OPENING/MEET THE ARTIST Saturday 11 October, 11am – 5pm ALL WELCOME

MEET THE ARTISTS and ARTIST TALK 

“My practice is a fractured thing, a mix of finding new directions to explore with each show, as well as refining the processes and material combinations that I pick up along the way.

Ideas are found through observation, contemplation, drawing, writing, materials, form, colour, nature etc…..

One of the continuing plot lines in my practice has been playing with ways of combining 2D and 3D form.

This show is a two way split. Firstly, a gang of works that are playing around with the idea and form and colour of folded apparel.

Clothing is an outer shell or skin that we use to hide and adorn ourselves.

In its neat, folded unworn state, new clothing offers the possibility of renewal and a fresh start.

There is also a series of collaborated 2D, 3D works with Nicola.” John Turier April 2025

Artist Biography
Nicola Hensel
Nicola Hensel is a Newcastle-based artist, born here in 1961. Her work is represented in private, regional and national collections. 

Her practice is based on drawing from life in her garden, house and neighbourhood. 

This will be her first exhibition at Straitjacket.

John Turier 
“Abstractionist John Turier was born in Sydney in 1954. He graduated from the Hunter Institute of Higher Education, NSW, in 1968 with a Bachelor of Visual Arts, and then again from the University of Newcastle in 1989 with a Diploma in Painting. He completed a Master’s Degree in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle in 1990. He currently lives and works in Newcastle, NSW.

John Turier’s 30-year career is underpinned by 19 solo exhibitions since 1989. Additionally, Turier’s experience as a tradesman has contributed immensely to his ability to adapt illustrations into three-dimensional forms, a process which underpins his, more often than not, humorous sculpture.

Turier won the William Fletcher Trust Scholarship in 1990. He has also received numerous public sculpture commissions, including from Australian Geographic, Newcastle City Council, Eden Gardens, Sydney, PCYC Australia and Commonwealth Bank.

His work can be found in a number of corporate and public collections such as Artbank, Jackson Smith Solicitors, SANs Hospital in Wahroonga Sydney, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle Regional Gallery.

A dual-retrospective exhibition of John Turier and partner Nicola Hensel, Kalliope Calliope, was on display at Maitland Regional Art Gallery from 2019-2020.

King Street Gallery has represented John since 2002.” from King Street Gallery website

This is the first exhibition by John at Straitjacket.