Meet the Artist with Dean Stewart and Darren Bryant

Where: NRCG - 44 Cherry Street Street Ballina
Date: Sat 11 April 2026
Time: 11am - 12pm
Age: Open to all
Cost: Free, no registrations required

Join exhibiting artists Dean Stewart and Darren Bryant, for an informal conversation and tour of their respective exhibitions TRANS/FORM, and The Time Travellers’ Manual. Reflecting on his practice of working with found and reclaimed materials: from the initial collection of objects through to their transformation into assembled works, Dean will discuss his process of sourcing and selecting materials based on form, texture and history; deconstructing and recontextualising objects; and the intuitive, hands-on nature of assembling his final compositions. Darren’s work showcases the merging of old and new print technologies to interrogate ideas surrounding ‘the aura of the original’. He will share insights from the development of this latest body of work, delving into the way his practice is concerned with the language of the matrix connected to pressure, memory and loss. 

This event is free to attend, and no registrations are necessary.

Dean Stewart is an artist and designer based in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. His creative practice is grounded in the collection, curation and re-purposing of found objects, salvage materials and discarded remnants into three-dimensional, mixed media works which acknowledge the origins and authenticity of the materials and objects used, while transforming them into considered, contemporary assemblages. 

Darren Bryant is a Northern Rivers-based visual artist and academic. He is a lecturer in Art and Design at Southern Cross University, with a specialisation in drawing, print media, papermaking, artist books and multiples. His work appears in numerous exhibitions and international collections, and he has received the London Print Studio Prize (UK) and the Printmaking Today Prize (UK).

Dean’s exhibition, TRANS/FORM, and Darren’s exhibition The Time Travellers’ Manual, are showing at Northern Rivers Community Gallery until 26 April, 2026.

For more information contact the Gallery on 02 6681 0530.

NRCG is a wheelchair accessible venue. Please contact us ahead of time if you have accessibility needs you would like us to be aware of.

Sign-up to our E-News or follow us on Facebook or Instagram to hear about upcoming public programs.

 Image credits: Dean Stewart in Studio1, 2, 3, images supplied;  Darren Bryant, Trace Vol. 1 (detail), 2025; X-ray #2 (detail) 2026; X-ray (detail) #1, 2026