ARTCLUB is back, and this year’s exhibition is anything but ordinary. MIRAGE is less of a show you walk through and more of a world you step into – one that shifts, surprises, and feels alive.
Curated by ARTCLUB’s founder, Claudia Lowe, MIRAGE unites the visions of three extraordinary artists: Tom Butterworth, Studio Lauren Flora, and Emily Handlin. On from 3–9 September at The Art Department, Woolloomooloo, the artists will be working across diverse mediums, conjuring sculptural florals, stone vessels that reimagine our relationship to nature, and luminous desert-inspired paintings.
But before the doors open later this week, we sat down with the artists to chat about their inspirations, what drives their work, and how they’ve helped turn MIRAGE into the immersive experience it is.
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Claudia Lowe (@claud_lowe)
My name is … Claudia Lowe, creator of ARTCLUB and curator of MIRAGE.
How would you describe your pieces in this exhibition?
As curator, my “piece” is really the exhibition itself. With MIRAGE, I wanted to do something experimental, moving beyond traditional forms and into a multi-sensory environment. ARTCLUB has always been about opening up to different practices, so this year I centred the collection around the idea of living sculpture.
Last year, I worked with Studio Lauren Flora on a floral installation that accompanied the work of Rush Drayton. From the corner of a 10-artist exhibition, it shifted the energy of the whole space. So when Lauren told me she was interested in expanding on a floral installation in the art world further, I was very keen to include her in a more focused exhibition. The concept of MIRAGE is to create an environment where painting, florals, and functional sculpture collapse the boundaries between perception and illusion, creating a space that feels alive, shifting, and dreamlike.
Where are you finding inspiration at the moment?
My time in Berlin pushed me to think of curation as “world-building.” I was fascinated by spaces like Dark Matter and König Galerie, which present their artworks immersively. Visiting the Naoshima and Teshima art islands in Japan deepened this thinking, as with entire buildings dedicated to single artists, the architecture itself becomes part of the art. It made me think carefully about the viewer’s journey: should it confuse, calm, overwhelm?
Was there a book, film or artist that most inspired or shaped your practice?
James Turrell, Rei Naito, and architect Tadao Ando, all artists who give space and light an entirely new meaning.
A fellow artist or creative I’m obsessed with at the moment is …
I’m endlessly inspired by the artists I work with. Lauren’s ability to manipulate natural materials into hallucinatory installations, Emily’s vibrant, witty paintings that insinuate deeper ideas of place and space and Tom’s grounding, poetic sandstone sculptures. All three are creating something unique in their fields. Each of them has responded to the brief in ways that truly elevate the exhibition. They are simply three exceptional artists and I’m excited by presenting them together,
Do you like to listen to music or podcasts when you work?
If so, what did you listen to while creating your pieces? I gravitate toward cinematic, moving soundscapes, music that feels atmospheric and expansive. I’m currently a big fan of Ben Böhmer and hope to get to Lost Paradise to see him this year.
Tom Butterworth (@tombutterworthxo)
My name is... Tom Butterworth.
How would you describe your pieces in this exhibition?
This body of work is an ongoing exploration of reimagining the vase, an object historically dominated by glass and clay. By sculpting in stone, I open up a new realm of possibility. The strength of the base removes limitations, allowing florals to be arranged without restraint, no matter the scale. These pieces invite the imagination to run free, transforming how we bring nature into our interiors. I hope they spark curiosity in people to think beyond traditional flowers, and to embrace the drama and beauty of branches as a way of truly elevating a space.
Where are you finding inspiration at the moment?
I don’t necessarily take inspiration from something and integrate it directly into my work, I create purely from feel and flow. That said, I do get fired up by books, places, people, and objects that catch my eye, which in turn motivates me to get into the studio and make something visually pleasing. On Sunday, I jumped on the ferry from Manly to Circular Quay with my bike and rode around to a few stores I’d been keen to explore. One was Kinokuniya, where a couple of hours flew by in the Architecture and Interiors section, and I could feel my creative energy rising, ready to be channelled back into my own work.
Was there a book, film or artist that most inspired or shaped your practice?
No, but huge respect to the Greeks who built the Parthenon. A recent visit gave me immense admiration for those early craftsmen, the patience they had. I laughed at the fact that I’m now doing the whole ‘man makes stuff out of rock’ thing, using essentially the same tools they did 2,400 years ago, just with a brand’s name stamped on them.
A fellow artist or creative I’m obsessed with at the moment is ...
Grace Atkinson @grraceatkinson If you see this, you’re so talented! Your vision gets me so excited, I frequently visit your page for the hype.
Do you like to listen to music or podcasts when you work?
Yes, to both. However, for this body of work I listened to music about 90% of the time, Hania Rani, Vraell, and Aukai (‘Slow Sun’) beautiful.
Studio Lauren Flora (@studio_laurenflora)
My name is ... Lauren Croghan-Johnson (Studio Lauren Flora).
How would you describe your pieces in this exhibition?
A representation of undeniable growth in a sparse place – sculptural native floral and raw elements collide, creating moments of illusion and contemplation within a transformative oasis. The living installations explore diverse textures, shape and fluidity to create movement in the space.
Where are you finding inspiration at the moment?
I am finding a lot of inspiration for colour and shape from the Australian outback currently and always. I am fascinated with the utter beauty of wildflowers and shrubs growing and thriving in the arrid, red dirt.
Was there an artist, book or film that most inspired or shaped your practice?
I was always very taken with musical artists growing up. I worked out, as I grew up, that I was fascinated by the emotive response I felt listening to a particular melody, bass line or vocal performance. Jeff Buckley and Neil Young are stand out influences on how I use feeling to create. I aim to create an emotive response in my practice that speaks directly to the heart and eye of the beholder.
A fellow artist or creative I'm obsessed with at the moment is...
Just in awe of CJ Hendry and the scope of her installation work – the way she transforms a space into another dimension, the art becomes the space you are in for the moment of the fleeting exhibition.
Do you like to listen to music or podcasts when you work?
I do. It's a mix between the two usually. At the moment, I am leaning into some interesting interviews on No Filter and country folk music from Australia.
Emily Handlin (@emilyhandlin)
My name is ... Emily Handlin.
How would you describe your pieces in this exhibition?
Reflective, textured, and Western. My paintings for MIRAGE are inspired by a recent road trip around the Mojave Desert (USA). The style chases the tension between structure and looseness. For me, deserts are a reflection of our inner wilderness that exists within all of us; seductive, perilous, gritty, stark, and exciting at different moments in time.
Where are you finding inspiration?
Recently it’s been my four-year-old son Buddy. He hangs in the studio with me, and just watching him paint is wild. He doesn’t stop to think; it’s all intuitive, no hesitation. He grabs a brush, slaps it into whatever colour he feels. He just goes for it. That kind of instinct, freedom and looseness is something I’ve reclaimed in my process for this series.
Was there a book, film or artist that most inspired or shaped your practice?
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin hasn’t really shaped my work from an inspiration standpoint, but more from a creative and practical standpoint. It’s like a Bible. I keep coming back to it when I’m stuck or when I’m questioning things.
A fellow artist or creative I’m obsessed with at the moment is...
Aren’t we all obsessed with Mark Maggiori? His paintings, his presence, everything feels fully aligned. There’s a raw authenticity in what he does that’s really inspiring.
Do you like to listen to music?
What do you listen to? It’s Hermanos Gutiérrez on repeat right now.
