New to the collection

Contemporary abstract and landscape artist and educator, Kym Barrett is the most recent Queensland artist to be represented in the Sunshine Coast Art Collection through gifting her work: Today I’m Flying Low.

The painting is characteristic of Barrett’s distinctive Wabi Sabi aesthetic - the art of finding beauty in every aspect of imperfection in nature, using cold wax and oil on board, depicting abstract landscapes in a soft and calming manner that puts you at ease the moment you look at her paintings.

The nearby creek and bushland surrounding the artist’s studio is a landscape that Kym is constantly immersed in, inspiring her to create works that are subtle, yet evocative and mysterious. Oils, cold wax medium and drawing tools are her media of choice and the gestural mark-making is a regular feature throughout her artworks.

Kym says of the painting:

"Although it emerges intuitively from the process of painting, this abstract landscape painting, rather than be descriptive of the hilly terrain in and around the Sunshine Coast region, evokes the feeling of calm and quietness that one experiences when just being IN it. The blue hue also echoes the sky and the water that is part of the Sunshine Coast identity.

During the rich, complex layering process of both life and art, I’m seeking the balance of holding the tension of opposites – between activity and quiet, between things hidden and things exposed, between raw and ordered, between surface and history.

The landscape is metaphorical and personal. The title, [Today I’m Flying Low] comes from a poem by Mary Oliver.

Today I’m flying low.

I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth.

But I'm taking the day off.

Quiet as a feather.

I hardly move though really I'm travelling a terrific distance.

Stillness.

One of the doors into the temple.

Kym Barrett has exhibited since the early 2000’s in both group and solo shows and has been a multi-finalist and as winner of the Du Reitz Art Award, Rush Arts Festival and the Kenilworth Arts Festival painting prize in 2014. Kym’s work is also represented in public art collections in Queensland and private collections internationally. She works out of her Chatsworth studio, north of Gympie. Find more information about the Kym Barrett.

The main source of acquisitions to the Collection are through direct donations from artists, or through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, which have helped build the Collection’s holdings as it continues to mature into a strong contemporary Australian art collection for the Sunshine Coast.

Today I’m Flying Low is currently on display in the reception foyer of the Eddie De Vere building, Nambour and can be viewed during business hours.