Previous Exhibition

Rich Allen —
Spirits in Alliance

Aug 3 – Aug 13, 2023

About the Artist      

In 2021, an 'artist in residence' opportunity, which accompanied Rich's Fleeting World exhibition at Side Gallery, created a compelling need for Rich to explore the circle and all this holistic symbol represents. In addition, at that time, Rich had several conversations with fellow artisans from diverse disciplines of practice. These conversations led to the idea of undertaking explorations with collaborators, a vehicle to challenge and test current thinking and move right out of his comfort zone. This journey evolved into the exhibition Spirits in Alliance.

THE ARTISANS
Rich Allen  
Sophia Andreas
Nicole Cox Yeates
Glen Harvey 
Grev Patterson  
Julie Sutherland
Erik Williamson
Katy Woods 

We are delighted to celebrate the opening of Rich Allen's latest exhibition, Spirits in Alliance. Join us Thursday, 3 August, from 6.00 pm for opening night drinks. 

On Saturday, 5 August, at 10.30 am, Rich and fellow artisans will join curator Laura Brinin in the gallery to chat about this collaborative body of work.

Deco Spirit — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving wood pencil on 638 gsm CP on board
28.5 x 20 cm
$660 Framed

River Spirit — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving wood pencil on 638 gsm CP on board
28.5 x 20 cm
$660 Framed

Sold

Sun Spirit One — with Julie   2023

Beadweaving, pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP on board
37 x 26 cm
$620 Sold

Sold

Sun Spirit Two — with Julie   2023

Beadweaving, pencil & graphitinton 425 gsm CP on board
37 x 26 cm
$650 Sold

Vitruvia In Motion — with Grev + Katy   2023

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Pencil on 638 gsm CP
40.5 x 28 cm
$450 Framed

Zip I & II— with Grev   2023

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Pencil & graphitinton 638 gsm CP
40.5 x 28 cm
$420 Framed

Optical Intimacy 1.0 — with Grev   2021

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Pencil on 425 gsm CP
40.5 x 28 cm
$370 Framed

Sold

Vitruvia Ascends — with Katy   2022

Pencil & graphitint on 425 gsm CP
38 x 26 cm
$420 Sold

Sold

Vitruvia Risen — with Katy   2022

Pencil & graphitint on 425 gsm CP
38 x 26 cm
$420 Sold

Sold

Ethereal Spirits Rise — with Katy   2022

Pencil on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 28.5 cm
$450 Sold

Balance — with Katy   2022

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Pencil & graphitint on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 28.5 cm
$390 Framed

Counter Balance — with Katy   2022

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Pencil & graphitint on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 28.5 cm
$390 Framed

Sundancer I — with Katy   2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
28.5 x 28 cm
$450 Framed

Sundancer II — with Katy   2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
28.5 x 28 cm
$450 Framed

Sold

Momentum To Moment I — with Katy + Erik   2023

Pencil on 638 gsm CP
20 x 28.5 cm
$280 Sold

Momentum To Moment II — With Katy + Erik   2023

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Pencil on 638 gsm CP
20 x 28.5 cm
$280 Framed

Momentum To Moment III — with Katy + Erik   2023

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Pencil on 638 gsm CP
20 x 28.5 cm
$280 Framed

Avia Rising One — with Katy + Erik   2023

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 26 cm
$420 Framed

Sold

Avia Rising Two — With Katy + Erik   2023

Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 26 cm
$420 Sold

Sold

Avia Rising Three — With Katy + Erik    2023

Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38.5 x 26 cm
$420 Sold

Optical Intimacy 2.0 — with Grev   2021

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Pencil on 425 gsm CP
42 x 29.7 cm
$320

ZIP A — with Grev    2021

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38 x 15 cm
$270

ZIP B — with Grev   2021

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38 x 15 cm
$270

Sold

Intimate Still Inside A Storm — With Katy Erik   2022

Pencil on 425 gsm CP
15 x 38 cm
$330 Sold

Élan First Step — With Katy   2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
28 x 28 cm
$320

Sundialer I — with Katy    2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
29 x 28 cm
$420

Sold

Sundialer II — with Katy   2022

Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
29 x 28 cm
$420 Sold

Air Born Four — with Erik + Katy   2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38 x 26 cm
$400

Air Born Five — with Erik + Katy    2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38 x 26 cm
$400

Sun Spirits of Gemini — with Katy   2022

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
38 x 26 cm
$420

ZIG — with Grev    2021

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
36 x 24 cm
$270

ZAG — with Grev    2021

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Pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP
36 x 24 cm
$270

