Artisans in the Gardens Celebrating 25 years

This year’s Artisans in the Gardens exhibition celebrates 25 years at Lion Gate Lodge, continuing a long tradition of showcasing Australian artisans and craftspeople while raising awareness andmuch-needed funds for the Botanic Gardens Sydney.

The event has its roots in 1987, when gallery owners Elizabeth and Geoff Davis first staged Artisans in the Gardens, setting the foundation for a decade of increasingly ambitious and prestigious exhibitions. In 2001, recognising the need for a flexible venue to present exceptional work by Australia’s leading makers, former Friends president Tim Jackson worked with Elizabeth, Tor Bannon and a group of Friends to establish the exhibition at Lion Gate Lodge. 

The past 25 years have flown by, marked by extraordinary support, widespread recognition and great success. Artisans has become a highly anticipated event on the Sydney arts calendar and is patronised each year by enthusiastic supporters who appreciate the wonderful art and effort that goes into supporting the Gardens.

This year promises to showcase a rich and eclectic variety of innovative and exciting works. With more than 50 artists exhibiting, many of them new to the exhibition and some returning exhibitors from previous years, Lion Gate Lodge, Victoria Lodge and the surrounding gardens will be abundant with fresh, vibrant art.

The Artisans exhibition endures due to the enthusiasm of the staff, volunteers and artists. With a strong philosophy of renewal our artists look to the environment for inspiration and explore possibilities of renewal through recycling and reinvention.

This year’s exhibition features a strong selection of indoor and outdoor sculpture, alongside textiles, décor, jewellery and ceramics. Victoria Lodge will also offer a range of affordable pieces for gifts and the home.

This anniversary year, we have artists returning to the exhibition having started their creative journeys with us. One such artist is sculptor Adam Humphries who first exhibited at Artisans in the Gardens in 2011 and was then working with wood and a chainsaw. Originally from Wales, Adam now lives in Tamworth with his young family. Adam specialises in equine and figurative work in wood, steel and bronze. His equine sculptures capture the intrinsic beauty of horses.

Also returning is well-known South Coast sculptor Jen Mallinson. Jen has always been a favourite, not only because of her positive can-do attitude to bringing her work to Sydney, but because her art is always a favourite Angular horse head by Adam Humphreys While We See It by Anna Dudek with the public. Jen works mostly in steel and wood, creating statement pieces shaped into fluid, organic forms inspired by coastal vegetation.

Western Australian ceramicist Dariya Gratte also returns with a series of stunning porcelain, wheel-thrown and hand-formed ceramics that are fun, decorative and functional. Multi-award-winning glass artist Nicole Ayliffe from JamFactory Adelaide will present a range of engraved ‘Optical Landscape’ pieces of different colours and sizes.

This year also has a strong representation of textile work. Alissa Cook returns with her beautifully stitched photographs of nature with a focus on the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan using bright spring colours to highlight the details of plants and birds endemic to the Garden.

Four jewellers will exhibit with us this year including Barbara Heath, who creates jewellery with rich, sensual colours, textures and forms. Her special pieces express style, humour and sentiment.

This year we also welcome new artists, including textile artist James Blackwell who uses paper and natural elements to make assemblages. Kym Brookes’ wall art uses reclaimed wire and natural threads to weave extraordinary pieces. David Cheah uses a combination of techniques such as stencilling and naturally dyed silk to create delicate artworks with texture. Birte Larsen also joins us, showcasing works that involve assembling charred pine on birch ply to create sculptural forms. 

Artists and designers Karen Davis and Pepa Martin of Shibori Textiles will present beautiful hand-bound, dyed, sculptural textile artworks. Karen and Pepa create patterns using modernised versions of ancient and traditional techniques to create a striking display.

Josh Dykgraaf is an artist who examines the Australian landscape through photographic manipulation. His exploration of the relationship between animals and their environment as well as the impact of climate change is impactful, vibrant and quirky.

Nic Fern’s whimsical glazed ceramic vessels and ceramic wall works explore notions of gender and class in modern Australia Sculptor Jennyfer Stratman from Victoria will present ‘The Gravity Between Us’ – a series of wall-based organic bronze sculptures with painted elements as tiny
highlights. The bronze forms are combined to create shapes reminiscent of constellations and planets.

We are also pleased to welcome sculptor Anna Dudek. Born in New Zealand and now based in Sydney, Anna draws on the shifting qualities of light to explore what is revealed and concealed in nature and within ourselves.