CELEBRATED Darlington artist Robert Juniper and his wife Trish opened Juniper Galleries in 2011 at their home property where Robert held two exhibitions before he died in December 2012.
“It was pretty special and something he always wanted to do, so he did it,” Trish said.
“And then he passed away and I didn’t do anything for a number of years and now finally I’m opening up the space to the public again.”
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READ NOWTrish held the first reopening exhibition last November featuring local artist Jo Meredith, who had won the Bob and Trish Juniper Prize at the Mundaring Bicentennial Scholarship.
Visitors were able to view Meredith’s exhibition West in the studio gallery and tour Juniper’s private home gallery.
It was followed by two more exhibitions where Trish received such wonderful feedback that she decided to open the space every weekend, and during the week by appointment, regardless of whether another local or interstate artist was exhibiting or not.
“I decided to open it up to share it with others because the private gallery is so unusual and beautiful,” Trish said.
“I’ve curated a mini retrospective spanning his 60 year career with things from his early days to his very last painting.
“There are two rooms in this house; I have a day room at one end and a night room at the other, and I spend my entire day walking up and down through the gallery of the collection.
“It’s special for those reasons and I feel Bob is all around me still; there’s an incredibly spiritual feeling throughout the private gallery.
“He was so inspiring for so many people that I thought, ‘why shouldn’t he continue to be inspiring, even though he’s not here?’”
Although Trish also paints, she said she never dared call herself an artist with the talent surrounding her in the Hills.
“But I worked side by side with Bob virtually every day for 10 years and you can’t fail to learn when you’re being taught by the master,” she said.
Juniper Galleries is at 41a Dalry Road, Darlington and open 10am-5pm every weekend, with weekday viewings by appointment on 9299 6064.
The next exhibition, Annual Collection of Art, is on Sunday, October 28 until November 18.
Visitors are welcome to park on the driveway apart from exhibition opening events when parking is advised on Dalry Road.
Call prior to visiting to arrange disabled parking.