Jeff Ferris Recent Paintings

Jeff Ferris’ sharp-focus realist works have been remarkably popular at the Gallery ever since our first show back in 2008. Fans of fellow Australian artist, the late Jeffrey Smart, often remark that the striking style of Ferris’ pieces is reminiscent of Smart’s. In fact, the pair used to share correspondence, and Smart was a great admirer of Ferris’, imploring in a 1983 letter that Ferris was “far too modest about [his] work. The landscape is splendid with a marvelous mood to it and a really good sky…”.

As you'll appreciate from the following explanation by Ferris of his motivation for producing striking artworks, the admiration between the two artists is mutual: "I hope my paintings contain memorable images. I want the viewer to stop, to be captured and to look. I don’t want them to walk past. We live in the most technological visual times. So much to distract and attract the eye. For a painting to compete for attention, to hold interest, it must have a strong memorable image. The best part of painting for me is that it allows me to take a blank piece of paper or canvas or whatever and with a simple visualisation and idea to develop it and create something of my own. It’s amazing to have an idea come to fruition as a painting. I admire the technical skills of the Australian artists William Delafield Cook and of course the sheer brilliance of Jeffrey Smart."

In this collection of works, you will see Ferris exploring different depictions of similar scenery, familiar to those who live around Altona, where the artist lives.

Gallery hours during the Exhibition:

Tues-Fri: 11-5pm

Sat-Sun: 12-5pm