The artist biographies for the winners of the Strathbutler Award
I say this for the sole reason that I want to make it clear that making art is a very difficult profession because it deals with what is not obvious, in what is hidden in one’s emotions, it deals with life itself and everyone knows that life is unpredictable, that it reveals its secrets bit by bit, that nothing is clear, ever. – Roméo Savoie, 1998
This awareness now forms the central core of my work. The abstracting of visual elements in order to recognise their particularity has become automatic; but seeing, combining and creating them as integrated “wholes”, will remain a life-long challenge. – Freeman Patterson, 1997
I have always been fascinated with found objects, particularly objects that nature, time or human work has eroded and that wear their history etched in the folds of their skin, so to speak. – Marie Hélène Allain, 1996
I am influenced by many things that catch my interest: exposure to various cultures and their weaving techniques, the seasons of the year and my surroundings. – Nel Oudemans, 1995
My work is to do with the life I have lead and lead now. The thoughts. Memories and emotions I paint are often painful, sometimes amazingly happy; always some kind of discovery for me. – Kathy Hooper
“I am lucky in my work not only to make a livelihood, but to also be ingaged in a wide range of pursuits from the aesthetic and philosophical to the material and technical.” – Peter Powning
“It is form that is paramount in my work, and relationships between competing forms.” – Tom Smith
“As to the content of my sculpture…they reflect something of my feelings about the human condition; people relating to people, people relating to this magnificent and cruel world upon which we strive to live, and our isolation from each other …” – John Hooper