Symmetry — with Grev + Katy + Erik   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
24 x 24 cm
$250 Framed

Asymmetry — with Grev + Katy + Erik   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
24 x 24 cm
$250 Framed

Immersion — with Grev + Katy + Erik   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
24 x 24 cm
$250 Framed

Solar Circle — with Sophia   2023

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Pencil on 638gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$90 Framed

Solar Panel Design — with Sophia   2023

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Pencil on 638gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$90 Framed

Sold

Leadlight Design — with Sophia   2023

Pencil pen & graphitint on 638gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$100 Sold

“S” — with Grev   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

“I” — with Grev   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

“A” — with Grev   2023

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E-montage digital print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

Angel One — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

Insight — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

Angel Two — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Framed

Sold

Élan Study VI — with Katy   2022

Pencil on 425gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$90 Sold

Sold

Élan Study IV — with Katy   2022

Pencil on 425gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$90 Sold

Sold

Élan Study V — with Katy   2022

Pencil on 425gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$90 Sold

Sold

Time — with Julie   2023

Beadweaving pencil on 638gsm CP on board
14 x 14 cm
$200 Sold

Centrepiece — with Julie + Erik   2023

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Beadweaving archival inkjet print pencil on paper on board
14 x 14 cm
$240 Framed

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Quad   2023

Fabric pencil on 425 paper on board
14 x 14 cm
$120 Sold

Pass   2023

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Fabric pencil watercolour 425gsm CP on board
14 x 14 cm
$120 Framed

Dial Study   2023

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Watercolour pencil on 425gsm CP
14 x 14 cm
$120 Framed

Sold

Bead Art Study IV — with Julie   2022

Bead tile pencil watercolour on 425gsm CP on board
14 x 14 cm
$175 Sold

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Two Hearts — with Nic + Julie    2023

Fabric beadweaving pencil paper on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Sold

Scape One — with Nic + Julie    2023

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Fabric beadweaving on board
14 x 14 cm
$100 Framed

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Scape Two — with Nic + Julie    2023

Fabric beadweaving pencil paper on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Sold

Sold

Bloom — with Glen    2023

Carved & stained wood pencil w/colour paper on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Sold

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Shout — with Glen    2023

Carved wood pencil on 638gsm CP on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Sold

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Twist — with Glen    2022

Carved wood pencil w/colour on 638gsm CP on board
14 x 14 cm
$150 Sold

Angel 1 — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print
24 x 24 cm
$250 Framed

Suburban Virgin — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print
31.5 x 22.5 cm
$500 Framed

Sold

Angel 2 — with Erik + Katy   2023

Archival photographic inkjet print
24 x 24 cm
$250 Sold

Triptych — with Erik + Katy   2023

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Archival photographic inkjet print
Limited Edition of 5
24 x 24 cm, 31.5 x 22.5 cm, 24 x 24 cm
$900 with glass Framed

Spirit Of Pandora — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving & pencil on 638 gsm on wood plinth
8 x 14 x 14 cm
$680

Jewelled Spirit — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving on wood plinth. Design — Sabine Lippert, Germany
8.5 x 9 x 9 cm
$700

Deco Steps — with Julie   2023

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Beadwoven necklace & pendant
9.5 x 3.8 cm
$420

Wish — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving & pencil on 638 gsm on wood plinth. Design — Tracey Lorraine, UK
11 x 11 cm
$620

Form — with Glen + Julie   2023

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Turned wood on wood plinth, bead-weaving
19.5 x 12.5 x 12.5 cm
$480

Deco Circe — with Julie   2023

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Beadwoven bangle
8cm diameter
$320

Mistyfier — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving & pencil on 638 gsm CP on wood on plinth. Design — River Rose, USA
32.5 x 9 x 9 cm
$800

Serpentine Spirit — with Julie + Glen   2023

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Beadweaving & pencil on 638 gsm CP on wood on plinth
40 x 36 x 11 cm
$1200

Solar Panel — with Sophia + Glen   2023

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Leadlight & pencil on 425 gsm CP with wood mounting
42.5 x 40 x 11 cm
$1200

Light House — with Sophia + Glen   2023

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Leadlight & pencil on 638 gsm CP with wood mounting
63 x 20 x 11 cm
$1200

Jeanne — with Nic + Julie   2023

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Poly canvas clutch bag with scarf & beadwoven bangle
25 x 19 cm
$600

