Artists explore The Art of Escape at Crows Nest Gallery exhibition

Published on 28 August 2025

An exhibition by a trio of artists imagining different ways of escaping will be on display at Crows Nest Gallery from September 3 to October 5, 2025.

Peta Berghofer, Ruby Marshall and Sarah Ryan have combined their creative talents in an exhibition titled, The Art of Escape.

The exhibition highlights the artists’ respective creative work in ceramics, design and photography.

The Art of Escape explores escape in its many forms, from the urge to break free from routine, to seeking transformation and finding new ways of being.

Physical escape may take the shape of travel or immersion in nature, while mental and emotional escape can emerge through meditation, literature, or daydreams.

Creative escape offers reinvention through artistic expression, and in the modern world, digital spaces create alternative realities.

By combining ceramics, design and photography, the artists explore how collaboration reshapes their artistic practices and fosters dialogue between the mediums.

This exhibition is both an exploration of escape and an escape in itself — into new creative possibilities, personal insights and ways of engaging with the world.

“Who doesn’t have the longing to be elsewhere? The desire to escape. The hope of finding a place in the world where one can be free, not from the world itself, but from oneself.” – Olivier Zahm, Purple Residence #1

The exhibition’s Meet the Artist event will be held from 1-3pm on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

The Art of Escape is supported by ARTSHOP.

For more information, please see: www.tr.qld.gov.au/crowsnestgallery

Enquiries about the exhibition can be directed to Crows Nest Gallery on (07) 4698 1687 or crowsnestart@tr.qld.gov.au 

Crows Nest Gallery, at the corner of the New England Highway and William Street is open from 10.30am to 3.30pm Wednesday to Sunday. It is closed on Monday, Tuesday and public holidays.

Image captions:
1. Peta BERGHOFER, Ruby MARSHALL and Sarah RYAN / 3DWizard 2025 / lenticular photograph, colour-stained stoneware and glaze / 11 x 9 x 9cm / Photographer: Ruby Marshall / © the artists (top)

2. (L to R) Peta BERGHOFER / And the mind rested 2025 / colour-stained stoneware, glaze and decal / 12.5 x 9.0 x 2.5cm / Photographer: Ruby Marshall / © Peta Berghofer and Ruby Marshall
Peta BERGHOFER and Ruby MARSHALL / To L and back 2025 / colour-stained stoneware, glaze and decal / 12.5 x 10.0 x 2.5cm / Photographer: Ruby Marshall / © Peta Berghofer and Ruby Marshall

3. Peta BERGHOFER, Ruby MARSHALL and Sarah RYAN / 3DWizard 2025 (detail) / lenticular photograph in assemblage / dimensions variable / © the artists (bottom)