Mounted ARI (Artist Run Initiative) and Gallery opened its doors in 2019.The non-commercial, not-for-profit gallery that resides within a Springwood home is the brainchild of retired Springwood High School teacher Mark Denny who set it up to support the creative arts.
On Sundays in October and November Mounted will open a new project titled, The Viewer is Present curated by Julie Parkin, in collaboration with the Mounted team. Mounted is inviting people to book in for an hour session to engage slowly with just one or two artworks and a short piece of fiction.
Inspired by Justin Paton's book, How to Look at a Painting, The Viewer is Present, aims to provide people with an opportunity to spend time engaging with art in a deeper way. As Paton says, 'painting is a medium that has to shout to be heard.' This can also apply to any form of static art, be it painting, drawing, sculpture or writing. Paton reports, the average viewer spends between eight and thirty seconds looking at an artwork. To challenge that statistic, when you book in to Mounted by yourself, or with a friend or partner, you will be provided with an experience designed to allow you to engage with these three, creative works, in a fuller, deeper and more focused way.
Denny says he hopes visitors "will give us an hour of your time" During that time there is the opportunity to: experience a painting or sculpture provided by a different artist each week, listen to and experience more fully, a short story by a different writer each week, and enjoy some refreshments and the chance to discuss what you thought, felt and discovered during the experience. Sixteen artists and eight writers will present over the period.
"We hope this is a way to gently re-introduce the presence of people back into our gallery, as we await the commencement of our planned full scale shows in the new year," he said.
This experiential project will run for eight weeks on Sundays, opening on October 4. Pre-booked slots will be available between 10am and 5pm. A maximum of five people will be in the gallery at any time.
The dates are: October 4, 11, 18 and 25, November 1, 8, 16, 22 and 29.
Book through the website: https://www.mountedari.com/ Go to the present exhibitions page and hit register. Enquiries to Mark Denny on mde61811@bigpond.net.au or 0434973960.
