Outré Gallery

I worked in the city for years – Melbourne City that is, and part of my average week (the part I particularly enjoyed) was to pay a visit to various shops, cafes and galleries that I liked during my lunch break.

I am always interested in what is new, different and cutting edge. Not necessarily to buy mind you – but I always love to ‘have a look’. I think this is how the mind of artist, designer type people work….visually we take it all in and then eventually we settle on something and out comes our idea – pop! Anyway I digress……

It must be at least 10 years ago now – when on Elizabeth Street in the city – amongst a variety of pretty well non-descript shops – Outré Gallery (pronounced ‘oo-trey’) opened its doors. French for out of the ordinary and unusual – Outré Gallery was an instant success in that it bought ‘fun’ to art and specialized in showcasing contemporary international pop, lowbrow, pop surrealism, street, tiki, modern folk, retro with a twist and underground art. They dig art that crosses over with design, pop and counter culture. Gotta love that – I certainly do!

Over the years I have had a number of very special gifts given to me from Outré – my favourite is a signed and numbered limited edition framed print called Hexagram by Andrew Brandou. Our wedding gift to each other - my husband Sam and I used the image as the basis for our Winter solstice wedding – featuring elements of it on our invitations, place settings and thank you cards. Andrew Brandou says of the piece - ‘I try to use something like the hexagram pretty specifically, as not to violate anyone’s sensibilities, while at the same time tweaking it to fit the theme of the work. In the painting “hexagram” for instance, the animals carry the symbols of the tarot, march under the evergreen, and have laid the hexagram to symbolically represent themselves reclaiming their space in nature, acting as agents of change.’

Next up would have to be the King and Queen Salt and Pepper shakers given to me by Sam for Christmas. Designed and made by Gus McLaren. Gus and Betty McLaren together made a legendary body of work which represented the mid-century folk warmth of Australia in the 50s and 60s.  In the wake of Gus's passing last year, Betty continued to produce these classic pieces of Australian pottery from the original molds. Lucky me!

And last but certainly not least is the Tree Show Micro-Portfolio by Mark Ryden which is the most gorgeous set of 15 postcards of paintings from The Tree Show.


Just some of my favourite things……..keep up the good work Outré!