Gabrielle — with Nic + Julie   2023

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Poly canvas clutch bag with beadwoven detail
25 x 19 cm
$450

Elsa — with Nic + Julie   2023

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Poly canvas clutch bag with beadwoven detail
25 x 19 cm
$450

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Madeleine I — with Nic   2023

Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
35 x 55 cm
$160 Sold

Sold

Madeleine II — with Nic   2023

Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
35 x 55 cm
$160 Sold

Madeleine III — with Nic   2023

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Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
35 x 55 cm
$160

Sold

Madeleine IV — with Nic   2023

Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
35 x 55 cm
$160 Sold

Madeleine V — with Nic   2023

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Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
65 x 65 cm
$190

Madeleine VI — with Nic   2023

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Limited edition cushions poly linen. Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
65 x 65 cm
$190

Scarf Large I — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
60 x 60 cm
$99

Scarf Large II — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
60 x 60 cm
$99

Scarf Large III — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
60 x 60 cm
$99

Scarf Medium I — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
46 x 46 cm
$69

Scarf Medium II — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
46 x 46 cm
$69

Pocket Square I — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Pocket Square II — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Pocket Square III — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Pocket Square IV — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Pocket Square V — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Pocket Square VI — with Nic   2023

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Chiffon Deluxe Satin.  Lovingly handmade in Brisbane, Australia. 
31 x 31 cm
$39

Solar Landscape — With Glen   2022

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Carved & stained wood, pencil & watercolour on 638 gsm CP on board
29 x 29 cm
$550 Framed

Henge — With Glen   2022

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Carved wood, pencil & watercolour on 638 gsm CP on board
29 x 29 cm
$500 Framed

Southern Dial — With Glen   2023

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Turned & carved wood, pencil, ink & watercolour on 638 gsm CP on board
29 x 29 cm
$600 Framed

Sold

Serpentine Solar Spirit — With Glen + Katy   2022

Carved & stained wood, pencil & watercolour on 425 gsm CP on board
39 x 29 cm
$550 Sold

Sold

Sienna Solar Spirit — With Glen + Katy   2022

Carved & stained wood, pencil and watercolour on 425 gsm CP on board
39 x 29 cm
$550 Sold

Sweep — With Glen + Katy   2022

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Carved wood and pencil on 425 gsm CP on board
39 x 29 cm
$550 Framed

Sold

Morning Sun Spirit — with Glen + Katy   2023

Carved wood on wood plinth, pencil on 638 gsm CP
40 x 25 x 11 cm
$650 Sold

Evening Sun Spirit — With Glen + Katy   2023

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Carved wood on wood plinth, pencil on 638 gsm CP
40 x 25 x 11 cm
$650

Artwork Notes

Spirits in Alliance Essay by Jess mcNicol

Rich Allen’s artwork is stamped with symmetrical monogram insignia that belongs at the bottom of an Art Nouveau manifesto. His illustrative practice carefully creates systematically beautiful forms that are elegant in all the ways we usually reserve for sleek design. But there’s a vast expanse beneath the surface of each meticulously plotted line, and precise, practiced asymmetry hints at an enormity of purpose, and Allen is incredibly singular in his purpose.

Author and journalist Michael Gladwell famously established that it takes 10,000 hours to make a master, and for a long time now (somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 hours precisely), Allen has put this theory to the test. After withdrawing from commercial design at 60, Allen approached the next chapter of life with a singular goal – to return to his roots as a visual artist and complete his hours to become a master. Simple.

What we see in his work is an expression of this journey in precise simplicity. His illustrations have a practised economy that captures the essence of grace and movement. I suspect it is no coincidence that his imagery seems informed by Nouveau and Sumi-e characteristics. These are aesthetics informed by sophistication and philosophy.

Allen has been purposeful throughout his self-imposed apprenticeship, chronicling his hours methodically, and his journey from Apprentice to Master (Artisan) sits before us in a beautiful hand-plotted graph, signalling rises, plateaus, and what he points out as ‘brief spells of progress’ — slight upward inflections in the gracefully curved line. It reminds me of sheet music, this approach to practice, and Allen explains that he quantifies this data reflectively, re-composing time spent into three sonatas – The Apprentice (Order), The Journeyman (Flow), and The Artisan (Surrender). Each movement represents a devotion to purpose expressed as a progression of aesthetic ideology; even the simplified terms Allen uses as signifiers of his journey are key defining features of his practice.

