Victoria Peel.

This is our profile on Victoria Peel. Scroll even further down to find works by this artist.

Victoria

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

As a practicing artist for 35 years I have been interested in exploring space, light and colour in both
 interiors and landscapes, with influences from the poet and philosopher, Gaston Bachelard. In his book,” The Poetics of Space ” he asks, ” How concrete is the world of the spirit, where a mere door can give images of hesitation, temptation, security, seduction and warmth? In my practice I 
often refer to the external world as a metaphor for an internal journey.

I had a studio in St Albans, for 6 years, on an escarpment overlooking the MacDonald River in
the Hawkesbury River Area. During the years from 1997 until 2009 my work was based on the 
experience of feeling at home and my love of the area, investigating its history, community and
 landscape. Over the twelve years I had five solo exhibitions in the St Albans Gallery.

My exhibition ” Night Spaces” in 2008 was to be my last solo show of new work in St Albans. I had
 begun exploring, in pastel and paint, the night light of rural and urban landscape and in retrospect I
 see the work as a passage from country to city. St Albans Gallery is closed now; consequently this 
body of work ” Into the Night” will be my first solo exhibition in Sydney for 15 years. I have turned 
much of my attention to Bondi Beach, where I have history, along with my grandfather who grew 
up there and my nephews, the “Webber Boys” who surfed there for many years. Bondi seems to 
be a place to which I return. I stayed there when I first returned from England, in 1978 after 10 years
 away and since then it has never ceased to amaze me this beautiful beach on the edge of a city
 where one can still experience the vitality of nature.

This series of work, ” Into the Night” opening 2 December 2011, at Albion Street Gallery further 
explores my visual and psychological experience of the night. The night, when forms are hidden, 
 transforms the common place and enables me to emphasize and invent passages of light and 
shadow. The mystery held within the night stimulates my imagination and although dark colours
 could be interpreted as oppressive or menacing, here they stand for an inner journey into the 
unknown. Historically artists, such as Rembrandt and Mark Rothko, with varying methods and 
intentions have worked with the darker aspects of the spectrum in their exploration of subjective 
expression. I am interested in the myths based on life-transitions, the archetypal pattern of the
“Hero’s Journey”, which involves adversity and the pathway to renewal. These myths represent the
 challenges of the human condition, where a central character encounters trials, perhaps a descent
 into darkness, the Nadir and then a turning point where guidance and gifts are received. On the
re turn something greater than them selves is often achieved, such as wisdom, empowerment or
 self-realisation. In my case transitions are represented by the darkness of the night.

I have held 14 solo exhibitions in Sydney, Adelaide and St Albans. Selected twice for the “Salon des
 Refuses” Wynne Prize Exhibition I have participated in many group shows in Australia, USA, UK and 
China. My work is in Private collections, Art Bank, East Sydney Technical College, Hawkesbury City
Council, The Royal Australian Navy and The National Art School (Printmaking Department.)

I have worked collaboratively with a number of artists. Presently I am working with Col Lyons, 
 Caretaker of Camp Wollemi, belonging to the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Lands Council. Together
 we have been commissioned by the Ferry Artist Gallery to paint and install in Wisemans Ferry a
group of three 9 meter poles on the theme of Reconciliation and Unity Between the Indigenous and
Non-Indigenous Community of the Hawkesbury River Valley.

EDUCATION

My studies in Fine Art were undertaken at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London and in Sydney
at East Sydney Technical College and the College of Fine Arts (COFA) University of NSW where I
completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Drawing and Painting. More recently I have completed a 
Diploma in Transpersonal Art Therapy at the College of Complementary Medicine in Hornsby.

EMPLOYMENT

My teaching experience in drawing and painting extends over 25 years and includes tertiary 
institutions such as the National Art School, College of Fine Arts and Seaforth TAFE. As a visiting
 artist, I have recently held workshops in drawing and painting for the Ferry Artists Gallery, 
 Wiseman’s Ferry and Camp Wollemi, St Albans. For the past year I have been employed to facilitate 
Group Art Therapy Workshops for the Magnolia Healing Centre, Rose Bay, Sydney and recently as a 
Drawing Tutor for the Ku-ring-gai Art Centre in Roseville

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