“CONFLUENCE’ is a collaborative exhibition between ceramic artist Nicky Cooney and painter Simon Glascott.

Nicky Cooney lives and works in Castlecrag, Sydney.  She has a background in Interior Design and after six years of study at Northern Beaches TAFE she attained an Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts/Ceramics.

As an artist, she finds great inspiration in the natural world, and on recent travels she has been captivated by the profound impact of rivers.  This exhibition, Confluence, delves into the contrasting forces of nature and human intervention, as we examine the parallel stories of rivers as makers of stratified rocks and urban rivers repurposed for transport and industry.

Rivers, with their ceaseless flow and great power, have shaped our planet.  Over Millenia, they have carved through the Earth’s surface, leaving behind intricate layers of sedimentary stratified rocks.  In contrast, many rivers, enter and pass through a structured, man-made environment.  Here, the rivers have been contained within and woven into complex urban tapestries.  Embankments, roads, buildings, bridges, and tunnels are man’s ways of harnessing and transforming these watercourses.

This exhibition seeks to explore the duality of these two contrasting river narratives.  Her work reflects nature’s creative forces and human agency. 

Nicky is interested in all aspects of ceramic practice and continually seeks to try different techniques of making, glazing, surface treatments and firing.

Nicky finds it is immensely rewarding that she can bring joy to others through her art.  It is hugely satisfying when someone appreciates and finds happiness in what she has made.