“There is no end. Attaining mastery is impossible,” Allen grins, shaking his head.

“To get to this knowledge, you must forge your practice to try and achieve mastery – then the goal post moves, and you can see that there is no destination, but it’s your process of falling in love with the pursuit – that is the realisation of mastery.”

While Allen worked through the process to form his personal philosophy, Gladwell’s theory has been criticised for good reasons. One of the most significant is that the number of hours is mainly arbitrary and that quality of purpose in practice is more critical to achieving true refinement of skill. Another is that simply putting in time without feedback, review, or relevant peer discourse, does not improve practice. You can not achieve mastery in isolation.

This brings me to a crucial juncture in the road to mastery that leads directly to the driving principle behind Spirits in Alliance, Allen’s second show in the Side Gallery space, and one that falls during his third movement or sonata where The Artisan embraces surrender.

That’s where this distinctive group show begins. Through the realisation that there is no set point of mastery and through the death of the ego, the notion of surrender allows you to engage in influence and collaboration more readily.

Spirits in Alliance is a meditation on influence and collaboration from seven Artists and Craftspeople who are skilled in their media areas and approach their art with a kindred purpose. As proficient makers in their own right, each artist has taken elements of Allen’s visual language and explored and refined colour palettes, geometry, and expressions of movement and beauty in the discourse of their discipline.

Muse, Katy Woods, who features in Allen’s figurative works, will perform in the gallery, a natural extension of the static elegance we see as a motif in his illustration. This motif is extended for Spirits across digital print, moving images, and even woodwork, in collaboration with Grev Patterson, Erik Williamson and Glen Harvey.

Nicole Cox Yeates and Julie Sutherland express Allen’s refined line and precisely plotted pattern as silken textiles and intricately beaded sculpture. Sophia Andreas bridges influence and divergent media, depicting Allen’s light geometry in glass and lead lighting.

Spirits in Alliance is an exciting embodiment of the processes that inform chords of influence in craftsmanship and artistry. Though the works in the show share a common visual lineage, their diversity offers an insight into the often unexplored avenues artists offer in true collaboration. Spirits in Alliance serves as a graceful lesson that to seek mastery is, in truth, to surrender to the love of the practice.

About the Artist

Rich Allen

Rich Allen describes himself as “a London-Brit by birth, and an Australian by choice!” 

He studied painting and drawing between 1968 and 1973, and is an honours graduate from the Central St Martins School of Art, in London. 

Following six years teaching art and coaching sport at high school level in The Bahamas, Rich migrated to Brisbane in 1982, and on arrival opened a graphic design practice specialising in corporate identity [a service he describes as making business strategy visible through design and defines as one of “differentiation by design”]. Following a great deal of soul searching, fuelled by a desire for personal re-invention, Rich returned to his fine art origins on a full-time basis, in late 2009.

Working with the single-minded theme of ‘intimism’ [capturing quiet/fleeting moments], and driven by process, Rich’s approach is organised and measured, with all his time accurately recorded. In April 2021, he accrued 20000 hours of practice [comprising two scopes of 10000 hours, one carrying the moniker ‘apprentice’ and the other ‘journeyman’]. He has calculated and charted the various dates during which he believes “brief spells of progress” have been achieved, and is currently engaged in a third scope as ‘artisan’. He has given this 10000-hour target the title: “Surrender to Uncertainty”. 

Rich states: “I believe that my work is simply about a disciplined pursuit towards some sort of mastery.” He adds: “Mastery is best expressed through this definition by Aikido master George Leonard. It reads: ‘MASTERY: the mysterious process during which what is at first difficult, becomes progressively easier and more pleasurable through practice. Embracing and enjoying plateaus of pure practice is paramount to my processes of working.”

In more recent years, Rich has developed a presentation: “talking in whispers”, which he has given to a number of professional entities, including the Australian Institute of Architects’ continuing development programme throughout 2019. This illustrated talk is divided into a number of segments, verbalizing and visualizing his journey from its outset.

About the Curator

Laura Brinin

Laura Brinin is a curator of contemporary art, currently facilitating the vibrant program at Side Gallery in the heart of Red Hill, Brisbane. With an unwavering passion for nurturing connections with emerging and established creatives, Laura is dedicated to fostering artistic growth through avenues such as social media, branding, and identity development.

Laura has exhibited her own work both in Australia and overseas, as well as working as an independent freelance curator across Brisbane for over ten years. In her downtime, you can find her reading, travelling, or stalking dogs.