Helen McIntosh | FireWorks Gallery

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Selected works

Biography

Born: 1947, Sydney

Lives and works: Manly, QLD

I was born in Sydney in 1947 and grew up in Walgett, NSW outback. I always had paints and brushes, paper was hard to find sometimes and this is why I paint on anything to hand now. I attended high school in Newcastle. My years of raising small children were spent in Tamworth, where the influences were county music and fibre arts. I consider myself a Queenslander now, the strong light is familiar from childhood in the bush. My sense of space, light, little shadow, juxtaposition is informed by the open landscape of far western NSW. I work in isolation, always seeking beauty in truth. I paint to satisfy the compulsion to create, I follow my own rules and if people like the end result I’m happy, and always a little surprised.

Courtesy of the Artist 2017

Story/Statement

SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT – SYNONYMS OF BEAUTY EXHIBITION 2017
My concept was to create ‘Similar but Different’. By exploring this idea through the study of dried lotus leaves I discovered their unique designs and symbolic shapes. This allowed me to use my delicate watercolour technique to tell their story and express individual emotions. The dried lotus leaf is particularly beautiful offering an abstract view of nature. To quote from Ruskin, ‘The mystery under which the separate character of each I more or less concealed’. It’s about organic flat forms, complex structure and the balance of positive and negative space. For me, the symbolism, pattern, colour and shape of each leaf is wonderfully ‘Similar but Different’. I like to work on one idea or shape and puch this exploration to the limits of my ability. Sometimes I will follow an idea for years. The artworks grow and mature with me.

Courtesy of the Artist 2017

Helen McIntosh

Born: 1947 Sydney

EXHIBITONS—SOLO

2017 Synonyms of Beauty FireWorks Gallery Brisbane

2016 Iconic Gallery 159 Brisbane

2012 An Afternoon Soiree 68 Heal Street Brisbane

2010 Opus Decoratus 1-12 Eib Art Gallery Brisbane

EXHIBTIONS—GROUP

2017 Iconic II Butter Factory Arts Centre Cooroy

1989 Tamworth National Fibre Exhibition Tamworth

1984 Tamworth National Fibre Exhibition Tamworth

AWARDS

1987 Professional Development Award Craft Board Australia Council

PUBLICATIONS

2017 Partners in Textiles exhibition Down Under Textiles Issue 28

2016 Wynnum Herald May

2016 Down Under Textiles Issue 23

2010 Opus Decoratus Quest Newspaper

1988 Textile Fibre Forum Magazine

1988 Craft Arts Australia Feb/April

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