Out of the Blue: a group show

Out of the Blue is a group exhibition that began with a simple, whimsical premise: six artists invited to respond to the theme of ‘fish’. The show charts an evolution – from literal depictions of aquatic life to meditations on colour, depth, memory, and the unknown.

At the outset, fish served as both subject and catalyst. Blue became not just a colour but a mood – melancholic, immersive, and infinite. The theme unravelled in generative ways. The fish made way for other currents of influence – shimmer of scales turned into fractured abstraction, underwater scenes to vast, atmospheric landscapes, sculptural forms suggesting fish in motion, and other works that hint at tides, nets, and drift.

What binds these six practices is not style but responsiveness. They are diverse in medium, temperament, and visual language, yet united by a shared willingness to let a starting point dissolve. Out of the Blue becomes a metaphor for surprise itself—the unexpected turn, the idea that surfaces unbidden. The show is less about what swims beneath the surface and more about what emerges when artists dare to follow a single spark into open water.

Works by Libby Blainey, Cheryl Collier, Jenny Coopes, Ollie Henstridge, Mat Hooker and Vicki Potter.

• Shop Gallery Glebe, 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe

• theshopgalleryglebe.com.au

• Exhibition open: Friday 13 March to Monday 16 March, 11am to 5pm 

• Opening Drinks: Thursday 12 March 5 to 7pm