Congratulations to Camie Lyons on her latest commission of sculptures and works on paper for the Trenery flagship store in Melbourne as well as in selected Trenery stores nationally.
Camie Lyons skillfully weaves elements of strength and fragility in her work. Her sculptures are made from found Australian native branches, which she bends and binds into arresting forms, then casts in bronze—a process that can take several months. The finished works serve as a wellspring of inspiration for her charcoal drawings.
“The whole process begins with me walking in the bush. When you’re going out on those great, long walks, you start breathing in time with it, your footprints are making a beat, you start this whole rhythm of collecting.” – Camie Lyons, 2023
To view the wonderful interview with Camie Lyons in her studio as she creates these beautiful custom-designed pieces for Trenery, click here.
Camie Lyons is a Sydney-based artist that works across a variety of mediums including sculpture, painting and drawing. Lyons’ artistic practice is largely inspired by and incorporates her intuition and experience as a contemporary dancer. Gathering from this, she explores the free-flowing possibility of lines, form and movement created by the human body. Lyons studied Fine Arts at RMIT in Melbourne and later completed her Masters at the College of Fine Art (COFA), UNSW in Sydney. She has held several solo exhibitions with Olsen Irwin Gallery in Sydney and Scott Livesey in Melbourne, and has showed internationally at Australasian Art Projects and the Australian High Commission in Singapore, as well as The Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.
Lyons has travelled extensively throughout her life and has been an Artist in Residence in Sweden, Bulgaria, Bull Bay (TAS) and most recently at the Haefligers cottage in Hill End (NSW). In 2019, Lyons completed four large scale drawing commissions for Tiffany & Co. which are now on permanent display at their new flagship store in Sydney. And in what will be her first regional museum exhibition, Lyons will be showing a new body of work that was produced during the Hill End AIR at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery in 2019. Her work is in several public and private collections in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, France, London, Thailand and New York.
Most recently, Camie was the winner of ‘Sculpture at Scenic World’ in the Blue Mountains (2021) and the Mount Eyre Art Prize (2023). She has also been awarded Highly Commended at both the Hawkesbury Art Prize and ‘Sculpture in the Garden’, held at Rosby Vineyard, Mudgee (2023). Her work graces both public and private collections worldwide.
Images above courtesy of Trenery.
Image above: The Bush Custodians bronze each figure 270 x 180 x 250cm. Photographed with the artist.
Congratulations to Camie Lyons, Greg Johns and Jimmy Rix who have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Sculpture in the Valley, held at the Wilburra property on Smarts Road in Kangaroo Valley.
Sculptures by the three artists have been selected in both the Outdoor Sculpture and Indoor Sculpture categories. Camie Lyons’ Bush Custodians, Greg Johns’ Sentinel and The Observer, and Jimmy Rix’s Kangaroo and Honeyeater have been selected in the Outdoor Sculpture category. Lyons’ Wings, Johns’ Dry Country Mandala and Rix’s Kelpie and Home is where the heart is have been selected in the Indoor Sculpture category.
Greg Johns Sentinel 2022 corten steel 294 x 60 x 80 cm
Jimmy Rix Kelpie 2020 bronze 51 x 42 x 21.5 cm
Camie Lyons Wings Bronze 112 x 72 60 cm
Of her work, Lyons says: ‘A reminder of the vital role played by all winged creatures. In droves they clean the earth and spread the seeds and fertilize life in our wild spaces. The artist crafted these forms from branches, materials that owe their existence to insects, birds, and bugs. They too begin their journey with the help from winged things and grow into giants, providing food and shelter, and so continuing the divine cycle of growth and transformation.’
Sculpture in the Valley is part of the not-for-profit organisation Arts in the Valley, also known as the Kangaroo Valley Arts Festival. Sculpture in the Valley presents a biennial exhibition of sculptural works set in the dramatic escarpment surrounds of Kangaroo Valley. A selection of large outdoor sculptures take advantage of the site’s intimate rural setting and expansive valley views, while a selection of smaller works are available for view in the standard indoor exhibition space.
This year the show welcomes David Ball as the exhibition curator alongside Director Stuart McCreery, and judges Janet Laurence and Michael Snape.
Sculpture in the Valley 2023
Wilburra, 32 Smarts Road, Barrengarry NSW
View the online exhibition catalogue here
Congratulations to Camie Lyons, who has received a Highly Commended award in the 2023 Hawkesbury Art Prize for her beautiful work, Bush Telegraph. This award also includes a 2 week art residency at Glenhuntly Estate, Kurrajong.
