Kath Fries Studio

Infinite bubbles, 2013, APS kinetic sculpture

Kath Fries, Infinite bubbles, 2013, toy bubble gun, bubble liquid and mirror panels

Kath Fries, Infinite bubbles, 2013, toy bubble gun, bubble liquid, mirror panels

Infinite bubbles, 2013

(bubble shooting gallery, with a nod to Yayo Kasama)

toy bubble gun, bubble liquid, mirror panels and gaffa tape

40 x 40 x 240 cm

Infinite bubbles 2013 is one of my current works in progress at Articulate Project Space, part of Gadgets group exhibition and two week project development studio. At the end of the first week I've developed a playful interactive work using bubbles and mirrors, with a children's toys fan forced bubble gun that the viewer can activate using a trigger. Infinite bubbles is partly inspired by Yayo Kasama's famous Infinity room installations of mirrors and dots.

Kath Fries, Infinite bubbles, 2013, toy bubble gun, bubble liquid, mirror panels and gaffa tape

Kinetic Machines & Gadgets is open to the public 1-3 February 2013 (11am-5pm).

Articulate Project Space: 497 Parramatta Rd, Leichhardt, NSW 2040. www.articulate497.blogspot.com.au

Kinetic Machines & Gadgets - Articulate Project Space

Kinetic Machines & Gadgets is a project by 12 artists working in the Articulate space for a fortnight on individual or collaborative art gadgetry or gadget-ideas. Come to the opening on Friday 25 January 6-8pm and look at, advise on and tinker with gadgets-in-progress. The project space will be open again on Fri-Sun 1 - 3 Feb (11am-5pm) - come again to contribute further, or just to see what progress has been made. The plan is that 'finished' prototypes will be on show at the closing event, Sunday 3 February from 3-5pm.

Artists: Linden Braye, Samuel Bruce, Andrew Burrell, Sue Callanan, Madeline Callanan, Jon Drummond, Kath Fries, Richard Kean, James Nguyen, Christine Olsen, Margaret Roberts, Ashley Scott.

Articulate Project Space: 497 Parramatta Rd, Leichhardt. NSW 2040. Australia.

Situational - upcoming solo exhibition

Situational is an exhibition of new site-responsive works by Kath Fries. Spanning installation, sculpture, photography and video, these works trace her creative process of quiet observation whilst artist in residence at Bundanon Trust NSW last year. Each piece reflects a distilled moment of interconnection and poetic nuance, formed between local found materials and the artist's personal experiences of time and space at Bundanon.

Situational
7 - 17 March 2013
Opening: Friday 8 March, 6-8pm

Artist talk: Sunday 17 March, 2pm

Chrissie Cotter Gallery
Pidcock Street, Camperdown NSW

Open: Thursday to Sunday, 11am - 5pm

www.kathfries.com

www.bundanon.com.au

Situational is presented in association with Bundanon Trust; Art Month Sydney 2013; International Women’s Day; and MOST – Marrickville Open Studio Trail.

Kath Fries, Threaded Thistledown Bundanon, 2012, photograph
Situational exhibition invitation image

Repose, 2012

Recently exhibited in the 2012 Fishers Ghost Contemporary Art Award at Campbelltown Arts Centre.

Kath Fries, Repose, 2012, bronze and sandstone

Repose - a bronze magnolia branch reclines against a piece of sandstone; simultaneously fragile, rigid and languid. Frozen in time these bronze magnolia buds will never grow, bloom or complete their full cycle. Traditional materials of bronze and stone sit together in an anamorphic wistful pose as nostalgic mementos, echoing our fallible human endeavors to render permanent that which is impermanent. I often reference organic forms in my work, to suggest poetic commentaries on our human struggles to accept what is natural and uncontrollable in our lives.

Kath Fries, Repose, 2012, (detail view) bronze and sandstone

Gunyah artist-in-residence program

Gunyah artist-in-residence program (North Arm Cove, Port Stephens NSW) provides short term, low cost, self-contained accommodation and studio space for artists. Gunyah AIR is open to applications from visual artists, writers, composers, performance artists, curators, new media and arts administrators; and is suitable for solo, collaborative and group projects. Artists are welcome to bring their families. Gunyah AIR is an artist-run-initative, coordinated by Kath Fries.

Applications for the 2013 Gunyah artist-in-residence program are now open and close on 30 November. The 2013 program will feature a one or two week residency each month from March to October, with eight artists-in-residence in total.

