As Clare welcomed the start of another Gourmet Week outside on Friday evening, inside the local town hall the annual showcase of art and creativity with the 26th Clare Art Show.
Once again presented by Rotary Club of Clare, this year more than 400 entries were submitted into the art show, with opening night and this year’s awards presented on Friday evening.
Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council Mayor Allan Aughey officially opened the exhibition, wearing a kimono which represented the Japanese philosophy of “wabi sabi”, which accepts the imperfect, sees beauty in the flawed and transcends and encourages the acceptance of the imperfect.
In his speech, he spoke of the power of art.
“Art provides answers, prophecies, inspiration, resilience and true comfort, the comfort that knowing no matter how dire our dilemma as a community or as an individual, the artistic chronicle attest to the fact that everything that we face as problems has happened before,” he said.
“Creative art world warrants enthusiastic and perpetual patronage by all enlightened and caring communities, and ladies and gentlemen I’m so proud to be at the leadership of a caring and enlightened community here in the Clare Valley.”
This year Snowtown artist Wendy Pfeiffer won the Best in Exhibition $5000 prize for her graphite piece ‘Fish and Chips’.
She said it was a big surprise to win this year’s award.
“It will go towards developing my career, I returned to South Australia after spending 17 years in Victoria, where I did a lot of commissioned portraits,” she said.
The piece shows two steers, named Fish and Chips, who people can visit at Hummocks Station near Snowtown.
Ms Pfeiffer said graphite was a highly realistic style, as she tried to capture the individuality of animals she drew.
She is also an experienced artist, and is the current president of the Royal SA Society of Arts.
Other notable winners include some family successes, including artist Julie Lloyd who won the Oil and Acrylic Painting category for ‘On The Beach’, while her granddaughter Tiarna Lloyd won the Junior – Under 12 category for ‘Wally The Cranky Cat’.
Three generations of Mannings also entered categories, with Trent Manning winning the Outdoor Sculpture category with ‘Stone and Wood Bench’ and Harrison Manning winning Youth – Under 18 with a tie for his three entries, ‘Farmer’, ‘Footballer’ and ‘Cricket’.
Special mention also to 35 students from Spalding Primary School, who each submitted entries and collectively earned the Junior Encouragement Award.
Georgia Button, who originally hails from Wandearah in the Mid North, returned as judge for a second year said there was a great abundance of quality art on display in this exhibition.
“I’m privileged to be asked to judge such a huge variety of exceptional works with such a range of different styles and extremely high quality as they are every year,” she said.
Rotary Club of Clare president Graham Goode said the opening went really well, and the artworks submitted were well received.
Among those submitted were 41 artworks shown virtually through Gallery 247.
The exhibition will remain on show every day until 12 noon on Saturday, May 25 in the Clare Town Hall.
CATEGORY WINNERS (sponsors in brackets)
Best in Exhibition (Ray White Clare Valley)
Wendy Pfeiffer, ‘Fish and Chips’
Clare Valley Award (Senator Don Farrell)
Xavier Mouche, ‘Seasonal Clare’
Pastel Prize (Skillogalee House, Winery and Restaurant)
Bill Truslove, ‘Morning Storm, Mount Compass’
Watercolour and Gouache (Clare Family Dental, Sevenhill Hotel, Johnston Withers, Clare Medical Centre)
Nina Volk, ‘Main North Road, Clare Valley’
Oil and Acrylic Painting (Taylor Wines, Office National, MGA, Rowan Ramsey MP, Clare Quarry, Elders)
Julie Lloyd, ‘On The Beach’
Indoor Sculpture Prize (Mitre 10, Clare Fashion and Fabric, Specsavers, Miss Gracie Taylors, Maven Dental)
Mark Spencer, ‘Ricardo’
Outdoor Sculpture – Public Art (Clare Valley Toyota, Heinrichs, MacKenzie Homes)
Trent Manning, ‘Stone and Wood Bench’
Drawing (Penny Pratt MP, Clare Hotel, IKC Sheds, Schultz Mechanical, MR Electrix, Balco)
Jacqueline Petherick, ‘Pedro’
Youth – Under 18 (CV Auto, Clare Pharmacy, Blyth Battery)
Harrison Manning, ‘Farmer’, ‘Footballer’ and ‘Cricket’
Junior – Under 12 (Rotary Club of Clare)
Tiarna Lloyd, ‘Wally The Cranky Cat’
Youth Encouragement Award (Clare Arts Collective)
Thomas Cook, ‘15th Century Italian Armour’; Shea Plowman, ‘Leaves of Season’
Junior Encouragement Award (Clare Arts Collective)
Spalding Primary School
Judge’s Personal Favourite (Georgia Button)
Brian Carpenter, ‘Abstract Blue 2’