“Bush Telegraph is part of an ongoing investigation into the beautiful calligraphy found on our Scribbly Gums. The fine lines are left by larvae feeding, I am captivated by their intricate scrawling… ‘What are they trying to say?’ Enthralled by the distinctive linework observed while on a residency in the Blue Mountains, I have continued to observe and study our incredible Bush and the obvious need to listen to our first nations, the true custodians, about the care of these wild places We must heed the warnings and find ways to move forward with contemporary issues surrounding Bush management. The knowledge is all there, it always it always has been. The time to act is now.” – Camie Lyons
The Hawkesbury Art Prize is a non-acquisitive biennial art award open to Australian artists for paintings, drawings or works on paper created in the past 12 months that responds to the concept of contemporary identity in Australian life. Established in 2011 by Robyn Williams and Purple Noon Gallery, this exhibition seeks to showcase the freshness and vitality of Australian artists, and reflects diverse portrayals of history, landscape, place, and ways of seeing. This year, the Prize was judged by Angus Fisher (Winner of the 2021 Hawkesbury Art Prize), Julie Brackenreg and Linda Gregoriou.
Hawkesbury Art Prize 2023
Purple Noon Gallery
606 Terrace Road Freemans Reach NSW 2756
2 – 18 September 2023
Congratulations to Camie Lyons, Winner of the 2023 Mount Eyre Art Prize with her beautiful bronze, ‘Vines Reflecting Light’.
Drawing upon her experience as a contemporary dancer, and a deep connection to the natural world, Camie Lyons’ works are infused with an understanding of the organic possibilities of line, form, rhythm and movement. Her work is fluid and physical, playing with the balance and tension between positive and negative space in both her two and three-dimensional works.
The exhibition of finalists is now on view at Rex-Livingston Art+Objects until 10 September 2023.
Mount Eyre Art Prize Exhibition
Rex-Livingston Art+Objects
182-184 Katoomba Street
Katoomba
Sponsored by Mount Eyre Vineyards Hunter Valley.
To read more about Camie Lyons and view a selection of her work, click here.
Image above: The Bush Custodians bronze each figure 270 x 180 x 250cm.
Congratulations to Camie Lyons, who has been awarded a Highly Commended acknowledgement for her work The Bush Custodians, shown in the 2023 Sculpture in the Garden at Wollongong Botanic Garden.
The Bush Custodians began as an investigation of the figure in relation to its landscape. They are cast from branches collected by the artist during long walks in the bush. Their forms are beautifully inscribed with the distinctive gum bark patterning of the natural growth of the tree and the bugs that inhabit it. I imagine these custodians wandering the land in search of answers for why their wilderness home has diminished. They invite us to walk with them and find new solutions for a sustainable future, for our green spaces and our precious wild places.
Camie Lyons holds a Master of Fine Arts and has been exhibiting for 20 years, with numerous solo shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong and Singapore including at the Australian High Commission and a solo regional show at Bathurst Regional AG.
Recent commissions include the Langham in Qld, the AMP Capitol Building, the Hilton and Tiffany’s in Sydney’s CBD. Lyons has created public works for Waverley Council, City of Sydney Council, for Hoi Ha Wan Marine reserve in Hong Kong and in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her creations can be found in public and private collections in Australia and around the globe. Lyons continues to explore and develop her arts practice, connecting her past physicality as a dancer to the very physical act of making sculpture.
Sculpture in the Garden takes place every two years at Wollongong Botanic Garden, and includes 23 thought-provoking sculptures from local, national and international artists.
2023 Sculpture in the Garden
Wollongong Botanic Garden
18 March – 30 April
Camie Lyons with The Bush Custodians.
Image above: front view of Artists at Home, by Karina Dias Pires.
Australian Galleries is pleased to share that Camie Lyons has been included in a new publication titled Artists at Home: Inside the creative spaces of 32 female artists in Australia, by Karina Dias Pires.
“Painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, photography, installation, printmaking, film … no matter what the medium, these formidable artists are united by their strength, passion and honesty.
“This richly layered compilation invites the reader into the creative spaces of 32 female artists, offering an intimate look behind the scenes and the chance to meet each artist on home ground. Featuring profiles on their practice and process, along with a candid Q&A section, they engage in an honest discussion about womanhood, career, gender inequality and the constant juggle of balancing a contemporary practice with everyday life.”
Find Artists at Home online here.
Inside view of Artists at Home featuring artworks by Lyons.
Lyons has also been featured in the October issue of Australian House & Garden. Find a copy at your local newsagency.
Front cover view of Australian House & Garden, October issue.
Interior view featuring Camie Lyons Mead Limbs I 2020 charcoal and ink on paper 76 x 56 cm.
For more information on Camie Lyons, visit her artist page on the Australian Galleries website here.
Image above: installation view, Camie Lyons Impromptu Making and Shadow steel, paint 350 x 250 x 190 cm.
