The Art Journal
The Opening of Ralph Kerle's Gallery, 63 the Corso, Manly
I N V I T A T I O NFriday 26 November/Saturday 27 NovemberThe Opening of Ralph Kerle's Gallery63 the Corso, Manly, Sydney Australia. REGISTER TO ATTEND Please join us in celebrating the opening of a brand new exhibition space exhibiting Ralph Kerle's art in Australia's famed the Corso, Manly Beach, Sydney. The celebrations will include, in collaboration with US company ChromaLuxe, the launch of a unique exhibition of 8 new artworks created on high-performance photographic metal panels. Covid 19 regulations require us to limit the event attendance so we are offering you a a choice of Friday November 26 or Saturday November 27 evenings. RSVP is essential. Admittance is by ticket only. Choose your preferred date and register REGISTER TO ATTEND Join us for a night of drinks, conversation, music and art!! We really look forward to welcoming you to the next step in Ralph Kerle's evolution in fine art photography!! Kind regards, Ralph
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Nature Abstracts
Orange Water Geometry , “An amazing image. The vivid colours, broken likes, strong ripples and depth of field are all elements I adore in this piece. The colour-blocked colours create a strong central composition, paired with leading lines on the waters surface. This shot is a masterpiece..” I am very thankful to a photographer colleague who introduced me to Studio 19 Rentals, an Australian gear rental company specializing in cameras, guitars, bikes, and technology rental. Traditionally, when a new camera model was released, I would talk to colleagues about the pros and cons, read various articles, and then make a decision to stump up the funds to buy without first having the option to try the model to see whether it was appropriate for the very specific work I do. Over time, this proved to be a financially wasteful exercise, with a couple of expensive cameras left on the studio shelf for decoration gathering dust. The Studio 19 rental model allows you to rent a new camera for 6 months at a very inexpensive monthly rate, buy it outright if you like it at the end of the 6 months, continue the rental for 3 years or, and even more importantly, return it after 6 months without any encumbrances if you haven’t found it useful. The Musk Mars Mover on the Move "This image was the first that stood out to me, the gradient variation and depths of the blue instantly drew me to it. I really like how the reflection has carried to the peaks of the ripples, it adds a sense of depth and carries your eye across the shot to take it all in…” Ella Reid from the Studio 19 Marketing Team knew I was a happy customer, saw my artwork and proposed writing an article on my work for the Studio 19 blog. What a great opportunity to receive feedback from a highly experienced executive who views hundreds of photographs daily I thought. So I asked her to select the images from my works for the article, provide some commentary on why she chose each one and to give me permission to publish her comments rather than me proposing a selection as I would normally do. And she agreed!!! Her comments sit beside each artwork. The Green Houses. “An eye-catching shot. The tones are calming, relaxing and soothing. The element I love most is the texture throughout the image. The sky above the houses looks just like a watercolour painting, with different strokes and depth in colour. Just an overall beautiful shot…”" After a couple of years experimentation, this rental arrangement enabled me to settle on the use of high end compact cameras for all my work. When I shooting in the kayak, I need the camera to be instantly available, ready to point. The artworks Ella chose and commented on were taken using two compact cameras a Canon G5x and a Sony RX100 Mark Vii. I am in the process of deciding which one to return after 6 months usage so I can try the new highly rated Panasonic Lumix LX100 II Movement in Blue “Another favourite of mine, can you tell I’m drawn to blue and green tones so far? I love getting lost in this shot, there are so many elements and shapes for your eyes to play with. I love the fluid subject and the composition, as your eyes direct up, down, left and right. Ralph has really captured a stunning abstract piece with this photo.” View see the artwork in full screen together with the story and all details on how the artwork is created click on the links in the artworks.
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The Australian Weekend Magazine features Ralph Kerle
Delighted to have been featured in the Heart of the Nation section of the Australian Weekend Magazine. I am cautious with journalists. However, Ross Billton, Deputy Editor, the Australian Weekend Magazine, synthesized our 50 minute interview in way whereby when I read it, I felt not a single ounce of tension in his writing. Thanks, Roos
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Towards Stillness
The all encompassing environment of nature moves one towards stillness and inner peace. I have deliberately obscured the location as I wanted the film to create a sense of the universality of nature. This scene could be anywhere. I used no edits. I just allowed each clip to flow into the next to create a sense of the atmosphere on the journey.
