Friends of the Art Park

Dane Peterson

To the casual observer, the growth curve of surf photographer Dane Peterson might look absurdly steep — an “overnight success.” Hardly.

His studied compositions and uncanny eye for subtlety are informed by his years of surfing prowess. As one of the two or three best surfers of his generation at Malibu, Dane had been visually framing photos long before he held a camera. An expatriation to Australia further stocked his file of mental pictures. When he began shooting in earnest, he was halfway home.

While many of today’s finest young water photographers focus on peak action moments, Peterson invariably looks for the honesty and beauty found in transitional moments. It’s a strategy that will serve him well, as these are the quiet “spaces in between” that endlessly accumulate, finally defining our memories of sliding on water. Scott Hulet
 Editor, The Surfer's Journal

www.danepetersonphotography.com

Nicholas Chalmers

Growing up on Australia's Surfers Paradise means one thing, you get good at surfing. But once that was done Nicholas set his heart on Art, and has been steadily and unabashedly churning out Paintings, films and design at an alarming rate. Nothing stops him, because he has no rules!  just do it, show it, and move on.  Recently completing his traveling art show "Ze Frog & Toad". Nicholas rented a truck, turned it into a gallery and travelled over 3000 km and switched on a whole lot more people to his fresh outlook.

Art Park is very pleased to have Nic contribute his film "Pavot de Mile" to the "Dark Park" short film series. www.nicholaschalmers.com

Paul McNeil

Paul has been a graphic designer in Sydney for 20 years and has made a name for himself designing Rock albums and Tee shirts for companies such as Mambo and Mooks. He's a jack of all trades, nothing stops his creative output, be it film (check SMOG 'Rock bottom riser' video), books (see 'M is for Metal' and 'Punk Alphabet' in our Books section) or his continual painting and fine art shows.

Now residing in Byron Bay, Paul has immersed himself in the world of surfboard art and design and is the co-owner of Zed surfboards. He also created and co curated the influential Byron bay art  gallery Sea Cell.

Paul is a part owner of the art Park.

Ryan Heywood

Surfer, Photographer, artist and lover (of all things).  Based in the cold surf capital of australia Torquay, Ryan is a one man art machine. 

He is in constant demand in all artistic fields and travels endlessly up and down the coast documenting, creating and affecting all those that surround him. Ryan sees art in everything, and consequently turns everything into a project worthy of the international recognition that he receives .

Art Park would not be what it is without artists like Ryan and we are pleased to present his first project for us, his short film for the Dark Park series. www.ryanheywood.com

Alex Kopps

Alex Kopps attended school at The California College of Arts in San Francisco, where he continues to live and work as an artist. Alex's visual art consists of paintings with gouache on wood and paper with subject matter that is largely nonobjective but aesthetically has strong ties to the natural world. When in the gallery, he tends towards installation using diverse materials such as live grass, scrap wood, and sewn together us currency which he cuts into silhouette form or more recently has sewn into makeshift clothing.

In recent time, Alex has been begun work on his own homespun surf film, Displacement. The film is based around an obscure surf subculture inspired by the designs of George Greenough and later refined by Greg Liddle through his displacement hulls, or what its proponents call "stubbies" Displacement will combine 1970s super8 footage from stubbie dungeon master Steve Krajewski and the generally DIY approach to contemporary mixed media supplied by Kopps. Alex has always enjoys challenging structure in his art, which is also evident in his filmmaking.

Alex has shown work at Museum Het Domein (Sittard, The Netherlands), Monster Children Gallery (Sydney, Australia), New Image Art (Los Angeles, California), Gallery AD (San Jose, California), Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach, California), SuperDeluxe (Minato-ku, Japan), 21 Grand (Oakland, California) and The Luggage Store (San Francisco, California).

Stefan Marx

Drawer. Born in 1979. Lives in Hamburg.

Stefan thinking/working/living/drawing 24 hours a day attitude, and strong skateboard links have been the reason for his many collaborations with brands such as Azita, Cleptomanicx, Hessenmob Skateboards, Landscape Skateboards, Ayume Lifeforms, Alis Skateboards, Playhouse Records and now Teeluxe. In 1995/96 he also founded between his own Lousy Livin' Company which produces each season a handful of t-shirts plus occasional special editions.

During the past few years, Marx art travelled around Europe in several occasions and galleries (like The Side Effects of Urethane), as well as being reproduced in various magazines and publications like The Art of Rebellion and Street Logos. Stefan's work is also represented by the Swiss publisher, Nieves. www.livincompany.de

Joseph Allen Shea

 Always fascinated by the phrase Mixed Business used by many Sydney convenience stores, Joseph Allen adopted this phrase as an umbrella term for his unrestricted commercial art making. IzRock Mixed Business became a convenience (or possible inconvenience) store for general art tom foolery and in 2008 extended to include Izrock Pressings. Izrock Pressings is a platform for small run, independently published artist books and zines. Community minded and action focused Izrock’s books try and get the artwork direct to the audience in a tactile, handmade, personal medium. We like the internet too, just not as much as ink. www.izrock.com

Johnny Abegg

Three full length movies (and many shorts) by the time you are 30 is no mean feat. But its merely something Johnny works at and produces continuously.

Film and storytelling is his passion (not to mention that he is one of the most stylish surfers in Australia).  Always outside of convention and the most laid-back extremist you could meet Johnny lives and loves in Byron Bay: the perfect waves and conflicted paradise a canvas for his writing and cinematic exploits.  He was always going to end up in the "Dark Park" and we are more than happy to have him here.  His first contribution is the short film  "Breathless" johnnyabegg.wordpress.com/

Jody Barton

Jody is an English artist and illustrator who uses words and images combined together in stark, humorous, mostly black and white drawings. His work is often motivated by very personal themes and his love of black humour and wordplay. If you visited his studio then you'd find a very large quantity of neatly organised sketchbooks and large piles of 1000's of A4 marker pen drawings along with up to 200 black marker pens laid out on his glass topped lightbox. www.jodybarton.co.uk/

Fiona Lowry

Art Park's fine friend and fine artist. Beautiful ambiguous pop paintings that are so good they win every prize in town (Moran prize 2009). This Sydney artists work is always visually passionate but generally emotionally disturbing. Pretty and scary, but never dull!We are thrilled to be associated with her and pleased that she has come into the stable of Art Park artists and allowed us to present her images. www.gbk.com.au/artists/fiona-lowry

Cathie Glassby

Cathie is one of Perth's brightest exports, not to be confined by the worlds most isolated city she headed to Sydney and made a name for herself in the music industry designing scores of cool posters, album covers, and anything else Rock related. She also went on to become one of the stable of artists working for iconic Australian label 'Mambo' Fortunately she thinks we are pretty cool and has agreed to turn her considerable talents to the Art Park. www.cathieglassby.com

Beci Orpin

Raised by Hippies and all the better for it Beci Orpin has exhibited her original and inspired art around the world. Melbourne city is the  base for the plethora of work she produces. You name it she's done it!, including her own kids clothing line Tiny Mammoth" Amazingly Beci had time to squeeze out just a few more designs and hand them over to the Art Park... We are very happy she did. www.beciorpin.com