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Ætheria
Gary Smith
Ætheria
22 July – 2 August 2025
hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 12pm – 7pm
Saturdays: 12pm – 4pm
admission: Free
… [Gary Smith] distill[s] various subjects to reveal their core and dynamic nature.
Gary Smith (Naarm/Melbourne) holds a fascination with discovering the essence of being. Over the past four decades, his Arts practice across painting and installation-based exhibitions has distilled various subjects to reveal their core and dynamic nature.
Aetheria, as a title for this exhibition, came like a chance encounter. As is typical of his work, Gary followed that intuitive impulse, only to discover Aetheria denotes a perspective beyond that of the earthly realms – capturing all that is celestial, heavenly and ethereal.
In Greek Mythology, Aether was the name given to the primordial God of Light and thought to be the pure essence breathed by Gods. It is apt that this exploration of light and theosophy, honours Aetheria.
Art is an invitation to experience the essence beyond words,
to sense, and to recognise, what is known deep within us.
Gary Smith has been a practising artist for over 45 years, completing a Grad Dip in Fine Art painting through RMIT in 1983, and a Master of Philosophy in Fine Art (Painting) through ANU in 2005. He is currently living and working in Melbourne.
His exhibition history includes 20 solo exhibitions and many group shows.
Smith has been a finalist in art prizes including the Archibald Art Prize, Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize and the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize.
His work has primarily been landscape-based, usually through a lens that focuses on the essence of the subject, resulting in an abstract representation that invites the viewer’s resonant interpretation.
Opening Night
Tuesday 22 July, 5-7pm