While Husband and Wife duo, Struan Hopwood and Emma McAdam-Marmont were sitting on the banks of the Vltava River in Prague on the 13th of May 2016, Thirteen 05 was born.
After dreaming separately and planning for years together, Emma and Struan resigned from their full time advertising roles in 2016 to follow their dream to become professional artists. It was the devastating loss of a dear friend earlier that year which was the catalyst for this life change.
The pair opened Thirteen 05 in January 2017, a boutique gallery in the heart of Daylesford. Their gallery has a relaxed feel and represents their own eclectic style. As there are no set exhibition dates, the space and artwork is ever-changing. New work arrives every week so there is always something new for locals and visitors to enjoy. They represent a number of up and coming and established contemporary Australian artists.
Struan’s work is a mixture of street art and contemporary cartoon illustration. Struan borrows pop culture references and layers these elements with spray paint, illustrations and line work. His latest series is nostalgic and uplifting.
Emma’s work is softer, more introspective and painterly. Emma is known for her two main series, her Nudes and suits. Emma explores the curves and lines of the female form and paints each piece nearly entirely with a sponge. Her suits are more gritty. They are masculine and textured and are a nod to her time in advertising.
While the pair would love to expand their gallery eventually, at the end of the day, they want to stay true to doing what they love. They have found work-life balance in country Victoria and truly love spending their time in the gallery talking to holiday makers and collectors alike.
For more than a decade, Emma worked as a part time artist and full time in advertising, more recently, as a Television Producer at Ogilvy.
Loving the creative process in advertising, Emma loved working in a team and bringing ideas to life however felt torn between her day time advertising role and her night time passion for art.
In 2016, Emma and her husband Struan took the plunge and left their Melbourne advertising lives to move to Daylesford and paint full time.
Today, acrylic and spray paint fill her canvases, using tools such as pallet knives, spatulas & sponges. It is a love for texture and motion which guides Emma in her work to finish with a piece that has layers and movement.
Emma is organised, with an eye for detail. Her paintings are soft, more interior, tonal and introspective. She has two main series; Her ‘suits’ explores the way the corporate world’s uniform changes subtly from the formal to the informal for younger and older wearers and for women – although that requires attention to detail. The buttons are on the left not the right. These works are gritty and textured.
Her more recent nudes are an exploration of the posture, curves and line of women’s bodies. She combines photography with painting. A photo shoot sets up the images she wants to paint. The paintings are partly driven by her own feelings of modesty and privacy. The work is intended to empower women steering away from the more erotic gaze. It is subtle, rather than confrontational. She explores the curves and lines of women’s bodies in different postures and poses. It’s tonal shadowed fabric and skin.
Emma says she is more influenced by conversations and social observation than by art trends and images. Her work feels more interior and introspective. She experiments with linen versus canvas, different brushes, tones, curves and poses. Emma and her artist husband Struan Hopwood collaborate on paintings regularly creating a beautiful blend of techniques, colours, styles and subject matter.