Australian Galleries is pleased to share that several of the gallery’s represented and notable artists are currently showing in the latest iteration of Sculpture by the Sea. Now in its 24th year, this public outdoor sculpture exhibition – the largest of its kind in the world – is showcasing over 100 artworks by Australian and international sculptors.
Ayako Saito Tomb of Atreus 2022 steel, painted 210 x 180 x 230 cm.
“The geometry of the parts of this sculpture, through their relation, add up to a new thing.” – Ayako Saito
Ron Robertson-Swann Pythagoras 1984 steel, painted 182 x 227 x 267 cm.
“Pythagoras knew a thing or 2.” – Ron Robertson-Swann
Front and back views: Richard Tipping The Sanctuary of Distance 2020/2022 edition 7 reflective tape, aluminium sheet, galvanised pole 70 x 90 x 5 cm.
“This work is comprised of four different signs, each double-sided with ‘Oh No’ on one side, and ‘Oh Yes’ on the other. It brings the template of the “Danger” sign into new use both as a cry of distress (‘Oh No’) and as a space for resolution and repair (‘Oh Yes’).”
“The sanctuary of distance is declared; and sculpture’s contemplative nature is announced.” – Richard Tipping
Richard Goodwin Turbulence aluminium stainless steel, mild steel, plastic, concrete 441 x 225 x 225 cm.
“This work speaks to the park and dramatises the site. It is both tree-like and a furious seaweed cluster under water. The audience is left to draw the wind in their minds as the turbulence builds.” – Richard Goodwin
Michael Le Grand Global Minuet 2020 painted steel 240 x 410 x 200 cm.
Michael Snape Slow Turn 2020 steel 240 x 300 x 240 cm.
“Eighteen lines drawn, eighteen lines cut, bent eighteen times, obtuse or acute, making a Slow Turn.” – Michael Snape
Greg Johns Horizon Figure 2018-2020 edition 3 corten steel 310 x 400 x 80 cm.
“This work is from a series which explores connection with the Australian landscape. This organic and complex work references the broken stone forms of our unique, weathered landscape.” – Greg Johns
Camie Lyons Impromptu Making and Shadow 2019 steel, paint 350 x 250 x 190 cm.
“I picked up discarded wire and coaxed it into form. I found beauty in the tangled landscape. These works are those experiments blown up. The challenge was to remain true to the original continuous line work and resist the temptation to redirect.” – Camie Lyons
Jock Clutterbuck The Orange Tree 2020 fabricated and cast aluminium 210 x 130 x 47 cm.
“The Orange Tree is the title of an early poem by John Shaw Neilson who grew up and worked as a labourer in the Western Wimmera region of Victoria where I also grew up.” – Jock Clutterbuck
James Parrett M-fifty 2022 stainless steel 230 x 310 x 230 cm.
“M-fifty is primarily inspired by the aesthetic potential of the circular form and what can be achieved through the dissection and reconfiguration of radial arcs.” – James Parrett
Sculpture by the Sea continues until 7 November.
Sculpture by the Sea: 24th Exhibition
Bondi to Tamarama Beach
21 October – 7 November 2022
‘Sculpture Inside’
‘Sculpture Inside’, the small sculpture exhibition component of Sculpture by the Sea is now showing at Marquee, Mark’s Park, Tamarama – on the Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi exhibition trail until 7 November.
The beautiful works below by Jimmy Rix, Camie Lyons, Ayako Saito and Ron Robertson-Swann are part of this dynamic exhibition of small scale pieces.
“Sculpture Inside’ is our free to the public indoor exhibition located in a pop-up marquee in Marks Park on the exhibition trail, showcasing small artwork by Sculpture by the Sea exhibiting artists.
We welcome visitors to come in and marvel at the presentation of sculpture on a small scale, displaying the diversity of the artist’s practice.
‘Sculpture Inside’ also provides a unique opportunity to purchase sculpture by emerging, mid-career and established Australian and International artists.”
Above: Jimmy Rix The Sleeping Gypsy (after Rousseau) bronze edition of 9 21 x 33 x 25 cm
Above: Camie Lyons Whirlpool 2021 bronze 46 x 49 x 44 cm
Above: Ayako Saito
Above:RonRobertson-Swann
Image above: installation view of Seed 2021 aluminium and flock leather on Perspex plinth 162 x 116 x 97 cm.
Congratulations to Camie Lyons who has been announced as a finalist in the Lake Art Prize 2022 for her sculpture ‘Seed’. Lyons has been chosen alongside 65 other finalists from 390 entries into what is one of the richest acquisitive art prizes in regional NSW, offering a $25,000 acquisitive prize pool to acquire works for the Museum of Art and Culture (MAC) yapang collection.
