Old friends Lynne Lip and Alison Iszlaub, from Wondai, caught up with June McCotter at the opening night … Alison and June helped found the Wondai Regional Art Gallery more than two decades ago

July 5, 2016

A large crowd packed into the Wondai Regional Art Gallery on Friday night for Sunshine Coast artist June McCotter’s 21st annual exhibition.

June, who originally lived in the South Burnett but now operates from her own gallery at Nambour, was one of the founders of the Wondai Art Gallery along with Alison Iszlaub.

Alison went on to become the gallery’s curator for the first 15 years of its life, welding it into the fabric of the town’s social life and steadily building it into an institution.

And every year for the past 21 years, June has returned to the Gallery – usually bringing other artists along with her – for an exhibition of her latest works.

During this time the quirky, outgoing artist has built a large South Burnett fan base.

This was evidenced by the red dots which quickly peppered eight of her paintings on Friday night, and the large group of friends and supporters who came from all over the region to catch up.

June’s latest exhibition – “Point Of Difference” – is a joint effort.

Apart from her own works, it features paintings in a variety of media and themes by equally well known artists Rhonda Pullen, Judith Goodman and Sarah McCathy.

Unusually, it also features chairs from Judy Cakacaka’s Vo’ia Design, a Nambour interior design firm that produces custom-built furniture.

Judy’s chairs drew a lot of attention from the opening night crowd, some of whom asked for permission to sit in them and see if they were as comfortable as they looked.

  • “Point Of Difference” will remain on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery in Haly Street, Wondai from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily until the end of the month. Admission to view it is free.
… and new friends: Wondai Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill with June McCotter and Nate Hilder, 8, from the Gold Coast
Graham Mitchell from Dimities Cottage congratulated Rhonda Pullen, from Beerwah, on her artworks; Graham, who also paints, shares Rhonda’s love of floral art
Artist Robyn Dower, from Tingoora, congratulates her husband Russell on winning a bottle of wine in the raffle
Bernie and Judy Cooper from Cranes Winery provided wine tastings (and wines) for the opening night crowd
Well-known South Burnett artist Judith Goodman had a collection of her own works in the exhibition
Greg Day, from Greg Day’s Bobcat Hire, was very impressed with the Vo’ia Design chairs that also formed part of the exhibition
Judy Cakacaka from Vo’ia Interior Design shared a laugh with June McCotter … as well as the artworks, Vo’ia’s chairs were the talk of the night

 

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