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The Stairway to Heaven
In 2020, I was fortunate enough to capture a couple of fur seals romancing on the steps of a rarely used wharf at Chowder Bay Sydney. Harbour. I called the shot - The Stairway to Heaven. One year later, Chowder BaBy! The Chowder Bay fur seal family sun themselves on the steps of their Sydney waterfront home with their new 6 month old offspring as I kayaked past on the weekend.
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Mesmerism
Mesmerism is a short film capturing a moment in kayaking when suddenly I am breathtakingly embraced in a way only nature in its epicness can. Scott’s Creek entrance from Middle Harbour, Sydney is disguised and not easily found. Yet every time I enter this place - the silence, gentleness of the flow of the water, the light filtering through the trees - creates a sense of entering an ancient place that can only be described as mesmeric. Mesmerism has been defined as a strong or spellbinding appeal; fascination - an hypnotic induction believed to involve animal magnetism. That is exactly what I experience in this world!.
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Brush Strokes from Nature 1
Brush Strokes from Nature 1 I love it when I am so surprised by a shot I can't wait to share it!! Brush Strokes from Nature 1 is one of those shots. I had been kayaking in the Clontarf Marina location for weeks because I felt it might offer something. Previous shots in that location hadn't produced anything. And then suddenly this! It pays to persevere and follow your hunch. The colour palette and pattern and the way these elements coalesced on top of the water could only have been created by Nature. The content is made up of various paraphernalia sitting on the Clontarf Marina - the yellow reflection is part of a garbage bin.
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The Making of Stay Calm
I am intrigued by the names of the vessels I kayak past and their reflections. Who gave them their name? Why did they choose the name? What is the back story? What does the name mean to the owner? The artwork I make out of the photos of the vessel's name is disconnected from those questions. Yet the words on the water convey a visual and literal meaning that stands alone. "Stay Calm" captured the current moment for me civilization finds itself in resulting from the pandemic. Perhaps we could say up the creek without a paddle.
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Australian Photography Magazine May 2021 Features Ralph Kerle
MIke O’Connor, Editor, Australian Photography Magazine, went on a very early morning journey with me to experience my creative practice firsthand. The conversation that evolved whilst we were kayaking in Middle Harbour, Sydney, Australia enabled me to expand on the philosophy behind my artwork and how that informs my artmaking. Mike did a superb job synthesizing these two elements into an article “A Sea of Images.” A proper critique of your work is a must for every artist. It opens the door for reflection and to new thinking on how to develop and innovate within your skillset. Read the outcome of the journey and conversation in full!
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The Museum of Modern Art, New York and Me
Sometimes social media surfaces gold. I wanted feedback on a new online gallery software platform I have been showcased coming out of Germany. I wasn't certain whether I liked it and how viewers on social media might. So I asked the question on LInkedin. Wow - the second comment I received came from the Museum Educator at MOMA, New York. Yep that is correct the Museum of Modern Art, New York and here is what she said.. "Your artwork is gorgeous, intriguing with you providing a healthy and engaging background for the inspiration of your pieces. As I delved into this digital exhibition, I was most intrigued with the platform. A unique software, indeed. But tickling, kneeding at my curiosity, especially as an artist, was how does this compare to the actual works. I was prompted to explore you more thoroughly online. And, oh my!...I was far, far more impressed with your art on your Facebook page featuring your short video displaying works in home settings. It provided a far more authentic view of the depths, size and energy of your work. In that digital exhibition space, the full depth of your artistry is lost serving as a disservice if first seen/only viewed in that space. I believe something is lost in the digitizing of your work in that digitized background. I am far more impressed with visual presentations in your short film. And please know, I am very aware of the art world's current journey to create exhibition software reflective of that physical experience. All in our industry are finding our way as we shift digitally. I love your work, your inspiration and the storytelling behind your pieces." Geez, you should have seen the smile emerging and pealing across my face as I read this. Here you can view the on-line gallery created by Kunstmatrix