The theme for this year’s prize is titled The Vessel: contained within and moving between. In working with this theme, artists were invited to explore literal or lateral translations of the vessel, exploring the notions of, but not limited to the power to hold, containment, passage, memory as well as the vessel in relation to life, water and place.
‘Seed’ is comprised of branches cast in aluminium wrapped in flock leather on a Perspex plinth. It is on show at MAC until Sunday 11 December 2022.
Image above: Seed 2021 aluminium and flock leather on Perspex plinth 162 x 116 x 97 cm.
Enquire about this work.
Lake Art Prize 2022
Museum of Art and Culture (MAC)
1A First Street, Booragul NSW 2284
24 September – 11 December 2022
Image above: Installation view, Camie Lyons Untethered.
Camie Lyons, Jenny Bell and Angus Fisher have been included in the latest iteration of Paddington Art Precinct at George Place, curated by Justin Miller Gallery.
Lyons has two works included, ‘Seed’ and ‘Untethered’. These works are remnants of her most recent body of work, ‘Bush Calligraphy’, presented at Australian Galleries Sydney in March 2022.
Installation view: Camie Lyons Seed 2021.
Inspired by the immersive experiences during her residencies in 2020 and 2021 – first at Umbi Gumbi on the South Coast of NSW and then BigCi Creative Ground in the ancient landscape of the Blue Mountains – these works highlight Lyon’s inherent understanding and appreciation of nature’s tempo as she brings this sensibility into the urban rush, reminding us to be free of imposed rigidity and nurture the seed within.
Camie Lyons Untethered 2021 aluminium, graphite & sealer 126 x 190 x 110 cm $14,000. Enquire about this work.
Camie Lyons Seed 2021 aluminium and flock leather on Perspex plinth 162 x 116 x 97 cm $14,000. Enquire about this work.
Installation view, George Place.
Installation view, George Place.
“Art, in all its forms, is the expression of the spirit – a fusion of our rational and intuitive selves. It reflects a version of ourselves back to us. If we open ourselves to its power, we might learn to be native to this place.” – Jenny Bell
Jenny Bell Splitting posts no 24 2012 oil on board 60 x 60 cm $5,750. Work available online.
Jenny Bell Splitting posts no 38 2012 oil on board 60 x 60 cm $5,750. Work available online.
Jenny Bell Shedding light no.14 2007-10 oil on plantation hoop pine 60 x 60 cm $5,750. Work available online.
Angus Fisher Carrion #1 2021 ink pen and watercolour on paper 75 x 55 cm $5,750. Work available online.
‘Carrion #1’ was exhibited at Australian Galleries Sydney in Fisher’s 2021 solo exhibition ‘Natural Order’, which explored human interaction with the natural world and our ongoing efforts to control and contain it. Another work from this series ‘Carrion #3’ was the winner of the 2021 Hawkesbury Art Prize.
“Over 10 million animals are killed on our roads each year. This is a uniquely Australian sight; native creatures struck, tagged and discarded by the roadside. Absurd and grotesque, these animals serenely sprawled and ritually marked by passing rangers represent the accepted price of our fast moving world.” – Angus Fisher
Above Image: Camie Lyons ‘Path of a Meandering Soul’ bronze 2021 700 cm x 300 cm
The Langham, Gold Coast officially opened its doors last week, the highly anticipated opening marked the public debut of new artwork by internationally-renowned Australian sculptor and artist Camie Lyons.
‘Path of a Meandering Soul’, has been a yearlong project for the artist, perfectly capturing the elements and intricacy of Queensland’s own natural environments. The seven metre bronze sculpture was cast from bush vine gathered from the Gold Coast hinterlands.
Camie Lyons is a Sydney-based artist that works across a variety of mediums including sculpture, painting and drawing. Lyons’ artistic practice is largely inspired by and incorporates her intuition and experience as a contemporary dancer, as she explores the free-flowing possibility of lines, form and movement created by the human body. Lyons studied Fine Arts at RMIT in Melbourne and later completed her Masters at the College of Fine Art (COFA), UNSW in Sydney. She has held several solo exhibitions with Olsen Irwin Gallery in Sydney and Scott Livesey in Melbourne, and has showed internationally at Australasian Art Projects and the Australian High Commission in Singapore, as well as The Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.
Camie adds The Langham, Gold Cost to a growing list of public collections including, Gothenburg City Gardens, Slottskogen, Sweden, Hoi Ha Wan Marine Reserve, Hong Kong , Sydney City Council, Waverley City Council and Tiffany & Co., Sydney.
Camie Lyons ‘Path of a Meandering Soul’ bronze 2021 700 cm x 300 cm
Camie Lyons ‘Path of a Meandering Soul’ bronze 2021 700 cm x 300 cm
Camie Lyons ‘Path of a Meandering Soul’ bronze 2021 700 cm x 300 cm
