Welcome back to the light factory gallery for 2011. With such a positive reception to our opening, we are very excited about the upcoming year and look forward to going from strength to strength. We would like to thank all our patrons who have been so supportive and encouraging. We will continue to cultivate and promote fine art in the Yarra Valley and to provide access for the community to keep updated with happenings in the art world.

Classes begin on the 31st of January and the first exhibitions commence on the 16th of February.

The exhibition program for 2011 promises to be stimulating and enriching. It involves a balance of well established artists and inspiring emerging artists.

Opening Exhibitions: 16^th February – 13^th March

Ron Reynolds Return à Eltham.

In this exhibition, popular local artist Ron Reynolds gives reign to his two passions of Victorian and French landscapes in a show that is both reflective and forward looking. Colour and the cubist influences have always been a strong feature of Ron’s work but as his work has matured, Ron has worked more from the studio. He takes the motif as the starting point and continually develops and redevelops the balance of design and colour. Ultimately it is the painting that matters and the journey from start to end does not necessarily progress in a linear fashion. Meet Ron on Sunday 20^th February between 2.00 and 4.00, when he will have his diaries on view and explain his approach to art.

Ted May Drawings

Concurrently exhibiting is Ted May Drawings. Ted recently won the national $20,000 Xstrata Percival Portrait Prize and it is with great delight that we are treated to an exhibition of his work. Ted’s large charcoal drawings are impossible to walk by without spending time contemplating their form and intent. In 2006 Ted was approached to do a series of drawings for a documentary based on the failed boat trip of an expedition to establish a town on the Northern Territory coast. This project provided the inspiration for many drawings, some of which are shown in his current exhibition. The works on display are large scale images executed in charcoal on canvas and linen. Each work depicts its own unique narrative and flight of fancy. Each work also highlights May’s superb draughtsmanship, a skill not frequently seen. Using the boat as the central image, May has explored and pondered and finally, developed drawings that rouse the senses and excite the imagination. Ted will talk about his work on Sunday 27^th February at 2.00pm. Come along and share in his experiences.