Daniel Connell, wall drawing, 2012 and Damien Shen, Uncle Mulla, work on paper, 2014
Adelaide Festival Centre is excited to present Drawing on the Heroes Who Shape Us, a new exhibition by South Australian visual artists Damien Shen and Daniel Connell, held in the Artspace Gallery from 16 April – 1 June 2014.
A portraiture exhibition like no other, Drawing on the Heroes Who Shape Us focuses not on traditional superheroes but on the heroes of the artists’ everyday lives – those within their families and communities. Through the medium of drawing, the artists will examine themes of family, community and role models and ask visitors to look at the heroes who may be a part of their own family or community.
Presenting a truly unique experience to visitors, the exhibition will feature a temporary studio space where both artists will work on new pieces throughout the exhibition. In this way, the exhibition will be constantly evolving and visitors will be provided a rare chance to see the artists at work. Also forming part of the exhibition will be a collection of works by school students, created as part of a series of workshops where students will bring a photo of their own everyday hero and receive tips on drawing from both artists.
Having studied Visual Communication and specialised in Illustration at the University of South Australia, Damien Shen has always had a passion for drawing. Shen creates his art through a process of building up a black charcoal base, then gradually erasing sections and applying black and white charcoal over the top. The process creates a dynamic interplay and tension between black and white, light and shadow. As a half Chinese, half Aboriginal man of Ngarrindjeri descent, Shen feels that his own identity has been formed by a similar struggle between different colours and different cultures.
After the success of Reflect, a collective exhibition presented as part of Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival in 2012, and last year’s SOUTH south EAST, Daniel Connell will bring his unique and highly detailed drawing style to Artspace Gallery once again. As a visual artist working in various global locations, his work is part of an emerging movement concerned with brining the typically artistic traits of analysis, self-reflection and sensitivity to a broader audience. He also believes in making himself available to the wider community as much as possible in order to contribute to a healthy and sustainable society. Connell’s paintings have been three time finalists in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, The Fleurieu Biennial Landscape Prize and the Waterhouse Prize for Natural History and have been purchased for public and private collections internationally.
Drawing on the Heroes Who Shape Us promises to be a reflective, engaging exhibition, demonstrating that it’s often those closest to us who are the most inspiring.
Drawing on the Heroes Who Shape Us
When: 16 April – 1 June 2014
Where: Artspace Gallery, Adelaide Festival Centre
Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 4pm
Entry: Free
- For more information visit the Artspace web page
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