More information and instructions on how to apply can be found at www.gunyah.blogspot.com.au

Gunyah, North Arm Cove, Port Stephens NSW

4A Annual Members Exhibition 2012

4A members exhibition invitation 2012

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket, Sydney

www.4a.com.au

22 November - 1 December 2012

Kath Fries, Scorch, 2012, bronze, twine and charcoal

I'm exhibiting four pieces from my Scorch series in the 4A Members Exhibition.

These bronze cast magnolia twigs have sections bound with twine and suspend lumps of charcoal, like pendulum weights marking the wall in a swinging motion. More about Scorch series 2012.

Kath Fries, Scorch, 2012, bronze, twine and charcoal

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

Bundanon artists in residence, spring 2012
www.bundanon.com.au/category/residencies/current-residencies

Kath Fries, Bundanon early morning landscape, 2012

Thank you Bundanon Trust artist-in-residence program for the gift of time and space.

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

Kath Fries, Thistledown work in progress, Bundanon, 2012

A threaded strand of thistledown... such a fragile light natural material. Ephemeral - floating away even whilst anchored down, held in place for only just a little while.

Kath Fries, Thistledown work in progress, Bundanon, 2012

Thank you to the Bundanon Trust artist-in-residence program for gift of time and space to develop these new works.

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

Kath Fries, Roo i - Bundanon work in progress, 2012

I collected tuffs of kangaroo fur from where it had been wrapped around and cushioning the barbed fences, small traces of the roos daily dusk migration across the paddocks. Why did the kangaroo cross the road? The fur was then spun, felted and wrapped around discarded pieces of fencing wire, twisted into forms based on the kangaroos motions climbing through the fences.

Kath Fries, Roo series - Bundanon work in progress, 2012

Kath Fries, Roo ii - Bundanon work in progress, 2012

Kath Fries, Roo iii - Bundanon work in progress, 2012

Kath Fries, Roo i - Bundanon work in progress, 2012

Thank you to the Bundanon Trust artist-in-residence program for gift of time and space to develop these new works.

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

Kath Fries, Bundanon studio work in progress, 2012

On one of my walks around the Bundanon property I spotted this broken tree branch and took it back to my studio. I've been fascinated by its twisting shapes and dark textured bark patched with moss and lichen, but during most of my residency this branch sat alone in a corner of my studio. It seemed so complete on its own, it took me a long time to find a way that I could use it in an installation without undermining its original integrity.

Kath Fries, Bundanon studio work in progress, 2012

Then on my second last day, as I was untangling a clump of moss, I noticed that the tiny stems and leaves of moss echoed the shape of the branch, creating a micro-marco link and tangental narrative.

Kath Fries, Bundanon studio work in progress, 2012

This branch, mounted on a wall towing a wistful trail of moss fragments, seemed reminiscent of cooler climate traditions of deer antlers displayed as interior decoration. The first non-indigenous people to live in this area were the McKenzie family who were originally from Scotland - they nostalgically named the property Bundanon. They lived here from 1838 to 1968, like all colonial settlers they cleared, fenced and farmed this land, permanently changing its appearance and altering the natural environment. In 1866 they built a grand sandstone homestead now preserved in pristine condition, just a few meters down the hill from my studio.

Kath Fries, Bundanon studio work in progress, 2012

Thank you Bundanon Trust for hosting me as one of your artists-in-residence.

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

During my four weeks at Bundanon, I often heard scuffling noises in the studio roof... I assumed it was a possum. Although I was intrigued by the sounds of my unseen upstairs neighbour, I wasn't able to investigate it further. But then on my last day, I spotted this cheeky goanna in the gutter of my studio roof. Perhaps it was him I was listening to all along.

Kath Fries, Bundanon studio diary, 2012

Thank you Bundanon Trust for hosting me as one of your artists-in-residence, it was a wonderful experience.

Bundanon artist-in-residence diary

A work in progress with found materials: thistledown and creeper installation in my Bundanon studio, with afternoon sunlight and shadows.

Kath Fries, Work in progress Bundanon studio, 2012

Kath Fries, Work in progress Bundanon studio, 2012

Kath Fries, Work in progress Bundanon studio, 2012

I'm currently one of several artists-in-residence at Bundanon Trust. This artist-in-residence diary traces my process as I get to know the site and begin making work in response to my experience of being here.