Opening night Thursday the 16th of April 6 - 9pm

Northern NSW artist Carmel Debreuil opens her latest solo show - Look At Me!

Debreuil works with acrylic paint on ply creating brightly coloured paintings of children with stern faces peering out from vintage spectacles. Some are riding chickens, some are facing off with lions, others are playing with over sized toys.

"I kinda like the idea that the kids are playing and doing their own thing and we've somehow stumbled into their world and interrupted their imagination. So there is a bit of what they were pretending still there for us to sneak a peak at. I also like that they are serious and unsmiling, because playing, you know, is serious business."

Debreuil's profile has been steadily increasing over the last few years with features in the US based art publication Ink and Arrows, inclusion in the Queensland Living magazine, the McGrath Magazine and over 32 group and solo shows in the last two and a half years including her most recent at the Brisbane Modern Art Gallery. She has also released three books of her work that feature over three hundred images of her art.

Debreuil’s work is unique, distinct and instantly recognizable. Each subject own uniform of favorite clothing, including cowboy boots and viking helmets. The knots of the plywood she paints on often become part of the work and are featured in the kids' clothing and in the features of the various animals in many of the paintings. Play is a serious matter for her subjects. Different rules apply than in every day life and everyday objects and creatures undergo transformations to be enjoyed in the imagination.

“I like to capture the innocence of childhood with its beauty, confusion, vulnerability and uncertainty, but also the bravado and swagger and confidence too.”

The show will run for one week only at the M2 gallery and will feature over thirty pieces as well as a limited number of prints on wood, wooden paper and canvas. The show closes on Monday April 20, 4pm.

The opening night is sponsored by Brown Brothers and the Victorian wine company will feature their newest product Grape Tree Cider at the event. There will be music by DJ JoeSpoon (Grinspoon) and international DJ Ewol.