a range of art forms and functional work including fine bowls, functional serving dishes and utensils, some carved pendants and my large installation sculpture "Dance me" which was completed for last year's Port Douglas Arts Festival.

The dominant theme throughout my work of the past 10 years has been curvaceous minimalism and 'organicness'. I am inspired by a simple flowing design aesthetic and this is evident particularly in the functional works. Much of the last 10 years was devoted to creating functional homeware items which have sold to almost every country in the world through my Port Douglas market stall and from my websites. During this time also, I have worked on methods of finish and presentation to a point where I am totally comfortable with the way my work presents.

To date my primary medium has been wood, although I have also used bone in carved jewellery and stone for some bowl and simple sculpture forms. These days, I find myself experimenting with other media including clay, metals and resins. Several boat-building stints in the 80's and 90's gave me deep exposure to constructional materials and I'm very keen to expand my artwork practice using these not-so traditional art materials.

I have several abstract sculpture projects currently in infant stages and am also working on a new range of homeware designs using alternative materials (to wood). I'm hoping to get some of the new homeware items to market during this current tourist season.

Ten years ago, I began making my own wooden utensils and started selling them in a market stall. This re-kindled a creative desire which I'd had as a young kid and which was largely swamped for 20 years or so by the need to get educated and go and live life. These days, my primary passion is to create art and I am drawn more towards pure art forms, rather than functional art, as time progresses. Part of this draw involves leaving wood behind as a primary medium and experimenting with other media. Wood, as an expressive medium is too limiting for the forms I like to create. It also has too much 'character' of it's own for my liking and draws attention away from the form

My work and also my creative ethic is in a phase of renewal and improvisation. Whilst I will continue to create the homewares range for which I have extraordinary support from loyal customers, my days are increasingly enlightened with experimentation and inventiveness. It's very exciting to be immersed in a period of progressive change and once again reinventing my future.

Comments (0) May 12, 2011

A Curved Line Flows :: About the Exhibition Venue :: c.1907 Contemporary Artspace, Cairns, Australia

c.1907 Contemporary Art Space. School of Arts building. City Place, Lake St, Cairns.

c.1907 Contemporary Art Space is an art space dedicated to support promote and encourage a presentation of local contemporary work. The purpose of this art space is to push conventional boundaries, whilst delving into new and hybrid media alongside experimental practice.

It is a space provided free of charge to both emerging and established artists, which encourages broad access and artist run initiatives. It will provide an opportunity for artists to collaborate, present and manage exhibitions with potential for a range of professional training initiatives.

c.1907 contemporary art space exists to fill the local void in gallery presentation opportunities.

Cairns regional Council Mission Statement - c.1907 Contemporary Artspace:

In response to the growing demand for gallery space accessible to the region's diverse range of artists, the Cairns Regional Council is proud to welcome you to c.1907 contemporary artspace. Located in the central hub of City Place, and with thousands of weekly visitors, this artists space reflects the original intent of the School of Arts to "foster habits of intellectual intercourse" and to "stimulate and encourage education of the masses". The c.1907 contemporary artspace demonstrates councils ongoing commitment to "Building Vibrant Communities" (Corporate Plan 2009 -2014) and acknowledges the value that arts and cultural activities add to the life of residents and visitors alike. c.1907 contemporary artspace continues the long running contribution of the School of Arts Building to the cultural fibre of Cairns. We encourage emerging and established artists to become involved with the space and for the community to enjoy the work presented.

Comments (0) May 11, 2011

A Curved Line Flows :: About the Artist :: Bob Gilmour

(Bob Gilmour Artist image courtesy of Cairns Post Newspaper)

As a young kid, I attended painting and drawing classes ... piano lessons, even. I saw the world around me as a large canvas ... I still do.

Some 30 years later after an education in science and a decade and a half of self-employment in a totally unrelated field, the urge to return to my artistic beginnings became too strong to ignore.

For the past 10 years I have created a range of sculptural organically inspired homewares - utensils, bowls, platters - and works for display. My primary medium has been wood, both naturally finished and painted, although I've also worked with stone, bone, cement products and plastics.

I like to explore the relationship between form and balance and create objects with tiny footprints relative to their overall size. Most of my work stretches the physical properties of the chosen material to render very thin sectioned forms, further enhancing my minimalist approach.

The underlying theme through all works, functional and artistic, is one of curvaceous simplicity ... minimalism. I am drawn to balanced, fully resolved organic form and am inspired by the shapes of the natural world around me.

My work is generally not available for purchase in shops or retail galleries, but can be purchased direct from me through my market stall - Robert Gilmour Artforms - at the Port Douglas markets every Sunday. I also maintain several websites with online shopping and direct enquires are welcome.

Comments (0) May 11, 2011

A Curved Line Flows :: About the Exhibition

"A Curved Line Flows" presents a retrospective look at works I've completed during the last 10 years. The work on show will include a range of wooden fine display bowl forms, functional serving dishes and utensils from my homewares range. I will be showing some carved pendants in bone and wood and there is a shallow bowl form in Croyden sandstone. Also included in the exhibition will be the large installation sculpture "Dance me", an abstract figurative work celebrating freedom of life which I completed late in 2010.

A dominant theme common to all of my work is curvaceous minimalism. The forms I like to create are simple and 'organic', marrying inherent properties of the material with sculptural form.

My work is created in a free-form manner and is fine finished. I produce pieces purely for display purposes as well as functional art forms. The functional homewares range is fully sealed and extremely usable.

"A Curved Line Flows" is a line from a poem entitled "Wood Works" written for me by far north Queensland Poet Helen Ramoutsaki a few years ago. The words reflect the nature of my work so it seemed appropriate to use them for the title of this exhibition.

Comments (0) May 11, 2011