‘The title of this exhibition, Breathing Stone, refers to the capacity of the fresco wall to sequester carbon as it cures, taking up the carbon previously driven off during the heating and slaking of the limestone to produce lime putty. The rhythmic movement of breathing also references the restlessness of stone, the molten origins of the mountain range and the idea in many different belief systems of the mountain as an animate being.
This body of work emerges from an experimental approach to the ancient technology of fresco painting leading to the development of the ‘stone skin’ which can be detached from the wall on which it is made by means of a fine layer of cloth. A further departure includes the addition of encaustic wax which both reveals and protects the fine craquelure internal to the skin, referencing the fractures and fissures of the lithosphere itself. Adding pigments to the render reveals that each colour cures differently, building a taxonomy of cracks that echoes the flow and interaction of water, sediment and atmosphere. A large-scale stone skin cascading to the ground takes on its own topography, an infinity of cracks illuminated from below by light placed within the folds.
Imagery is drawn from a residency undertaken in northern Uttarakhand in 2019 with anthropologist Jane Dyson, in a region where local belief holds that gods and goddesses inhabit the surrounding mountain range. I am indebted to Jane for the opportunity to visit this extraordinary part of the world.’ – Sarah Tomasetti, 2023
Artists Talk
Saturday 5 August 2pm
Image above: Sarah Tomasetti From Balpatta X 2024 145 x 150 cm pigment oil and marble dust on fresco Congratulations to Holly …
Sarah Tomasetti Incoming Snows (Uttarakhand Series) 2022 oil on Roman black fresco plaster 83x150cm Congratulations to artists Pippin Drysdale, …
Image: Sarah Tomasetti From Balpatta IV 2021 oil and incision on fresco plaster with muslin, mounted on stretched canvas 145 …
Image above: Orest Keywan That Line 2023 steel 168 x 271 x 190cm Congratulations to Orest Keywan, Michael Snape and …
Image above: Andrew Antoniou Weird & Wonderful 2024 charcoal on paper 82 x 88 cm Congratulations to Andrew Antoniou who …
Image above: Christine Wrest-Smith Portrait of Susan Johnson oil on linen 122 x 92cm Congratulations to Christine Wrest-Smith who has been …
Image above: Deborah Williams The air smells different 2023 aquatint intalgio 53×39.5cm Congratulations to Deborah Williams, Martin King and Phillip …
Above image details: Jenny Rodgerson Mum’s orange cardigan 2024 oil on linen 60 x 40 cm Congratulations to Jenny Rodgerson and …
Image above (left to right): Graeme Drendel Portrait of Rick 2024 oil on canvas 41 x 31 cm | Michelle Hiscock …
Image above: Janet Luxton Giant Australian Cuttlefish 2021 oil on canvas 120x160cm Congratulations to Janet Luxton who has had two …
Above image: Wayne Eager, Allegory I 2023 oil on linen 95 x 133 cm Wayne Eager was interviewed by Janet …
Image above: Marina Strocchi The vineyards of Madden’s Lane 2023 acrylic on linen 122 x 152 cm Congratulations to Kate …
Congratulations to Jennifer Keeler – Milne for being selected as a finalist in the Ravenswood Art Prize 2024 for her …