Media Release: The Clayton Utz Art Partnership features two new Melbourne artists

Melbourne, 18 November 2019: The Clayton Utz Art Partnership has launched its fourth Melbourne exhibition, featuring contemporary Australian artists Graeme Drendel and Belynda Henry.

Over 85 Clayton Utz people and guests attended the exhibition launch at a cocktail event at the firm's 333 Collins Street offices in Melbourne on Thursday 17 October.

The exhibition comprised 48 unique artworks featured throughout the Reception area and level 18.

In a Q&A moderated by Deputy Chief Executive Partner Bruce Cooper, both artists reflected on their approaches to creating landscapes and how they are inspired and influenced by their travels.

Commenting on the purpose of the Clayton Utz Art Partnership, Bruce Cooper said: "For us this six months is, once again, about going beyond the ordinary - being inspired by what's on our walls here in Melbourne and enjoying the fact that people like what they see and want to talk about it:  after all, it's about having richer conversations and building relationships that make lawyers and clients come together better."

Earlier Melbourne exhibitions have featured the work of artists Lottie Consalvo and Miranda Skoczek, Heidi Yardley and Rhys Lee, and Jon Cattapan and Dane Lovett.

The Clayton Utz Art Partnership is an innovative and industry-first collaboration between Clayton Utz and established and emerging artists, featuring new artists and their works every six months.

About the artists

Belynda's ethereal landscapes are drawn as much from her experience of a particularly beautiful (although hidden) part of the Australian bush fairly close to Sydney, as they are from her travels offshore.  A Bachelor of Visual Arts student from Sydney University, she is widely collected and has been a finalist in a number of prestigious awards, including the Wynne, the Sulman (a four time finalist), the Archibald and the Mosman Art Prize.

Graeme has been part of the Australian painting landscape for over 30 years, with works exhibited at Clayton Utz ranging from the 1980s through to the present, showing an ongoing evolution in style, technique and media.  With a number of loyal corporate and individual collectors (National Portrait Gallery, Newcastle Regional Gallery, Queensland Art Gallery and the Melbourne Performing Arts Museum) Graeme has held over 30 solo and close to 50 group exhibitions tto date, and has also been a winner/finalist in several art competitions, including the Sulman (twice), the Archibald (in 2018), the Kilgour and the Doug Moran portraiture prize.

The Clayton Utz Art Partnership is managed and curated by 3:33 Art Projects.