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

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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.

Friday 20 May 2022

Exhibition at the 10th Pyrmont Festival of Wine Food and Art

It's the 10th anniversary of the Pyrmont Festival of Wine Food and Art, which will be held 11am - 5pm on  Saturday and Sunday 28th and 29th May at Pirrama Park.  
I'll exhibit a selection of artworks painted 'en plein air' in Pyrmont from the early 1980s  to about  2017. Most of the works I'll exhibit were painted within a couple of hundred metres from the Festival site.
I was 'Artist in Residence' at many locations -Pyrmont Power Station, the CSR Refinery and Distillery, Pyrmont Goods Yard, the Waterpolice site, Jones Bay Wharf, Union Square and the top of the half completed Anzac Bridge. 
I had several 'pop-up' studios on and around the area that used to be the festival site. To the west, at the end of Harris st, was the CSR refinery, where I'd set up my easel at the top of the old boilerhouse - later to become the 'Elizabeth' apartment complex of the Jacksons Landing Development. 
Plein air oil painting of the CSR Refinery by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P225A The Boilerhouse CSR Refinery  1991 oil on canvas 91 x 91cm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Every now and then, I'd even climb onto the roof and paint from the chimneys!
The painting below shows the old CSR chem labs and McCaffrey's from the base of the chimney.

Plein air oil painting of the CSR Refinery by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P250 Pyrmont panorama from the CSR  1991 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'm really excited to be back after so long, as Pyrmont has changed so much since - from an industrial ghost town to a media, retail and entertainment hub. 
The painting below shows the Water Police site, which is now Pirrama Park - the site of next weeks' Festival.
Plein air oil painting of Pyrmont Water Police site from the CSR Refinery by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
P243A Water Police site 1991 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The former Manly ferry, MV Baragoola was moored at the Wharf during the early 1990s. It recently sank at its berth off the Waverton Coal Loader, only a few weeks short of its centenary.