Kerry Armstrong is something of a trailblazer on the Australian art scene. Her gallery, Studio Gallery, populates five locations across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and represents more than 140 emerging and established artists. Kerry is also an in-demand artist in her own right, commanding up to $70,000 for her vibrant works.
“I always painted for personal pleasure and felt an affinity with it as a beautiful release, but became more focussed while painting as a form anxiety relief when I had a brain tumour and subsequent craniotomy 12 years ago,” Kerry shares. “My entry into the art gallery space with Studio Gallery was forged when my husband and I purchased a large factory in Cheltenham, renovated it and saw in excess of 500 collectors join us to celebrate our very first opening night.”
Inclusive in its approach to art, Studio Gallery displays pricing on its website and brings a raft of artists together in an “incubative” environment. For Kerry it’s about work that arrests the senses rather than championing one artist over another. As such, the gallery invites collectors of all kinds to interact — from novice to knowledgeable.
In terms of her own art, Kerry is primarily an oil painter, always working on Belgian linen. “Oil paint has a magnificent history for every good reason,” she reiterates. “You cannot achieve the visceral, raw effect or enjoy the magnificence of working with any other medium.”
Organic, unplanned and emotive, Kerry’s expressionist art is highly personal. “Each piece is like a tiny cut out of my life,” she says. “They present themselves to me like déjà-vu – I feel like I’m recounting a tiny sliver of time.” Looking through her body of work, Kerry pinpoints “Headdres” as one of her most memorable creations. Part of the successful Tasting Flowers series, “Headdress” followed the fascinating story of the people who lived in her Brighton home more than 100 years ago.
As well as being a passionate artist, Kerry is also an avid collector. Rather than getting bogged down in
the investment aspect of art collecting, she is far more interested in the energy a work holds and the story it’s telling. “I think it’s a shame when people worry too much about speculation of future gains when purchasing art,” she adds. In this sense, and when observing her business acumen, Kerry is an example of a talent that diverges from accepted art market norms to create a new format that appeals to a wider audience of art lovers.
Thanks to Kerry’s philosophy of accessibility for all, Studio Gallery has built a reputation as a go-to for interior designers and stylists looking to fill their clients’ walls with contemporary Australian art. Consequently, Kerry has become something of an expert when it comes to advising on art placement to amplify and add interest to a space, including her own equine-inspired heritage home in Harkaway in Melbourne’s north-east.
Despite all her success, Kerry isn’t ready to slow down and says she dreams of one day opening a gallery in London. “Life is so precious and short,” she concludes. “I really love and value mine every single day and will never have enough days to chase down my goals.”
Learn More studiogallerymelbourne.com.au ; kerryjarmstrongart.com.au