THE Spaces Where Art LIVES

Why is going into an art gallery the last thing
The average person wants to do?

Not long ago I suggested to my daughter that we go and visit some art galleries. She was in her late twenties at the time, loved fashion, film, interior design and music, but was as excited about going to “see some art” as making a trip to the dentist!

Next, I contacted some friends who had lived in Melbourne for 15 years, thinking they might have some connection with the art scene there. They said, “Sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever been into an art gallery here”.

Is the problem with the public, that they are just not “into art” anymore? Is it the galleries, who make people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome? Or is it the fault with the artists, who produce work that is inaccessible to the average person?

Recently, at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA), I sat for 15 minutes watching a video of some trees blowing in the wind, then viewed some childishly-scribbled artwork (below) before giving up and leaving.

How can we show our work AND CREATE SPACES that
inviteS people in and makes them feel welcome?

More and more I am discovering that the environment in which art is shown is as important as the art itself.

Some galleries are inviting, friendly and even provide opportunities for people to discover the joy of creating. Others, sadlyare stark, white and sterile, maintaining a, “Don’t touch, this is serious art!” attitude. Places to be tiptoed around in complete silence, before beating a hasty retreat!

Give me colour, give me clutter, give me chaos…
but don’t give me boring!

I am discovering that—rather like when dining out—only half the experience is the food. The other half is the setting in which the food is served. You can have great food (art) in a sterile, unfriendly, bland setting or bad food (art) in a fun, friendly environment with cheerful waiters and good music—but neither are a fully satisfying experience.

But how can we as artists combine engaging art and interesting and inviting spaces?

Can we combine art with music, dance, poetry, story-telling, jewellery and sculpture in order to create spaces that surprise and delight?

Can we create spaces large or small, urban or rural, in remote places or the centre of major cities that encourage people to have conversations, that inspire contemplation and reflection and present art along with good wine, beautiful gardens and great food.

Below I share some of the places I have had the privilege of visiting in the last couple of years that might serve as jumping off points for ideas about how we present our art.

Donna Demente’s Grainstore Gallery

I stumbled upon Donna’s Grainstore Gallery by accident while wandering the streets of Oamaru, a quiet seaside town in the South Island of New Zealand.

Upon entering, I felt myself relaxing…the whole environment was peaceful but intriguing. Gregorian chant was playing and Donna was working away. But was this her studio, a museum or a store-room for discarded art? Her work has been called a “mix of drama, pre-Raphaelitism, taxidermy and metaphysics!” Wow!

Donna in her studio, filled with clutter and beauty!

An eclectic mix that always surprises.

Steampunk HQ

Next I stumbled upon the Steampunk Headquarters. Steampunk “captures a time when the future and its technologies collide with Victorian-era experiments (think Frankenstein) gone wrong. A future with a dark side of grime and decay”.

The whole building, inside and out, was covered with strange distorted animals, flickering video screens, bits of metallic insects and rusted, twisted machinery.

One of the highlights was the “metagalactic” pipe organ—a “device for capturing sounds and signals picked up by Time-Travel Officers when visiting alien worlds. Some say that special combinations of notes will open up time portals within the building to exotic alien holiday destinations”.

The whole experience was fun, disturbing, alarming and intriguing—and so much more engaging than a “regular” art gallery!

Matapihi in Raglan

Whenever I visited Raglan, a surfy/artsy community on the West coast of New Zealand, I would visit the Matapihi gallery. (Sadly, it has since closed down). It had a fascinating mix of original paintings, hand crafted jewellery, raranga (flax weaving), pounamu (Maori greenstone carving) and clothing. Matapihi was “run by artists, for artists, from an artist’s perspective”. I loved that it had a kitchen in one corner and a fireplace in the other and felt like being home. It was a humble, creative space.

Home studios in Queenstown

Queenstown is a tourist destination in New Zealand’s South Island. It also has a large arts community, and it was fantastic to stroll from one art gallery to another with a backdrop of snow-clad mountains. I found one in an old chapel, another in a stone cottage, while others were spread around the town. I loved spending time with artists in their home studios, talking with them about their work, goals and visions. Many had beautiful cottage gardens, which only added another layer of beauty to the experience!

