A brand new exhibition by multi-award winning artist Jo Reitze is now on show at Hat Rock Contemporary.
Focused on two well-known cypress trees near the Ocean Grove beach car park, Reitze’s exhibition Resilience consists of 35 works in oils, gouache and pen.
While some of the works have been featured at The Hive Gallery during the Bellarine Arts Trail, this is the first time the series has been exhibited as a whole.
Reitze said it was “just wonderful” to be able to present Resilience at Hat Rock Contemporary.
“I’ve been looking for somewhere to show them for the last two years… and this space is absolutely perfect,” she said.
“(It’s a) really stylish gallery space, it’s got white walls and a black ceiling and all my framed works have got black frames. It’s just my paintings and the walls, and it looks really good.”
Reitze, who lives in Surrey Hills but regularly visits and paints in Ocean Grove, created the works during lockdown when she was “stuck in Melbourne”.
“After the initial shock of our world changing, I soon resolved that this would be my time to paint,” she said.
“We can learn much from these macrocarpa cypresses that bent to survive gales and harsh conditions.
“Their pertinence, during prolonged COVID lockdowns in Melbourne, was acute. Their resilience would inspire my resilience.
“Lockdown has been the only period in my life that I have had uninterrupted time to paint. While others struggled, I felt blessed to be an artist with much to motivate and nourish me.”
The official opening celebration for Resilience is open to the public and will be held at 5pm on Saturday, September 7 at Hat Rock Contemporary.
