Celebrating young artists and their work

Image: Kendelle Watts, Rachel Pinel, and Joel Tonks at the exhibition opening Rewritten Ground Cowra Regional Art Gallery. Background: Give and Take, synthetic and natural fibres, wood, metal and clay by Kendelle Watts 

Young artists in our midst are making a mark.

At the opening of Rewritten Ground, the inaugural exhibition of the Forming Futures program at Cowra Regional Art Gallery, we celebrated works of Central West artists aged under 40 years. Artists Rachel Pinel, Joel Tonks, and Kendelle Watts work for BRAG in front-of-house, installing or in hospitality at our Gallery's exhibition openings. Please support them and visit Cowra Regional Art Gallery during the exhibition period from June 20 until July 26.  

Rewritten Ground is the inaugural exhibition of the Forming Futures program at Cowra Regional Gallery, showcasing the work of Central West artists under 40 years.

An exhibition exploring human intervention within the landscape, Rewritten Ground examines the complex relationship between human urbanisation and the landscapes we inhabit. The exhibition reflects on what we take from the environment and what we impose upon it—how objects, materials and interventions disrupt and become imprints of our presence across natural terrains. It considers the tension between human interference and the quiet resistance of nature, revealing a continual negotiation between humankind and the more than human world. Rewritten Ground invites viewers to reflect on these imprints—subtle, deliberate, catastrophic or accidental—and the enduring dialogue between nature’s agency and human ambition.

Kendelle's work with synthetic and natural fibres, wood, metal and clay in her pieces Wentworth 2025, Reclaimed, and Give and Take were deftly and delicately created to evoke the landscapes transformed by agricultural and human interventions, drawing you in yet so enticing and tactile, almost inviting you to run your fingers over the artwork.

Joel's artworks in the exhibition explore the void in the landscape, created by humanity's hubris, whether it be the literal abyss of an open-cut mine, or the silent ecological collapse of biodiversity and disruption of conditions that have existed for millennia, working with acrylic on canvas for Void, wood and plastic for Scars, or plastic, steel, microcontroller and OLED display for Sign of the Times.

Rachel's deft handling of oils on wood panels, achieving a soft luminescence and detail of the still-life subjects featuring skulls of introduced species alongside objects associated with beauty and domestic life created a quiet meditation on mortality, value, and consequence.

Images: Give and Take by Kendelle Watts, Void by Joel Tonks, and Belle Mort  by Rachel Pinel. Photo: Ingrid Pearson

  

EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Gus Armstrong, Laura Baker, John Daly, Rachel Pinel, Sarah Randall, Joel Tonks and Kendelle Watts.

Also at Cowra Regional Art Gallery is Luminous Revolution, an exhibition that explores the power of colour through the lens of Cowra-based artistic practice.

Colour is a dynamic part of our sensory and physical world. Whether artistic or not, we can hold strong feelings about different colours. Colouration can impact or represent our emotions, can direct our aesthetic tastes and can influence our sense of well-being.

We are pleased to see that one of our Society members, David Henley, is represented in this exhibition.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Linda Chant, Brenda Stace Chat, Inel Date, Rebecca Dowling, David Henley, Shani Nottingham and Mary-Ann Wright.

Curated by Cassandra Hard Lawrie in consultation with Inel Date.

COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY EXHIBITIONS FROM JUNE 20 - JULY 26

Website: Cowra Art Gallery Exhibitions