Well-known Australian artist, Leon Pericles, will be holding an exhibition, titled, ‘Periclesian Habitats’, at the Collie Art Gallery, from October 6 to November 12.
Born and educated in Western Australia, Leon completed fine art studies at Perth Technical College and Curtin University in Perth during the late 60’s and followed with post graduate studies at the Birmingham Polytech, UK in the early 70’s.
Leon Pericles is well published, has won many awards through his career and held numerous solo exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas.
His work is held in all Australian state galleries, the National Gallery and private collections around the world. In 1989 the Western Australian State Art Gallery honored him with a retrospective exhibition of his prints entitled ‘20 years of Printmaking’. Leon creates fictitious environments based on a remote country town.
Many of his works have some wit, whimsy and social comment around his mythical town of Widjimorphup. Several works are about or around the theme of life and happenings in rural habitats.
Trudi Curran, Gallery Chairwoman and Head of Visual Arts at Collie Senior High School said she is very excited about the exhibition.
“I was taught printmaking by Leon at Nedlands Teachers College in the 1980’s,” she said.
“I was in awe of his amazing imagination and his ability to project himself into all sorts of crazy situations that he depicts in his work. “He was already working on his Widjimorphup series which he’s continued with. At the time he was into these amazing huge Japanese style kites and he would drag us outside and we would make these huge kites.”
“But interestingly, of course he is a very accomplished painter as well as print maker and mixed media painter, and I think it’s that dark sense of humour in his work that makes his work so appealing and accessible to everyday people.”
Mrs Curran said she is thrilled the gallery is exhibiting Leon’s work. “I actually chased him,” she said. “I went to the Margaret River Open Studios deliberately to find him and to have him in our gallery. So I actively sought him out.”
“It’s been a dream of mine really to have his work in our gallery and I think it’s art that just about anyone can enjoy.”
The exhibition will be on show at the Collie Art Gallery 10am-4pm, Thursdays-Mondays, 7 October – 12 November.
