Breathe: 5 Artists – 10th May – 8th June, 2025

Curator’s Note ~ Dr Robyn Williams

Breathe began with a simple desire – to create space. Space to slow down, to reconnect, and to be reminded of the quiet strength that nature holds.

In a world filled with noise and uncertainty, these five artists offer something else: a way of seeing and feeling that is both grounding and expansive. Their work speaks not in loud gestures, but in texture, mood, light and memory –  in the way wind moves through leaves or how the land remembers us long after we’ve left.

Curating this exhibition has been a privilege. Each artist brings a unique and deeply personal relationship to the landscape, and together they create something rare – a visual breath.

I hope Breathe gives you a moment to exhale, and maybe even to wonder.

Robyn

Artists

 Graeme Altman

We are honoured to include Victorian artist Graeme Altmann in Breathe. Recently named in Australia’s top 100 artists, Graeme is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading contemporary landscape painters.

His work is sought after for its quiet intensity – rich in mood, layered with subtle, earthy colour, and deeply connected to place. Born in the coastal town of Warrnambool on Victoria’s southwest coast, Graeme draws much of his inspiration from its shifting skies, the sea, and open spaces. He says that his inspiration has been driven by my love and fear of the sea.

Now based in Melbourne, his work is held in major public and private collections across Australia, including Sydney University, the Dobell Foundation, and the ANZ Art Collection.

Graeme’s paintings offer moments of reflection – landscapes that seem to breathe on their own.

Michele Morcos

We are thrilled to welcome Sydney-based artist Michele Morcos to Breathe at Purple Noon Gallery. A multimedia visual artist with a deeply thoughtful practice, Michele brings a unique sensitivity to this exhibition; a return to her first love: the Australian landscape.

A graduate of UNSW Art & Design (formerly COFA), Michele holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing, along with a BA Honours in Art Theory. Her work in Breathe reflects a longstanding connection to place and memory, drawing on early painting and drawing trips across the traditional lands of the Malyankapa, Pandjikali, Wanyuparlku and Wilyakali peoples in Far Western NSW. Her textures and rich colours express the wonder and power of this ancient land; a deep respect for its spirituality and its traditional owners is evident in every brushstroke.

Michele’s career spans lecturing at Macquarie University, exhibiting throughout Australia and Switzerland, and collaborating on public art projects including a film commission for the redevelopment of Wynyard Station in Sydney.

Her works are layered, poetic responses to land and story – quiet yet compelling, and always grounded in a respect for country, history, and community.

Adam Galic

The youngest artist in our Breathe exhibition, Adam Galic brings a fresh and lyrical vision to the Australian landscape. An emerging professional artist with a deep connection to nature, Adam’s work is shaped by early years spent exploring the creeks and bushland of his childhood. These early experiences continue to guide his painter’s eye.

Now based in Helensburgh, Adam finds inspiration in the surrounding beaches and national parks. His paintings capture that fleeting light; the way the sun filters through foliage, casting shadows, glimmers, and warmth across uncultivated terrain. There is serenity in his work, but also drama: an attentiveness to how the land changes moment by moment.

A graduate of the National Art School in 2011, where he majored in oil painting, Adam has already been recognised as a finalist in a number of national art prizes, and his work is steadily finding its way into collections across Australia.

Painting both plein air and in the studio, Adam invites the viewer right into the scene – into the waterway or still place,  until you feel the cool air, smell the damp earth, and sense the late afternoon light warming your face. His works are immersive, sensory, and quietly

James Lyle

We’re proud to welcome James Lyle back to Purple Noon Gallery. It’s the place where he held his very first exhibition, straight out of university. Described by many as “a painter’s painter,” James has always approached his art with deep seriousness, instinct, and emotion.

Based in Bathurst in the Central West of New South Wales, James brings a bold immediacy to his landscapes. His alla prima method (painting directly and decisively in one sitting) distils the essence of his subject with clarity and power. There’s an energy to his work that feels both intuitive and rigorous: a careful dance between chaos and control, light and shadow, searching and knowing.

James studied painting at the Nepean Arts and Design Centre and later at the College of Fine Arts (UNSW), receiving scholarships from the Australian Decorative Fine Arts Society and Ars Musica Australis. His passion lies in painting’s raw ability to communicate through colour, bypassing logic and speaking straight to the senses.

Of his practice, James writes:
“Art can be so utterly devoid of any logical point and yet be so compelling… In my work there is a purposeful ordering and chaos, correction and mistake, darkness and levity. There is a need to be lost in order to find.”

James’s landscapes are not just visual – they are philosophical, visceral, and emotionally potent. We are honoured to have him contribute to Breathe.

 Steve Salo

“Through the visual voice of painting, I communicate emotion. We are complex of mind and spirit, my intent as a contemporary portrait artist is to explore the human psyche through painting these complexities. I’m interested in portraying this aspect rather than focussing on the surface level alone. My landscape paintings also go beyond the visual perception, I am more concerned with portraying the feelings evoked by being in a place.” – Steve Salo

Steve Salo is a painter of emotion – intuitive, expressive, and deeply connected to the landscapes he portrays. His work evokes both strength and serenity, capturing not just what a place looks like, but how it feels.

Working fearlessly across mediums and techniques, Steve’s recent paintings reveal a fascination with surface and sensation. Thick globules of creamy oil paint, often applied with a palette knife, give his works a physical presence, almost sculptural in their depth. Some paintings lean into abstraction, while others remain rooted in recognisable terrain – all united by a powerful sense of atmosphere.

Steve’s landscapes are awe-inspiring in their balance of raw texture and exquisite control. Whether painted on canvas or aluminium, each work invites the viewer into an emotional space.  It’s like a moment of stillness and reflection.

Steve’s practice includes artist residencies in Portsea, Victoria and the Hämeenkyrö lake region of Finland, and his paintings are held in private collections across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, the UAE, Europe, the UK, USA, and Canada.

We’re delighted to include his compelling vision in Breathe.