IN its laudable and relentless search to find presentation spaces where contemporary artists can “develop daring new work that will energise their practices”, Canberra Contemporary Art Space has joined forces with Russell Kennedy lawyers of Civic to grow to provide an exhibition space for its emerging artists.

At a recent behind-closed-doors function, Russell Kennedy showed off works, beautifully hung, by 6 artists participating in the 2015 Canberra Contemporary Art Space studio residents program and the Canberra artists’ mentoring program. The artists were o hand to discuss their works in person with guests, who were able to buy work if wished.

The participating artists for this new project were Joel Arthur, Isobel Rayson, Millan Pinto Lopez, Hayley Lander and Ruby Berry.

Arthur told “CityNews” that the complexity of the striations in his work “Morning” was more easily achievable in the acrylic medium, while Lander talked about the concept of “Absence” in her painting created in an old Tasmanian town. Rayson’s ink on paper works were, unusually, pulled off a table into which the images had been inscribed.

The EASS is a well-established network program in which CCAS selects six of the most promising graduates from the ANU School of Art and provides them with assistance in forging their careers.

In conjunction with this the residency at mentoring programs attempt to bridge what they call “the chasm that exists between the nurturing environment of art school and harsh reality.” As they say, “for the unprepared, the art world could be a very scary place.”

Russell Kennedy is helping to cushion the blow.