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The Story of the Gold in the Desert Collection
Pollock’s Desert Ebru This exhibition is the result of journeys I made to the UAE between 2015 and 2019 to explore the fluid edges of Dubai, a city built from oil and awash with gold, perched ostentatiously on the edge of a sun scorched desert and the Arabian gulf. Dubai was atransit stop on my travels to create exhibitions in Latvia and Portugal but it seemed only natural that manmade waterways in this bold city should eventually capture my attention. My first impressions of Dubai were that of a carefully controlled culture that is unavailable to most outsiders, a place where luxury shopping and amusement parks seem to be its sole raison d'être. The city/state, its history mostly hidden by the brash high-rise buildings,reminded me of a hyperrealist canvas, a mid 20th Century art form born with photorealism as its main influence (think work of American painters Chuck Close and Richard Estes). One evening as I pondered whether I might not actually find the underlying visual aesthetic of this city, I stopped at the Al Rahmin Mosque situated on the banks of the Dubai Marina. As I peered through the windows a young man interrupted my thoughts, tapping me on theshoulder and inviting me to in join him at prayers; he instructed me in the ablution rituals required to enter the Mosque and guided me in the kneeling and mediation process as theprayers proceeded. Slowly the cultural sentience of the Middle East began to embrace me. A visit to the old port city of Deira and the extraordinary Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation revealed a history of an ancient visual culture built on decorative arts that avoided the presentation of living things, instead giving prominence to the work of artisans;the architects, glassmakers, mosaicists, weavers, wood and metal workers that transformed their decorative pursuits into major artworks in their own right. During this visit, I also learnt of the decorative art of Ebru (paper marbling), the process of adding colours tothe surface tension of water, and then capturing those colours with a sheet of parchment to create unique, often unexpected patterns. I began to realise that this culture was well versed in the value of decorative art... and the abstract. Late that afternoon as I wandered back to the hotel I saw Dubai’s skyline awash with golden light while below me a gentle breeze on the waters of the Dubai Marina transformed the view into a mesmerising kaleidoscope of random patterns. I hired a small boat with a skipper and got on with my own process of capturing colours from water. I offer this new collection and the artworks, reflections created by nature on the surface of the water in Dubai, as my interpretation and as an entree to the wonderful world of Middle Eastern decorative art.
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The Future of Brightness
The Future of Brightness connects with everything I perceive uniquely Australian in my cultural subconscious. The artwork suggests the rich ochres on which our ancient land is built and from which the culture of our indigenous peoples created their dreamtime stories. It pushes into the vast unknowable horizons we live with on a daily basis. The inspiration for the creation of this artwork came from a series of works by Australian artist Tim Storrier in the 1980s and 1990s entitled ‘the Fire Lines” and “the Blaze Lines”. Storrier grew up in the Australian countryside fascinated by the colour and light of the vast horizons, the sunsets and the bushfires he experienced in this environment. To help him vision the artwork he wanted to create, he photographed using an old Box Brownie a line of burning kerosene on the ground. The kerosene was unreliable and whilst experimenting with other flammable material discovered burning boat lacquer produced the best photographic representation of fire. Hence an unintended connection between The Future of Brightness and the influence of Storrier’s work is the way the boat lacquer, either on fire on the ground in Storrier’s case or coated on the hull of yacht with strong sunlight shining on it in my work, facilitates unique visions of the Australian outback. The Future of Brightness 106 x 160cm Fine Art Print on museum quality archival paper An insightful story Storrier tells is of a meeting in the 1980s in Melbourne with a 92 year old gentleman who had travelled by steamer from Sydney to Melbourne. After seeing Storrier’s work, he remarked on how it reminded him of the lines of fire created by the Aboriginal peoples of southern New South Wales observable from the deck of the vessel at sea. The more I worked on the Future of Brightness, the more I felt confident I had created an artwork that distilled an imaginary vision of the Australian outback, its natural vagaries and its aesthetic beauty consistent with the current climate conditions. The irony of the title Future of Brightness is intended. Read it how you like!!. View available editions, sizes, prices and to purchase the Future of Brightness
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