Concrete Playground

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is determined completely from perspective, as is meaning much of the time. To some, belladonna might be a gorgeous Italian catchphrase bandied about beautiful women. To others, it's a deadly poisonous plant, used to eliminate the odd significant personage from history here and there. When it comes to artist Beth Josey, her work always demonstrates this exceptional paradox: death lying behind a beautiful facade.

A scientist by day and artist by night, Josey's work reflects her dual life — the intricacies and detail of a scientific study combined with the beauty and imagination in the eye of an artist. In this, her new solo exhibition, art lovers will see a collection of lino prints and related paintings, looking at the irony of the deadly beauty in nature.

Also opening at Hardware Gallery is Castellum, a solo exhibition by artist Andrew Ensor. Drawing inspiration from French Chateaus and Japanese castles, this series examines the power and detail in architectural creations and the effect that the passage of time has on their stability and importance.

Look no further for Sydney's next up and coming artists, they're right here.

Image: Beth Josey