So personal, so small working gallery!

 Home studio of Tim Wilson

I had seen Wilson’s work in a gallery in downtown Queenstown—very large paintings of the mountains and lakes that surround Queenstown. He was renowned for his stunning depictions of natural beauty and was one of the highest-selling artists in New Zealand. When Tim passed away in 2020, his canvases were moved up to his amazing house with views out over the lake. We were shown around in a very small group by a woman who loved and admired his work.

Standing in Tim Wilson’s studio…in front of the last painting he worked on but never completed.

 Angus Watson’s home studio

Angus Watson’s home studio lies outside Queenstown. Even as we approached the colourful front door, I knew I was going to enjoy this space! Outside was a beautiful garden, while inside art covering the walls and was stacked on the floors.

The Tate Modern

On a trip back to England after 15 years away, I took a train up to London and went for a stroll along the Embankment besides the Thames. I felt like a visitor to my own country. I walked past the Eye (new to me!) I stumbled upon the Tate Modern. I no idea it even existed—but remembered seeing the old Bankside Power Station during my days as an art student. The architects had retained much of the original character of the huge building including the 35 meters high and 152 meters long turbine hall!

I walked in…and stood amazed. The experience of walking into such a massive, voluminous space left me wordless. And to see great art in such a setting was phenomenal. And all for free.

 The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

This is easily the most creative and inspiring place I have ever seen. The whole massive structure, both inside and outside, is art. I didn’t know much about this stunning place until we went to Barcelona in 2023. I discovered that Gaudi was an incredibly creative person, a humble, faith-filled man who started and ended each day by going to church and praying. Each day he tirelessly worked on the creating the deeply spiritual space that is the Sagrada Familia (which translates as the Holy Family). One day he was hit by a tram on his way home and badly injured. Nobody helped him because he looked poor and had no identifying papers with him. He died three days later in a hospital for the poor.

This amazing video that shows what the Sagrada de Familia will look like: once it’s finished!

 The Case Dali

I hadn’t been much of a Salvador Dali fan. In art school his “melting watches” were viewed as too theatrical and commercial to be “real” art. All that changed when I visited the Casa Dali in Spain. In 1930, attracted by the light and extreme isolation, Dali and his wife Gala bought a small fisherman’s shack with no heat, no electricity and no running water, just steps from the Mediterranean Sea. He lived and worked there for the next 52 years. Over the decades he extended the property, piece by piece and room by room until it became the amazing place it is today. Rooms and corridors are now filled with drawings, prints, painting and strange, surreal installations and sculptures.

When Dali set up his studio in a fisherman’s shack the bay was deserted and completely isolated.

Standing outside Dali’s house, right on the beach.

Dali’s painting supplies just as he left them in his studio at Casa Dali.

 Cézanne’s Studio

My visit to Cezanne’s atelier (studio) in Aix-En-Provence was an emotional experience. In the quiet of the large room where he spent so much of his time, I was able to sit where he sat, next to the massive window that let in the light that was so important to him.

Nearby were the pots, bottles and the little white statue he used in so many of his paintings, as well as a table set up with fruit on a white table cloth, exactly as it looks in many of his still-lifes. The clothes he wore each day hung in one corner, his easel sat in another.

When he painted here the atelier was outside of town and had a view of Mt. Sainte-Victoire, the mountain he painted in 36 oils and 45 watercolours. Now it is on a busy road, surrounded by apartments and the view is gone.

 Sadly, after his death the studio was locked up and nobody entered for 15 years. At one point developers wanted to knock it down! The studio and garden around it are now protected.

 Marc Chagall - in a small stone church in south france

I was taken aback to discover some of Chagall’s wonderful stained glass in a tiny church in a small village in the south of France. He was a Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish origin. How did his work end up here? He created works in a wide range of formats—painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints. Finding some of his art in such a humble, obscure setting made it all the more special.