Escape to the Upper Hunter with Art by Carly Le Cerf

Carly le Cerf is a Western Australian artist whose encaustic artworks highlight the rural landscape of Australia. After visiting the Hunter Region of New South Wales earlier this year she immediately became compelled to portray the region with her artistic media.
The Hunter is a large regional and rural region located north of Sydney in New South Wales. It encompasses some of Australia’s major wine regions, along with major cattle farming and horse breeding regions. The southern parts of the Hunter (approx. 1 hour from KAB Gallery) are known as the Hunter Valley, where famous Australian wine varietals such as Semillon and Shiraz have been grown since the 1800s, and cellar door wine tastings are a hugely popular tourist attraction. Further north around Scone and Muswellbrook is known as the Upper Hunter, where Australia’s most successful thoroughbred race horses and many of the world’s best horses are breed and raised. Despite breeding only around 25% of Australia’s horses, the Upper Hunter’s impeccable breeding standards, natural climate and soil profile, and history of success mean the region is placed second only to Kentucky (USA) in the ranking of world’s best horse breeding areas.

It was to this Upper Hunter region that Carly Le Cerf visited earlier this year, with the resulting three artworks now on exhibition at KAB Gallery. The first is appropriately titled “Upper Hunter” and the second “Escape”. Both feature the beautifully textured surface which Carly Le Cerf has become famous for, created using encaustic art medias such as beeswax mixed with raw pigment. The third piece titled “Ode to Fred” reminds viewers of one of Australia’s best known artists, the beloved Fred Williams.
Fred Williams (1927-1982) was a painter and printmaker whose distinctive vision altered the way many Australians envisage the landscape. He approached his subject matter as a stimulus for formal invention, and commented that he strove to depict the underlying bones rather than the surface skin of the Australian continent. Williams had an extensive knowledge of Western art and strove to link his Australian work to these broader traditions. (Information from AGNSW)

Framed in contemporary oak, all of Carly Le Cerf’s original artworks have a broad appeal for both traditional and contemporary interiors. They appeal to our inner connections and love for our vitally important NSW Hunter Region, along with capturing the essence of the rural Australian landscape. These artworks are sure to be enjoyed forever by the art collectors who are lucky enough to purchase them.