Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

My photo
Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.

Sunday 27 March 2011

A good Korea move

Two Exhibitions in Seoul, Korea
"Together in Harmony for 50 Years"

I have been invited to exhibit paintings in 2 exhibitions in Seoul, Korea as part of the celebration event for '50 years of Friendship Between Australia and Korea'.The exhibition "Together in Harmony for 50 years" at the Noori and Arum gallery in the Korea Foundation Culture Centre in Seoul, Korea opens 4 -7pm Friday 29th April 2011. 


The sequel exhibition in the "Bom" gallery in Chongdamdong, Seoul's most prominent art precinct, opens on the 3rd May 2011.

This exhibition is also organized by the Australian Embassy in Korea and also invited by "Bom" Gallery themselves.


106 paintings have been selected for the exhibition in the Korea Foundation Culture Centre,
which is owned by  Samsung, and run by the Korea Foundation Australia.
This is the painting I will be displaying in this exhibition.
"Fitzroy Dock, early morning, Cockatoo Island" 2007 oil on canvas 75x100cm.

Bom is a commercial gallery with a smaller exhibiting area, so only 30 paintings have been selected to be displayed.
This is the painting I will be displaying in Bom.

 "Sunrise, Fitzroy Dock ,  Cockatoo Island "2007 oil on canvas 75x100cm


Hoim Lee ,President of KWASS, the Korean Women's Art Society in Sydney has worked tirelessly to organise and promote these exhibitions.


KWASS is a non-profit organization established in 2006, to promote activities among Korean-Australian female artists who are based in Sydney.
The artworks have been selected from both KWASS exhibiting members (Korean Australians) and non-members (of non-Korean ethnic background).

KWASS held a very successful exhibition in Seoul in November 2009, with the support of the Australia-Korea Foundation, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His Excellency, the Ambassador Sam Gerovich, was so impressed with this exhibition that he invited KWASS to hold a second exhibition in 2011, as part of the 2011 Year of Friendship Between Australia and Korea, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The event has been financially supported by the Australian Embassy in Seoul.

I haven't been overseas since my Marten Bequest Travelling  Art Scholarship, which was 1996 -8! I let my passport lapse as I've always been too busy to travel. Often my paintings would go to interstate or international exhibitions , but I was working too hard to join them. This time I thought, it looks exciting and I need a break, so why not? So I am off to Korea for a week or so.

It won't be all sight-seeing  and attending gallery openings. I've been asked to give a seminar on Australian art for a couple of hours at the Korea Foundation Culture Centre. 
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Thursday 24 March 2011

UPtown Festival 2011

The 30th Pyrmont Ultimo Festival
Saturday 19th March 2011
The industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett exhibiting her Pyrmont paintings at the 2011 Pyrmont Festival
The Pyrmont- Ultimo UPtown Festival 2011
Photo is courtesy of Jeffrey Mellefont,
Australian National Maritime Museum.

Quarry Green is a charming little park between Quarry St and Bulwara Road behind Harris St Ultimo. Its most famous landmarks are the church and tne pub, which lie close to the border between Pyrmont and Ultimo.
The festival began modestly thirty years ago, when it was started by two enterprising local residents, Debra Berryman and Olga Reader, as a simple get-together to unite the small local community. Since then, year by year, the UPTown Festival has witnessed the Ultimo Pyrmont precinct’s remarkable re-birth and transformation from a quiet, post-industrial area in the early 1980’s, with a population of under 2000, to today’s thriving business, media and education centre, with a dynamic, multi-ethnic community of around 20,000.
I had displayed some of my many paintings of Pyrmont and Ultimo in previous UPtown festivals, but always inside the church hall which made them difficult to see. This time I was given a large tent and a prime position outside the local community's favourite watering hole, the Lord Wolseley. This delightful old pub, at the northern end of Quarry Green on Bulwara Road, is one of the narrowest in Sydney, but makes up for that in 'character'. Its interior boasts a bullet hole left in the pub mirror by Neddy Smith, who had rather shakily aimed at the bartender during the 1980's gangland wars. Those were the days!
Despite the heavy rain the festival drew a large crowd-the organizers estimated that there were over 4,000 people attending. I caught up with lots of people I hadn't seen for years and met many new residents who were interested to see what their suburb used to look like.The tent sheltered my 40 paintings and 2 large drawings, attached with cable ties to the 14 easels I had again borrowed from my long suffering mate John from the Australian Society of Marine Artists. Lots of people helped me lug the easels from the Mustard Seed Centre where they were stored.
The paintings in this photo are some of my more recent Pyrmont artworks. In the foreground is the "Carpentaria and the James Craig" from just outside Wharf 7, and above it are 2 views of Jacksons Landing from Glebe Island Wharf and a painting of Pyrmont from the East Darling Harbour Wharves.

For more information see My Pyrmont page in this blog

Related posts
Looking over the overlooked-Urban decay in Pyrmont
To the Point
Wrong side of the tracks - Darling Island Bond and Free
Pyrmont Paintings past and present
Paintings of Pink pubs - Painting the Jolly Frog Part 2 

Not the Writers Festival- Exhibition of Pyrmont Paintings by Jane Bennett at 2013 Pyrmont Festival
We like sheep - Waite and Bull Building 137 Pyrmont Street
Marine art exhibition at Australian National Maritime Museum
Pyrmont Sandstone - The Lizards of Oz

Monday 7 March 2011

A Royal Rendevous- Part 2 Farewell to the Queens

plein air oil painting of the 'Queen Elizabeth 2' docking at Circular Quay by maritime artist Jane Bennett
Unfinished painting of 'The Queen Elizabeth docking at Circular Quay '
oil painting on canvas 61 x 76cm
 $4,500 


Enquiries about this painting:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com 

        For information and price list -Artist information page




(Photo is courtesy of Callan Back)
plein air oil painting of the 'Queen Elizabeth 2' docking at Circular Quay by maritime artist Jane Bennett
Completed painting of  'The Queen Elizabeth docking at Circular Quay '
oil painting on canvas 61 x 76cm
 $4,500 

Enquiries about this painting:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com 

        For information and price list -Artist information page