Julie Frahm and Kat Gruber present Layers exhibition at T’Arts in the Adelaide Arcade

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This has been a long time in the making, but we are so excited to let you all know that we will be having an exhibition at T’Arts Textile and Arts Collective Gallery in Gay’s Arcade, just off Adelaide Arcade from February 27 to March 25. 

Good timing for folks who will be visiting Adelaide to catch the Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Writer’s Week or Womad!

We have known each other for many years, and we have each admired the progress of each other’s artforms, and how they have evolved over time, but this is the first time we have exhibited together.

We quickly agreed on “Layers” as our theme and have used similar colours in completely different ways to provide a congruency between the disparate artforms.

We hope our approaches to this theme will draw you in to take a closer look.

 

Julie Frahm

Julie Frahm glass jewellery artist wearing clear and gold Christmas glass earrings and necklace

Based in Murray Bridge, SA, Julie creates timeless jewellery from recycled and discarded glass, such as gin and wine bottles. 

In 2009, Julie came across some Green Depression Glass, which was produced in an effort to stimulate the US economy during the great depression. 

At the time, the Australian government was attempting to stimulate our own economy due to the Global Financial Crisis,  so she decided to make her first  beads from the Green Depression Glass, and quickly progressed to other recycled glass. 

A colourful bracelet made by Julie Frahm from recycled glass lies on a distressed wood surface.

Her first exhibition “Anti-Depression Glass” was held at Lustre Galleries and ended up being the runner-up in the Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design award as part of the SALA awards that year.

“People resonated with the theme, so I kept going.”

They are perfect for people who like to wear something a little different, while helping to save the environment at the same time!

A montage of four images of artist Julie Frahm making her recycled glass jewellery.

Kathryn Gruber

Kathryn Gruber Abstract Artist - portrait in front of a blue mixed media abstract painting.

Kat is a contemporary abstract artist based in Bellevue Heights, SA.

Born in Canada to American parents, she was mostly raised in South Australia, with some formative years spent in Hawaii with her extended family. 

Using her visual language to process the world around her, she layers paint and gestural marks to create expressive mixed media abstract paintings rich with drama and metaphor.

“My art practice is an active journey of self discovery, introspection, and sometimes, catharsis.”

Kat uses action and movement to apply vibrant colour, injecting energy into the first layer. Gestural mark-making is next applied using a variety of media, followed by refining using value and colour. 

Throughout the painting process, she scratches and removes paint using various hardware tools. 

Flow is an abstract painting by Kat Gruber with red and turquoise.

The combination of expressive gestural marks, layers of paint, and scratching imparts a visceral energy, tactile texture, and depth that she particularly enjoys.

An original abstract painting by Kathryn Gruber, Fang. This painting has lots of layers and texture.

For this exhibition, Kat and Julie have explored the concept of layers.

Using similar colours, they have used the processes in their respective artforms to convey the layers in completely different ways. Though the process of making these works is so disparate, the layers within each artform draws you in to look closer.

Recent musings

Layers exhibition graphic

Exhibitions

Check out past & present exhibitions of my work. Make sure you say hello when you visit!

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Head over to my online store. Plenty to browse and even purchase for that special someone or for your own wall at home or the office!

'Poolside' is an original abstract painting by Kathryn Gruber