Cynthia Miller and John Biggart, showing at Nexus Art Gallery

NEXUS Community Art Gallery in Bellingen is hosting two new exhibitions from 24 May-18 June.

Cynthia Miller’s exhibition entitled “Reimagined” will be showing in the Main Gallery while John Biggart’s exhibition, John’s Folly, will be in the Studio.

Cynthia said she is thrilled to share the space with “an exceptional painter who has shown me friendship and valuable guidance”.

Self-taught in painting, Ms Miller has studied ceramics over the years.

“The ceramic pieces in the exhibition combine my interest in hand-building and sculpture and my lifelong love of horses,” she said.

“These noble gentle creatures were my first subject when I started to paint, their form and movement was imprinted on my brain from an early age.”

The “Reimagined” exhibition is a celebration of colour and exuberance and reflects Ms Miller’s “abiding interest in larger-than-life images with a slightly naive twist”.

She works exclusively from her imagination which allows “excellent scope for a semi-abstract style and allows the freedom of expression that offers constant surprises and endless pleasure”.

Now in his 70s, John Biggart has been painting since he was 17.

At the age of 19, he said he was shocked by an unexpected win over a much-admired competitor, which gave him the impetus to continue painting.

“And here I am still, in my septuagenarian years,” he said.

HIs exhibition reflects a love of Central Australia, and the “magical places” he has visited with a group of fellow painters.

“We would wake in the morning, and the sun would be hitting the opposite side of the river… it blew our minds.”

For him it was “better than going to Europe”.

Both artists praise the work of Nexus Community Art Gallery for providing a platform for local artists.

By Andrea FERRARI