Over 50 years ago, Rhondda Walters’ creative art journey began. Bored with copying reality and with working to produce pre-conceived results, she spent a year with contemporary artist Ross Davis before being accepted into the studio of Desiderius Orban. Influenced in the early 1900's in Paris by the works of the impressionists Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne, and prominent in Hungary’s post-impressionist art movement, Orban decried artistic academicism and formalism as stifling to art and instead elevated the role of the artist's creative imagination. His teaching opened the way and laid the foundations for Rhondda's creativity to flourish.
Inspired by Orban’s teaching, Rhondda began to develop artworks that Orban would later describe as highly creative1, having a timeless quality2, demonstrating artistic responsibility the equal of Massachio’s3, and likely to secure for her a position among the important artists of our time in Australia1. Considering her an excellent artist4, Orban in the closing years of his life made Rhondda his teaching partner - a role previously enjoyed by only two other artists: John Ogburn and John Olsen2.
Now in her nineties, Rhondda continues to create and teach art with the same passion; with undimmed excitement in what she may discover next; and with great pleasure in sharing her art works, experience, and enthusiasm with others so they too can enjoy the wonderful world of creative art that she has explored with such great delight.
(1) Press letter, undated (2) Walters exhibition opening, February 1982 (3) Letter to Renshaw, NSW House, London. May 1981 (4) Open letter. April, 1981Rhondda's work has been shown in solo, group, and award exhibitions in Sydney and regional NSW galleries to the delight of those who've viewed her work over the years.
Solo Exhibitions
1982 Roseville Galleries, Sydney NSW (opened by Desiderius Orban) ►PRESS
1986 Holdsworth Contemporary Gallery, Sydney NSW
1987 Burns-Kaldy Gallery, Newcastle NSW ►PRESS
1988 Burns-Kaldy Gallery, Newcastle NSW ►PRESS
1989 Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney
1991 Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney ►PRESS
1993 Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney
1998 Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW ►PRESS
1998 Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin NSW
1999 Lindsay St Gallery, Newcastle NSW ►PRESS
2001 Lindsay St Gallery, Newcastle NSW ►PRESS
2002 Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin NSW
2002 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW
2005 Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin NSW
2005 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW
2006 Lorn Gallery, Maitland NSW ►PRESS
2007 Taree-Manning District Regional Gallery, Taree NSW
2007 Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford NSW ►PRESS
2008 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW
2010 Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin NSW
2010 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW ►PRESS
2013 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW
2010 Taree-Manning District Regional Gallery, Taree NSW
2010 Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW ►PRESS
2010 Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford NSW
2016 Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW ►PRESS
Group Exhibitions
1974 Sydney Sculptor Centre, Sydney NSW (opened by Lloyd Rees) ►PRESS
1977 Old Bakery, Sydney NSW
1974 - 1979 Palm Beach Gallery, Sydney NSW
1978 The Argyle Centre, Sydney NSW
1975 - 1986 Rotary Club and various charity exhibitions, NSW
1983 Commonwealth exhibition for the Spastic Centre, Sydney NSW
1986 Amnesty International exhibition, Sydney NSW
1988 Penrith Regional Gallery, Penrith NSW
1994 - 1996 Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW
1994 - 2001 Maitland Regional Gallery, Maitland NSW
1995 - 1998 Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle NSW
2008, 2013 Cooks Hill Gallery, Newcastle NSW
Over the years, Rhondda's work has been selected for hanging and judging in many metropolitan and regional art prize exhibitions. She has been awarded and commended in many, and in just as many not, but neither outcome drives or deters her. She just loves the creating of her art!
Award Exhibitions
1975-76, 1978-81, 1984 Blake Prize exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW Sydney
1975 Wynn Prize exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW Sydney
1979 Portia Geach award exhibition, Sydney NSW
1979 Sydney Morning Herald competition exhibition, Sydney NSW
1979, 80, 84, 94 Mosman Art Prize exhibition, Sydney NSW
1980 - 1991 Hunters Hill Award Exhibition, Sydney NSW
1983 University of New South Wales Award Exhibition, Sydney NSW
1988 Warringah Art Prize Exhibition, Sydney
1988 Master Builders Federation Exhibition, Sydney NSW
2000 - 2004 Pokolbin Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (1 First Place award)
1994 - 2005 Maitland Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (1 Commended award)
1994 - 2005 Singleton Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (4 Highly Commended, 3 Commended awards)
1995, 1998 Muswellbrook Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW
1994 - 2002 Cessnock Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (1 First Place, 1 Runner-up, 4 Highly Commended, 1 Members’ award)
1996-99, 2002-05 Weston Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (2 First Place, 4 Highly Commended awards)
1998 - 2005 Hunter Regional Show Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW (1 First Place award)
2000 - 2006 Manning Regional Gallery Godfest Exhibition, Taree NSW (1 First Place, 4 People’s Choice, 1 Second Place, 2 Commended awards)
2000, 2009 Muswellbrook Art Prize Exhibition, Hunter Valley NSW
2006 Samaritans Newcastle Art Prize (1 First Place award)
Rhondda's creative art teaching during and long after her years as Orban's teaching partner has been as steady as her love of art.
Studios
1976 - 1983 Teacher, Orban Studio, Sydney NSW
1978 - 1983 Teacher, Orban Summer School, Blue Mountains, Moss Vale NSW
1982 - 1983 Visiting teacher, School for Performing and Creative Arts, Sydney NSW
1984 - present Founder and teacher, Walters Studio, Sydney, Hunter Valley, Lake Macquarie, Sydney NSW
1987 - 1989 Visiting teacher, Warrawilla Studio, Millthorpe NSW
1998 Teacher, St Lucy’s School, Sydney NSW
1992 - 2004 Teacher, Royal Blind Society school camps, Sydney NSW
1992 - present Leader, creative art workshops in many places and galleries in NSW!
2000 - 2002 Teacher, Cessnock District Learning Centre, Cessnock NSW ►PRESS
Present Teacher, Walters Studio, Sydney NSW