Regional Spotlight Artist Profile | Vanessa Allegra

The inaugural Regional Spotlight exhibition is a showcase of artistic talent from across the region. Developed from an expressions of interest process, the exhibition brings together painting, drawing, photography, and sculptural works by artists living and working in the Wide Bay-Burnett. The Regional Spotlight initiative is an opportunity for artists at any stage in their career, working in any visual art medium, to receive mentorship and share their work at the gallery. Vanessa Allegra is a local artist in our upcoming Regional Spotlight exhibition opening on 21st September 2024.

How long have you been making artwork?

I’ve been an artist my whole life, it’s an inescapable part of me. I learnt how to paint in 2015, though only began taking my art career more seriously a few years ago.

What are your favourite mediums to work with and why?

I work predominantly with oils and with pencil. Oils are rich, glorious paints to use. They are so forgiving and can have so much depth. Plus my studio always smells of linseed oil, which is home to me. I began drawing in 2022 and haven’t looked back. I can’t go past a good red or blue pencil these days! I’ve really enjoyed exploring a new medium and love that my sketchpad and pencils are always with me wherever I am in the world.

Who/what inspires or influences you?

The beauty in womanly nudity inspires me, and domestic abuse and the everyday treatment of women influences me heavily. I also constantly look back at work by the old masters - the rich oils of Gentileschi, Courbet and Sargent, the colour and joy in Klimt’s work, the strange, upsetting eariness of Schiele, the beautiful high key works by Streeton and luminosity of Olley and Cassatt. As I encounter their works they all slowly engender change in my own.

Has your practice and subject matter changed over time? If so, how?

As I’ve grown older I’ve paid more attention to the trailblazing female artists who paved the way for women like myself and painted despite all odds. There’s something deeply powerful and moving in that, and I hope to continue in their footsteps. I’ve certainly realised my interests lie solely in depicting women and women’s issues.

What do you like most about living in the region?

The weather! We are so lucky having endless blue skies, rich fertile soils, lovely calm beaches. It’s a wonderful part of the planet.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Start now. Go to your easel every day and paint. Draw every day. Do your admin. Seek opportunities or make your own. You’ve got this.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for including me in the exhibition! I hope Regional Spotlight becomes a longstanding highlight of the HBRG schedule, and I’m proud to be part of the very first one. I really look forward to seeing the artists and works which come through in the future.

What is the most interesting feedback you have had about your work?

One of my works featured in Regional Spotlight was shown at 1770 in 2023 where it took out the major prize. So many people looked only at the models and missed the severed head - but when one woman did see it she was so disgusted and incensed that she complained to the team running the show. Claiming my work was ‘unholy’ and should be removed, exhibition staff gently let her know that it was actually based on a religious story from the Catholic bible, and my painting stayed put.