OPENING NIGHT I SATURDAY 7TH OF MARCH, 5PM TILL 7PM
VIEWING DATES I 7TH OF MARCH TILL THE 25TH OF MARCH 2026
COMBINE brings together two evolving practices in dialogue. Rather than presenting fixed conclusions, the exhibition embraces process - layering, material exploration, and the merging of mediums and ideas.
Melanie Norman is a Hunter Valley–based abstract artist whose work explores memory, imprint, and emotional residue through layered, tactile surfaces.
Using acrylic, oil stick & mixed media, she creates restrained compositions that privilege presence over representation, allowing gesture and erasure to reveal what remains.
She has exhibited in group shows across the Hunter region and was a finalist in the Independent Visions Art Prize (2026). COMBINE at LEDA Gallery marks her debut gallery exhibition.
Surface Memory explores how materials retain trace and presence.
Jonathan Osmond is an abstract painter currently living and working in Newcastle, NSW, where he has been based for the past 14 years. Originally from the UK, his practice began during A-Level studies at Peter Symonds College, where he participated in group exhibitions and received formal recognition for his work.In the late 1990s he held a series of solo exhibitions in Winchester at a student-run gallery, offering a raw and unfiltered space to engage with the public. He also exhibited in a group show at Winchester School of Art, deepening his exploration of abstraction within a more academic context. Working primarily in acrylics and mixed media, his paintings are process-driven explorations of memory, energy and internal landscape. Influenced by sound, atmosphere and the imperfections of lived experience, his work blends instinctive gesture with layered texture to create compositions that feel both raw and resolved. Developed by Newcastle living, his work is shaped by coastal textures, soundscapes and lived memory. Each piece is a balance between spontaneity and control, an invitation into a more meditative space of imagination and dreaming. After years of private practice, he is now reconnecting with the public side of art, returning to exhibition, collaboration and creative dialogue through abstract painting.
Resonant Forms investigates structure, form, and transformation. Together, the works sit in tension and alignment - distinct voices occupying shared space.