Stephen Doan / Bren Luke / Jessie Jean October 29 2020

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Feature Show
Outré Gallery Fitzroy
30 Oct – 17 Nov 2020

ARTIST INTERVIEW

Originally from the "Bush Capital", Stephen Doan aka Stevie D is a Melbourne based illustrator, tattooist, graphic designer and failed breakdancer. Best known for his hyperrealistic stylised portraiture work, Stephen's tattooing influences have also armed him with a more loose, graphic approach to his image making. With a strong interest in low brow art, 80's paraphernalia and tattoo culture, coupled with a graphic design background, this has enabled him to explore other subject matters with the same sensibility and eye for composition. 

ARRRGHNOLD 2020 is a visual chronicle of Stephen Doan's response to the year that was 2020. Faced with a creative block, and living under lockdown due to the pandemic, Stephen began to channel his emotions through his chosen spirit animal: Arnold Schwarzenegger. This collection of work by the Melbourne artist is emblematic of a universally challenging year, and invites viewers to have cathartic release through comedic relief.

Feature Show
Outré Gallery Fitzroy
30 Oct – 17 Nov 2020

ARTIST INTERVIEW

Bren Luke was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria. He studied Fine Art at Ballarat University, majoring in painting and printmaking, and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. For the past decade or so, Bren’s work has been focused on traditional drawing techniques primarily using pen and ink. His detailed cross-hatching style was born from an interest in the 16th century engravings of Albrecht Durer and by studying the vast and varied work of underground comic book artists and illustrators.

At the end of May, 2019, Bren travelled to Japan with his partner Kelly for a short holiday, blissfully unaware of the challenges the world would soon face with the onset of the COVID-19 virus. Shortly after they arrived back in Australia Bren began working on the series of drawings which referenced from photos they took during their time in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Miyajima and Hiroshima. The 20+ drawings exhibited explore and depict a series of memories from the trip with an eye on the concept of Ma – the significance of negative space or 'the space between' in traditional Japanese arts and culture. The philosophy has been described as a pause in time, an interval or emptiness in space. As Bren progressed working, this concept of The Space Between took on new meaning in terms of COVID-19 and the new era of social distancing and travel restrictions – and some of the later drawings focus on this.

Feature Show
Outré Gallery Fitzroy
30 Oct – 17 Nov 2020

ARTIST INTERVIEW

Jessie Jean is a painter whose studio is based in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. You can find her listening to 60s/70s progressive rock, exploring the visual boundaries of the New Contemporary genre, submerged in the inspiration of her natural surroundings.

Graduating 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Design at RMIT, Jessie has expanded her skillset studying Applied Design, Illustration, signwriting, watercolour and oil painting. 

She is a self-confessed 'Ornithophile' (bird-lover), and since her youth has been fascinated by the weird and wonderful eccentricities of the Avian world. This is reflected in her exhibition Secrets of the Passerine, which includes detailed acrylic-gouache portraits, that explore the concepts of symbolism, mythology and folklore surrounding The Raven. 

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