Don’t miss the exhibition of watercolours by Deta C Rayner at Feat of Clay Gallery on 6-7 April 2024… plus a house concert by The Beez on the Saturday arvo followed by a pot-luck dinner.
Deta Rayner is a native Berliner, singer, accordionist and water-colourist. Her new exhibition ‘ rom Where You’d Rather Be’, has borrowed somewhat cheekily from an advertising slogan for a popular Mexican beverage.
After years of Berlin-based wanderlust, Deta and her partner Rob Rayner (The Beez) have finally found their home in Katoomba, Australia. Her works in this exhibition emphatically point the compass north to warmer climes, highlighting the lush labyrinths of Far North Queensland’s tropical rainforests – The Beez’ destination on a recent tour.
Although this exhibition is a radical departure in subject matter from her two previous exhibitions (‘Abandoned Places’- fascinating portrayals of urban decay – and ’All those Pretty Things’ – devoted entirely to tulips), Deta remains faithful to her distinctive style.
Her works are a riot of highly saturated bright tones executed in a style reminiscent of the Decorative Arts. Nods to William Morris, or even the formalism of Alphons Mucha, sit comfortably alongside contemporary, almost digital photographic light effects.
The works feature at least five and sometimes up to ten layers of colour, lending a three dimensional depth and intensity not often seen in watercolour.
Deta has noticed that there are many parallels in her learning processes as an artist and as a musician. Her integration of the accordion into a pop/rock band involved successive attempts and exhaustive experimentation, culminating in an unorthodox but unmistakable style imbued with an almost quirky humour.
Similarly, as a painter she has learnt gradually by experimenting, by focusing on and finding beauty in details while working towards a unified whole.
Deta follows a Lebensphilosophie based on the here and now. For her the discovery, appreciation and enjoyment of beauty are common to music and visual arts, and such engagement demands living fully in the present …which, after all, is where we’d all rather be!
Deta will be joined on Saturday afternoon by her partner Rob Rayner for a concert by the undeniably quirky Beez. The concert will start at 4.30pm and will be followed by a pot-luck dinner.
The Beez are comprised of an accordion, a guitar, two voices, and a drummer trapped in a tiny red box. Bitingly satirical but eminently danceable, they perform a wealth of home-grown material from the sublime to the ridiculous, the teutonic to the titillating. You will revel in a treasure trove of bizarre and infinitely creative renditions of songs you thought you knew!
An eclectic blend? No, it´s a dog´s breakfast- and never tasted so good. Ten years as performer for and artistic director of Berlin´s legendary Chamaeleon Theatre, Deta Rayner’s commanding yet endearing stage presence and vamp-voiced accordion ooze cabaret sensibilities. Her extraordinary playing style has reinvented what is possible on this once reviled – and now revered – instrument.
Deta’s supremely entertaining smorgasbord is augmented by Rob Rayner´s breezy, sleazy rock guitar and bass baritone vocals. Rob´s 30-odd years in Berlin – and the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent influx of astounding musicians – lends a distinctly Balkan flavour to his already esoteric post-punk heritage.
Whether on ABC’s Spicks and Specks or performing at Folk Festivals from Vancouver Island to Woodford, Dublin to Port Fairy, The Beez deliver a dizzying pastiche of comedy and music that leaves their audiences reaching for the German-English phrasebook. The Beez – in one word? ‘Prost!’
All are welcome to come and view Deta’s exhibition, but places are limited for The Beez house concert and pot-luck dinner, so booking is essential.
To book your place for the house concert phone David and Sue Prescott on (02) 4465 2550. People attending the house concert should get to Feat of Clay before the 4.30 start time and bring $20 per head for The Beez, something to sit on, whatever they would like to drink, and a plate of finger food to share for the pot-luck dinner.
