Melanie Vugich - Familiarity

This collection of still life and interiors paintings is my way of celebrating the everyday objects that keep me connected to loved ones and to places that have provided sanctuary… My coffee pot, favourite jug, tableware and pieces of cloth came from my apartment in Florence, where I lived and worked for 25 years; coloured glassware, ceramic vases and vintage teapots have been gathered in the 12 years since I returned to Australia; books have been bought on my travels or were left to me by my beloved mentor, Susan Nevelson. Functional household items have become deeply meaningful to me over the past year and I find myself mixing bolder colours and deliberately seeking out beauty and familiarity as a counter to heartbreaking news and the tyranny of distance.