Martyn Pearce's Yass gallery Tyger will give artists opportunities

Yass resident and art lover Martyn Pearce has put his money where his mouth is in more ways than one.

Not only does he have a substantial collection of art at his home, he is about to start his own commercial gallery.

And not only is it a gallery, it's also a social enterprise: Pearce has committed to give at least half the profits he makes from it to local charities.

Tyger - named for the William Blake poem - will open on March 23 in a refurbished former youth centre with the exhibition Bryter.

The "y" alluded to Blake and the title sentiment aimed to "strike a note of optimism and hope for the future", Pearce said.

That was the brief he gave to the artists exhibiting in the show.

"It's not blind optimism, it's about the things that get you out of bed every morning and bring you joy."

For Pearce, art is one of those things.

Pearce isn't starting the gallery for the money.

He has a full-time communications job and establishing Tyger was a labour of love for him and the friends and artists who helped clean up the new premises once they were secured to make them fit for purpose.

"Tyger was born of my frustration that the region's incredible artists had limited opportunities to show their works and build and develop their careers in Yass," Pearce said.

His first overture to Yass City Council regarding potential premises wasn't successful.

However, a few months later the council called for expressions of interest for two spaces in the town's Memorial Hall.

He was able to secure one of them.

The 10 artists in Bryter come from Yass, Canberra, NSW and Victoria - a largely local but not parochial selection that includes Sara Phemister, Lucy Hersey, Emmaleen Diaz, Jeffree Skewes, Carla Jackett and Benjamin Gallagher.

"This is a regional art gallery - I wanted to make sure Yass artists and Canberra artists were put alongside some of the best artists I could find around from the country," Pearce said.

Most of the 35 works in the exhibition are paintings, in different styles using a variety of media.

One of the other artists who will be exhibiting is Jenny Blake, from Canberra, who used fog as a metaphor in her works.

"This summer's fog and mist weave between the foliage, a soft layer of mist settling randomly among the mountain ranges, hills, and flats," Blake said.

"It floats indiscriminately holding the day at ransom.

"As soon as dawn meets the horizon the sun's transfixing glow begins to burn through the mist.

"A new day, a promise of sunshine, and blue skies.

"Our metaphoric fog will always lift and the sun will always shine another day."