Still Life - Curator group exhibition

Still Life

15 - 26 October 2025

Opening Night

Friday 17 October | 6 - 8 pm

G3

Curator’s Statement

Curator - Tammy Honey

This exhibition brings together six artists — five painters and one photographer — in a shared conversation about still life. John Renkin, Judith Clifton, Steve Xiao, Lata Shetty, Helen Edwards, and Gavin Haberfield each approach the genre through their own language of light, colour, and form, exploring the poetic potential of the everyday.

The still life painters capture the essence of objects and moments, distilling the ordinary into compositions of stillness and presence. In contrast, Steve Xiao’s photographic works extend this dialogue through reflection and temporality, revealing stillness as something that exists beyond the frame.

Placed together, these works invite a slower, more contemplative encounter. They ask us to notice the quiet beauty of restraint — to find meaning in what is present, and equally, in what has been left out.

Artists list

John Renkin , Judith Clifton , Steve Xiao , Lata Shetty, Helen Edwards and Gavin Haberfield

Steven Xiao

Artist Statement

American Venom is a photographic series exploring the relationship between consumption, the body, and visual symbols. The work unfolds through minimal scenes and a restrained set of props—fast food, carbonated drinks, national flags, prosthetics, and the human figure—placed within rigorously controlled light and space. They do not explain one another; they simply occupy the frame in quiet tension.

I focus on elements of contemporary visual experience that are both ubiquitous and easily overlooked: mass-produced objects, repeated gestures, and replicated desires. These images draw on personal observation as well as fragments from news, advertising, and everyday life.

The series does not point to any single nation nor offer direct political slogans. Instead, it addresses the desires and pressures that spread and infiltrate through globalized consumer culture.

Artist Biography

Steven Xiao is a photographer whose work merges staged and documentary photography, crafting evocative narratives that explore identity, cultural symbolism, and social norms. Often focusing on the female form, he examines themes of desire, politics, and representation. Trained in the U.S. and mentored by Taiwanese photographer Juan I-Jong, Xiao draws from humanistic documentary traditions while incorporating surreal, meticulously composed scenes. His use of dramatic lighting and carefully arranged elements blurs the line between reality and fiction, creating an atmosphere of mystery and tension. Through his striking visual storytelling, Xiao challenges conventional perspectives, prompting deeper reflections on contemporary life. His work has been exhibited and published internationally, earning recognition for its compelling interplay of meaning and form.

Judith Clifton

Artist Statement

For me, the joy in painting begins with the search for an object or objects that I know I will be happy to be staring at whilst painting. The object’s shape, its lines, its colour need to be visually appealing; some objects can stand alone and make their own painting, others need to be arranged so that they “talk” to each other, so that their lines or shapes fit together. This process can take hours; photographing them from all angles, in different lights, moving different objects next to or away from each other. It can take 70 or more photos to find the perfect layout. What is also important, is that these objects were designed thoughtfully, not only for their utility or their purpose, but to also have a shape that is distinctive and attractive - best of all, are those whose history tells a story; the faded paint, the dents, the chips, the rust, the stains, the encrusted dirt.

Artist Biography

At the age of fifteen, Judith Clifton wanted to be a silversmith, like her great aunt; she went to university and studied accounting - having been persuaded that accounting would be a more sensible career path. In her late forties, Judith wanted a career change, so she moved to working part time in the accounting field and spent the other half completing a Diploma of Visual Art at the CAE, majoring in Sculpture. Judith made sculptures using various techniques, including silversmithing, for several years.

In 2019, Judith decided that she would like to try her hand at painting, she went to an Introduction to Painting class and has been oil painting ever since; the subjects for her oil paintings are items that have been collected over the years from markets and op. shops, as well as odd pieces handed down through her family.

Helen Edwards

Happiness for Helen is the complete freedom with which she makes her Art.  Every time she enters the studio she feels a sense of a new adventure. She takes a wholly intuitive approach and has a huge variety of mediums and subjects at her disposal. However this array of possibilities can be a little daunting so when she received an invitation to participate in the Red Gallery Still Life exhibition Helen was delighted.

With strong drawing skills and an interest in composition and creating a good likeness of her subject Helen describes her work as Contemporary Realist. Leaving a career as a school teacher she initially worked in soft pastel painting landscapes and figurative works.  When the pastel dust became a problem she painted in oils and acrylics, drawing in charcoal and creating assemblage sculpture.

Helen has received numerous awards and commendations for her work.  Most recently it has been portraiture which has brought success with her portrait of ‘The Seekers’ being acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

Lata Shetty

Artist Statement

Shetty's work explores how light, colour, form and composition can transform the ordinary fruit, vegetable, vessels or flowers into opportunities for contemplation. Her practice is about observation, slowing down, paying attention and honouring the ordinary moments and materials that shape our daily life.

Artist Biography

Lata Shetty is a Fitzroy based contemporary artist who specialises in oil painting. Her work as a still life painter is centred on the quiet beauty of everyday life. Her interest in art started by taking art classes at Fitzroy Painting School. SHe has been a Finalist in Omnia Art Prize (2023 and 2025), Renew FAC Open Exhibition (2023) and Toorak Art Walk (2018)

John Renkin

Artist Statement

The artworks that John has exhibited show compositions of simple household ceramic containers. The paintings display careful observation and the elevated views with strong lighting create clear contrast. He has used an alla prima technique with oil paint and the tactile presence of brushstrokes evokes a spontaneous reaction to the images.

Artist Biography

John pursued his interest in art as an adult at various CAE art classes and studied painting techniques with David Moore. He has been involved with numerous group and solo exhibitions.

Gavin Haberfield

Artist Statement

Haberfield ’s work focuses on familiar everyday items and scenes . If you are patient and lucky with the light, even a very basic everyday scene can become something interesting and fun to paint. My goal is to paint something that looks engaging and attractive and that rewards a second look. The particular lighting in the set of paintings I am exhibiting only appears on my kitchen bench at the equinox and each scene is a different equinox. There are lots of reflections and unexpected lighting effects that make a simple everyday scene full of interest.

Artist Biography

Haberfield is an emerging artist who enjoys doing still life studies of everyday things. Haberfield is a student in the Seven Easels studio  that has a focus on classical and indirect painting methods.

Contact
Phone : (03) 9482 3550
mail@redgallery.com.au

Address
157 St Georges Rd
Fitzroy North, Victoria, 3068
Map

How to get here
Tram: Route 11
Stop 21 just north of Edinburgh Gardens

Melway Ref: 30B12
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Bus: 504 (Reid Street)