Of late, and upon reflection on how fast paced our world can be, I have a renewed appreciation of time, and of being in the wait without distraction. For me, anticipation and hope are felt in the darkness: during the cold, quiet vigil for dawn, with the uncertain reward of good light. There is a lot to notice, discern, consider, learn and immerse oneself in during any waiting period. Conceptually, an active waiting has remained with me. The conclusion that I have drawn is that peace and beauty are found in patience. One must learn to breathe with the knowledge that the small moments of taking notice carry significance.
This body of work spans a variety of scenes stumbled upon in my travels. It was created in response to the pure joy found in the beauty of a particular moment. As always, my paintings are less about specific places; rather they pose as a reflection of the emotion brought within that slice of time and how the landforms evoke a solidarity with my internal journey. I seek to capture and share what my experience has been in those times—whether that is within a quiet space, when being captivated by that special light, or when awestruck by the immense scale of a mountain. I have danced in childlike delight beside a pond in a moody, ephemeral lit sky in the middle of nowhere. I have felt intense awe at the scale of the mountains looming over me and the depth of the lakes. I have stood still on a summer morning in a pastoral countryside with my feet in the dewy grass and discovered new perspectives, lines and golden light from the air. This is the sheer beauty that brings hope, reminds me to keep going, and to stop and contemplate.
Time spent in the studio quietly working on these scenes whilst listening to piano scores has been a solace and a joy. Working in watercolour on paper using transparent layers of colour has in turn informed the way in which I have approached working in oils. I have sought to capture the brilliance of colour and the luminous light of sky or mountain face using glazed layers of paint. Both mediums have become of equal importance in my practice.
Carla Hananiah July 2016
Intimate knowledge of colour frames the foundation for Carla Hananiah’s balancing act between nature and artifice. Her paintings depict vast stretches of New Zealand and Australian mountain and sky most often at the “magic hour” – at dawn or dusk when unreal and powerful, dramatic slanting sunlight moves fleetingly across the landscape, creating tonalities and hues to dazzle the eye.
In the studio she returns to field notes and sketches and, in an almost diaristic fashion, responds to the land and sky in paint. The tension she sets up between the self and the impersonal grounds her work: her use of heightened, complementary colour and shimmering fluorescent paint underscores inquiry into consideration of the environment and our place within it as well as our present moment’s complex relationship to “Nature”.
“When I arrive into the landscape, it’s almost as if I’ve let go of a breath I’ve been holding for a long time,” she says. “I am a Romantic, and I paint to capture the essence of the sublime expressed through natural beauty”.
Carla holds a Masters of Fine Arts through Research, a Master of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales. She has exhibited throughout Australia and is the recipient of multiple prizes including Mosman Art Prize Viewers’ Choice Award (2012), the Blake Prize Society’s John Coburn Emerging Artist Award (2011), the Hornsby Art Prize (2011) and the Winsor & Newton Start Your Studio Scholarship (2009).
Carla Hananiah
Born 1982, Auckland, New Zealand
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia
EDUCATION
2012
- Master of Fine Arts by Research, University of New South Wales
2008
- Master of Art, University of New South Wales
2004
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018
- 'Fleeting Wonders', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane (forthcoming)
2017
- 'Full Immersion', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2016
- 'In the Wait', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
2015
- 'Mapping the Insurmountable', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
- 'Traversing, Undaunted', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
2013
- 'Ever Brighter', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
- 'Late have I loved you, o’beauty ever ancient ever new', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2012
- 'In the Cool of the Day', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
- 'As Morning Dawns and Evening Fades', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2011
- 'SCAPE', Artereal Gallery, Sydney
- 'The Exchange', Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney
2010
- 'DIRT', College of Fine Art Space, Sydney
- 'Sublime', Artereal Gallery, Sydney
2009
- 'Busting Out: Masters of Their Own Domain', Galleries on Wentworth, Sydney
2008
- 'Works on Paper', Beowulf Galleries
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
- 'Unfolding Splendour', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2014
- 'Sense of Surround', Edwina Corlette Gallery
- 'Land of Wonder', Australian Galleries, Melbourne
- 'Under the Sun', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
- Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2013
- 'Imaginings', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
- 'In the Scheme of Things', Arthouse Gallery, Sydney
2012
- Mosman Art Prize, The Schoolhouse Gallery, Tasmania
- The Schoolhouse Gallery, Tasmania
- Manning Regional Art Gallery, NSW
- 'Small Works Summer Show', Edwina Corlette Gallery
2011
- Blake Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney,
- Blake Prize Touring Exhibition
- Queensland University of Technology Gallery, Brisbane
- Delmar Gallery, Sydney
- Burrinja Art Centre, Victoria
- CBP Law Firm, Artereal Gallery, Sydney
- Hornsby Art Prize, Cherrybrook Community Centre, Sydney
- Finalist Blacktown Art Prize, Blacktown Art Centre, Sydney
- Finalist Waverly Art Prize, Waverly Woollahra Art School, Sydney
2010
- Blacktown Art Prize, Blacktown Art Centre, Sydney
- John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Regional Gallery, NSW
- Norvill Art Prize, Murrarundi Art Centre, NSW
- Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Regional Gallery, NSW
- Waverly Art Prize, Waverly Woollahra Art School, Sydney
2009
- UNSW Arc Annual Exhibition, Kudos Gallery
- Liverpool City Open Art Prize, Casula Powerhouse,
- Face of Compassion Art Prize, Erskine St Gallery, Sydney
- Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
- Lloyd Rees Art Prize, Centrehouse Gallery, Sydney
- Waverly Art Prize, Waverly Woollahra Art School, Sydney
2004
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graduation Show, COFA, UNSW, Sydney
AWARDS AND PRIZES
2012
- Winner, The Mosman Art Prize Viewers Choice Award
2011
- Winner, The Blake Prize Society’s John Coburn Emerging Artist Award
- Winner, Hornsby Art Prize
- Winner, Winsor & Newton Start your Studio Scholarship
- Finalist, Blacktown Art Prize, Blacktown Art Centre, Sydney
- Finalist, Waverly Art Prize, Waverly Woollahra Art School, Sydney
2010
- Finalist, Blacktown Art Prize, Blacktown Art Centre, Sydney
- Finalist, John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Regional Gallery, NSW
- Finalist, Norvill Art Prize, Murrarundi Art Centre, NSW
- Finalist, Fishers Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Regional Gallery, NSW
- Finalist, Waverly Art Prize, Sydney
2009
- 2nd Runner-Up Award, UNSW Arc Annual Exhibition, Kudos Gallery, Sydney
- Finalist, Liverpool City Open Art Prize, Casula Powerhouse,
- Finalist, Face of Compassion Art Prize, Erskine St Gallery, Sydney
- Finalist, Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
- Finalist, Lloyd Rees Art Prize, Centrehouse Gallery, Sydney
- Finalist, Waverly Art Prize, Waverly Woollahra Art School, Sydney
2008
- Finalist National Tertiary Art Prize, Sydney University Campus, Sydney
COLLECTIONS
- Trinity College, Melbourne, Victoria
- Macquarie Bank, New South Wales
- Hornsby Shire Council, New South Wales
- Private collections in Australia and Internationally
29 August 2018 – 15 September 2018
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION
