Body image, sexism, spirituality and depression are just some of the topics explored in the ENERGIES 2016 exhibition at Gold Coast City Gallery, which opens on Friday 23 September.
While many adults may shy away from discussing such difficult issues, more than 80 talented Gold Coast senior secondary school students will share their thoughts through art at this annual exhibition.
For more than 20 years, ENERGIES has provided a platform for local senior secondary visual art student’s work to be exhibited to a broad audience in a large scale gallery setting. Presented in partnership with the Senior Visual Arts Educators of the Gold Coast, Gold Coast City Gallery will again host the exhibition which includes a diverse range of creativity and mediums including painting, drawing, photomedia, printmaking and graphic design.
“The work selected this year is a great expression of the kind of creative explosion going on in the minds of the students who are presenting works here – some are finding art the way to express emotions about challenging personal and global conditions,” said Gold Coast City Gallery Senior Curator, Virginia Rigney.
This year’s ENERGIES promotional poster design features the striking work Restoration by Year 12 student Chase Vollenweider. “My work captures that moment in time in which tension builds up to an explosion or release of toxic ideas and experiences – my art is also about the act of restoring; renewal and revival and the way that we think and feel,” says Vollenweider.
Year 12 student Chase Vollenweider’s arresting work, Restoration.
Gallery Director Tracy Cooper-Lavery was impressed with the standard of artwork on display this year and acknowledged the teachers who have shared their time and experience with students to encourage their artistic abilities. “ENERGIES is also a celebration of the dedication of support that the teaching community give to their students through their mentoring and advice and guidance,” she says.
All exhibition works are selected by the visual arts teachers from each participating school and the exhibition allows state and non-state school students across the Gold Coast region to exhibit their artwork in a non-competitive environment. In order to ensure the focus is on the art and skill of the artist, school details are not included.
Additional information about the exhibiting artists and their work is available on The Arts Centre Gold Coast ENERGIES page <https://theartscentregc.com.au/gallery/exhibitions/energies-2016-2/> and ENERGIES 2016 blog. <https://energies2016goldcoastsecondaryschools.blogspot.com.au/>
ENERGIES 2016 is a free exhibition on display at Gold Coast City Gallery from 23 Sept until 30 Oct 2016 in Gallery 2.
