Exhibition: Open House

Exhibition: Open House

We were very pleased to open our house to the public on 29 October 2023. We were blessed with beautiful weather, and it was lovely to welcome our neighbours, family and friends to our 2023 Open House & Open Studio event. The event served as a celebration of the completion of our renovation (including my new home studio) and a presentation on the history of our home..

Our home, named Corio Bay Villa, was built in 1890 by Charles Emberson. While undergoing the renovation, I embarked on a research project to uncover everyone who had lived in my house. I have set up a new website dedicated to the project at: Corio Bay Villa. I wanted to uncover which elements of the house were original and which had been added by previous owners. 

Open House

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it had been occupied by at least three artists before me: John Crocker in the 1930s, Dennis Farney in the 1950s & 1960s, and Michel Canetti in the late 1990s. I shared some of my research in a short presentation at this Open House event,

John Crocker

John was a watercolourist and landscape artist who painted in Australia from around 1880 to 1940. He was born in Cornwall, England, and immigrated to New Zealand with his family as a child. John had a very long and interesting life spanning three counties and three wives. John’s surviving paintings include references to places in New Zealand, Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and the Scottish Highlands, suggesting that he visited many locations. His granddaughter Leanne confirmed that he was well-travelled and was particularly fond of New Zealand, where he spent his youth. 

John and his third wife, Clara Crocker, lived at Corio Bay Villa in Australia for a decade from 1929 to 1939, when it was operating as a small-hold farm. They lived there with five of their children: Cyril, Ivan, Francis, Beatrix and Phyllis. Their eldest son's wife and child may have also lived with them for a time.

Denis Farney

Denis grew up at Corio Bay Villa during the 1950s and 1960s with his siblings, mother and stepfather. By this time, the area around Corio Bay Villa had become built up with residential housing. Dennis witnessed many changes in the area, including the laying down of the bitumen road and the connection of the street to the main sewage.

Denis moved out of Corio Bay Villa at around twenty years of age when his parents sold the property and downsized. While Denis always had an interest in art, he was not training or working as an artist while living at Corio Bay Villa. It was many years later that Denis finally took the plunge and gave up his day job to focus on his artistic career. Denis spent his later life in regional Victoria with his wife and his dogs.

Michel Canetti

Michel is a contemporary fashion illustrator and figurative painter. He immigrated from Paris in the 1990s and has had illustrators featured in advertisements for luxury brands such as Vogue, Vogue, Chanel, Estee Lauder and L'Oreal.

Michel bought Corio Bay Villa in 1997 and lived there with his son until 2005, where he worked out of this home studio. In addition to being an artist, Michel is an admirer of period homes and a collector of antique furniture. After leaving Corio Bay Villa, Michel bought another, larger Victorian home in a nearby area. 

Thank you to everyone who came to share this special day with us. If you would like to read more about the history of the home, check out the website and Instagram page:

@coriobayvillasurreyhills.

https://coriobayvilla.wixsite.com/

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About the author

Leah is a Melbourne/Naam based artist who started painting later in life, after training to become a Chartered accountant. Her figurative artworks explore the portrayal of womanhood in popular culture. In addition to painting people, counting money, and raising small humans, she sometimes finds time to write. Leah has had artciles published in Money Magazine online. This Artist Blog covers exhibition news, behind the scene insights, artist inspiration and art collecting tips. Join the INVITE ONLY list below and have new blog posts dropped in your inbox.

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