Friday 21st March – Monday 28th April
Opening Night Friday 21st March 6pm-8pm
with speaker Anna Platten
Arts Centre
22 Gawler Street
Port Noarlunga SA 5167
08 8326 5577
Like many artists, the wonderfully varied coastal region of the Fleurieu Peninsula has inspired Sophie Dunlop’s art. Since moving here in 2017, Sophie has explored her new territory with curiosity and excitement. In this exhibition, “Cornucopia”, rather than focusing on the majesty of the coastal landscapes, she has chosen to paint the produce and producers of her region.
The fruit and vegetable arrangements, having been gathered from the local market or her garden; the animals, her pets and the birds that visit her garden, also inhabit at random, her compositions. Her studio in the Aldinga Arts and Ecovillage is littered with assemblages: glassware, porcelain, Moroccan ceramics, shells and seaweed gathered from her walks at Port Willunga Beach as well as objects inherited from her late father, the distinguished painter, Brian Dunlop.
Inspired by these props that punctuate her studio, Sophie relishes the unique and intricate details of each object she conveys. Her meticulous style is countered with a curious eye and unconventional composition, to provide the viewer with a fresh yet thoughtful interpretation of the Fleurieu. Echoing the evocative nature of her favourite still life objects, she imbues her subject matter with a quality that goes beyond the purely visual; she injects the canvas with intensified colour so that the viewer may go beyond the surface, to taste and smell the succulent flesh of the fruit she paints, to touch and feel the plants and animals that she has encountered.
