Current Exhibitions

May-June 2026

Magnificent Marine Menagerie

The Calico Cat Gallery is excited to present a new exhibition featuring South Australian-based emerging artists: Amanda Ford, Jade Zander, Robyn Kimber, Cass Bear, Joanna Hubbard, and Lydie Paton.

This show is dedicated to celebrating our beautiful marine life and donating a portion of the sales to the

Great Southern Reef Foundation (GSR).

Welcome to our first fundraising show!

The Magnificent Marine Menagerie is a multi-artist show depicting celebrations of our magnificent marine life found along our southern coast. The impact of the harmful algal bloom has not been missed by us here in South Australia, and the devastation to our wildlife and coastal industries has been felt widely along the seashores. We have seen it move along our coastline over the past two years and witnessed extreme sadness and frustration. Notwithstanding that we ourselves have at times been unable to enjoy the beach and the water, the impact on our precious wildlife has been heart-wrenching.

The artists in the show aim to highlight the brilliant creatures and coastline, celebrating our biodiversity rather than focusing on what has been lost. The artists all have a stake in this; this is their home, too. Their work is a tribute to their love of the wild coast.

This show is dedicated to celebrating our wonderful South Australian marine life, but also supporting it, so 15% of all sales will be donated to the Great Southern Reef (GSR) foundation; this reef is an extensive, interconnected system of temperate reefs, predominantly characterised by kelp forests and spans over 8,000 kms of our southern coastline (GSR, 2026).

Amanda Ford is inspired by the animals themselves, injecting vibrancy and texture into the abstracted portraits. Fascinated by colour and the process of layering, Amanda pushes her work beyond naturalist colour into heightened and unexpected palettes.

Amanda Ford, 2026

Jade Zander, also a restoration ecologist, explores the complexity of birdlife with stippling, inviting viewers to look closer at both the intricate artwork and the story being told by the bird. The plight of the hooded plover is a focus of this exhibition, with only 70 or so remaining along our coastline; Jade's work is a juxtaposition of fragility and resilience.

Jade Zander, 2026

Robyn Kimber shares “…then tragedy tears the veil: an algal bloom surges. Hundreds of species lost in heartbreaking silence. Abundant fragility, scattered across my sandy path.” Using wheel-throwing and hand-building, Robyn’s ceramic creations are made with a love of characterful, narrative-driven surfaces.

Robyn Kimber, 2026

Cass Bear describes herself as a “dabbler in all sorts of creative visual expression.” Cass is drawn to the sound of the ocean and our beautiful beaches since her early childhood; she creates paintings with texture and calming natural tones from the visual memories and photographs of these trips to the beach.

Cass Bear, 2026

Joanna Hubbard is inspired by the natural world around her; by her significant childhood exposure to nature, and her desire for her children to also have a deep connection with the local country. Her watercolour portraits of sea creatures highlight the wonder along our coastline and the majesty of its inhabitants.

Joanna Hubbard, 2026

Lydie Paton is inspired by the beauty and diversity of the beach environment and its creatures, with her work focusing on the delicate features of shorebirds and shells. Using simple compositions, Lydie aims to evoke a sense of calm and a connection to nature, highlighting the fragile relationship between land, sea, and the creatures that inhabit these spaces.