Leeton Museum and Art Gallery is pleased to present The Fire Beneath the Wax, a new solo exhibition by regional NSW artist Sharon De Valentin. This collection of encaustic artworks and small sculptural works explores ideas of transformation, memory, and material process.
Working with molten beeswax, damar resin and pigment, Sharon builds her artwork in layers—fusing, scraping, and reworking each surface through heat and intuition. Her works evoke landscape, weather, and emotional states. These are not static images but shifting, luminous surfaces that hold the traces of fire, movement and time.
Within the exhibition, Sharon presents a series of sculptural vessels—fragile, textured forms made from wax and natural fibres. These pieces explore ideas of containment, fragility, and ecological balance, drawing attention to the bee and the hive as symbols of both resilience and vulnerability.
"I see encaustic as part painting, part sculpture, and part ritual," says De Valentin. "There's fire in every layer, both literal and symbolic."
Museum, Gallery & Heritage Coordinator, Karen Barrett, said, "Sharon's work is as tactile as it is conceptual. It's a pleasure to welcome Sharon back to the Leeton Museum and Art Gallery with such a thoughtful and beautifully resolved body of work."
Exhibition Details:
Dates: 24 May – 28 June 2025
Opening Event: Saturday, 24 May | 4.30pm for 5.00pm proceedings
Location: Leeton Museum and Art Gallery, 27-33 Chelmsford Place, Leeton, NSW
Cost: Free
