Art of the sisters

A piece from award-winning painter, Sally Ryan. 153166_01

WOMEN Painting Women is set to impress art-lovers from the Yarra Ranges and beyond.
This is a major exhibition of portraiture in traditional oil painting and bronze sculpture.
It presents seven award-winning realist painters from Victoria, South Australia and NSW.
Turning the tables on the under-representation of female artists in galleries and major awards, Women Painting Women foregrounds Australia’s best and brightest traditional painters and sculptors in an all-woman show where female subjects are centre stage.
Featuring well-known Australians, including Nobel Prize nominee Dr Catherine Hamlin, actors Kerri Armstrong and Jacqui Weaver, and self-portraits of the artists, the exhibition highlights the power and insight of women painting women.
While realist painting may slip out of focus in the contemporary art world, these artists delve deep, demanding attention with their highly attuned skills as masters of traditional oil painting and bronze sculpture.
Artist Vikki Sullivan said the exhibition marked the movement back to traditional methods.
“It will be great to see a similar renaissance of traditional oil painting here; like we see in the United States,” she said.
Taking inspiration from similar exhibitions in the US, this is the first Australian instalment of the Women Painting Women phenomenon, which celebrates traditional realist painting and the talent of female artists.
The exhibition boasts an all-star suite of high-profile artists, including finalists in numerous portraiture prizes across Australia and the world, including the Archibald, Australian Art Excellence Award, Hannan National Portrait Prize and the Black Swan Portrait Prize.
The exhibition will be on show from Saturday, 30 April, to Sunday, 29 May.
Entry is free.
For more details, contact (03) 9754 8723 or visit www.burrinja.org.au.