ARTEXPRESS, an exhibition of artworks created by students for the Higher School Certificate Examination in Visual Arts in 2008, is now on display at the Glasshouse Gallery.

Last year, 9,665 students submitted artworks as part of the Higher School Certificate Visual Arts Examination, from which 50 works were selected for exhibition at the Glasshouse.

The works presented are imbued with vibrancy and make contemporary comment on the young artists’ understanding and experience of the world. They demonstrate exceptional quality across a broad range of subject matter, approaches, styles and media including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, documented forms, textiles and fibre, ceramics, digital animation, film and video, and collections of works.

ARTEXPRESS includes many works that explore the idea of abstraction. The students’ works reflect a sophisticated understanding of abstraction both as material practice and as an art movement. There is an excellent selection of video and film works, as well. The student works reflect a range of intellectual interests, ideas, and processes.

Edwina McCoy, Liaison Officer for the Board of Studies North Coast, said, “It’s wonderful to see ARTEXPRESS in the Glasshouse Gallery in 2009. The exhibition will stimulate dialogue among teachers and students about approaches to art. All of the young artists in the exhibition demonstrate that the talents of visual arts students are being nurtured and developed by quality teaching in NSW schools guided by a demanding visual arts course which extracts the best from our students.”

Port Macquarie Hastings Council General Manager Andrew Roach said, “My congratulations go to the students, and their teachers and parents for supporting them to their success at the HSC and in this exhibition.”

ARTEXPRESS is a joint initiative of the Office of the Board of Studies and the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. ARTEXPRESS will be on exhibition at the Glasshouse until November 15. Tomorrow (Friday 2 October) a HSC study day for 60 current year 11 students will be held at the Glasshouse.

Photo: Skye Frost from the Glasshouse with the artists whose work is exhibited in the exhibition: Eadie Newman, Ruth Dunn, James Hargrave, Nyree Pezikian, Cheyelle Gibson Nina Gibbs, and Nicole Deegenaars with Glasshouse Gallery Director Sharni Lloyd, Edwina McCoy Board of Studies Liaison Officer, Dr Susanne Jones, ARTEXPRESS Coordinator, and Louise Barkl, Manager of the Arts Unit, Department of Education