Hoo Gallery

Pioneering Eco-Print Art in Richmond and Mount Eliza

Hoo Gallery stands at the forefront of contemporary eco-print painting, with spaces in both Richmond and Mount Eliza on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula. Founded by artist Dharshi de Silva, the gallery specialises in botanical artwork created through an innovative eco-printing technique that transforms living plants directly into fine art. Since establishing her practice, Dharshi has dedicated fifteen years to cultivating a meticulously designed botanical sanctuary housing over 1,000 plants and 30 hand-selected trees, each chosen to contribute unique textures and impressions to her work. This commitment to patience, sustainability, and living materials sets Hoo Gallery apart as a destination for collectors seeking authentic, nature-connected contemporary art.

The gallery's dual locations offer visitors access to this groundbreaking practice in two distinct settings. Whether experiencing the work in Richmond or exploring the original Mount Eliza Village space, Hoo Gallery invites patrons to encounter where environmental consciousness meets fine artistic vision. The gallery operates by appointment through its apartment show format, ensuring intimate, personalised viewing experiences that allow collectors to engage deeply with each singular, handcrafted piece.

The Art of Eco-Printing: Botanical Impressions and Contemporary Vision

At the heart of Hoo Gallery's collection lies a distinctive artistic technique that elevates traditional eco-printing to the realm of fine art. Dharshi de Silva works directly with the living flora she has cultivated, capturing intricate botanical impressions onto natural fibre canvas and paper before stretching and developing them with earth pigments and natural dyes. The result is a body of contemporary work that celebrates the ephemeral beauty of rambling ivy, delicate dahlias, and countless other garden specimens, each imprint remaining unique and unrepeatable. This method creates paintings that function as direct translations of nature itself—a living archive frozen in colour and form.

The aesthetic vocabulary of Dharshi's work draws inspiration from both Eastern and Western artistic traditions, incorporating the pale, elegant balance of Japanese screen prints alongside the bold colours and graphic minimalism of Toulouse-Lautrec posters. Rather than presenting purely botanical or still-life studies, her paintings operate as contemporary vanitas works—meditations on beauty, impermanence, and the cycles of life and renewal. Many pieces feature the phrase "All is Well" woven across the canvas, inviting viewers to contemplate hope and find moments of light and peace within the natural world's quiet wisdom.

Dharshi de Silva: A Fine Artist Redefining Contemporary Botanical Practice

Dharshi de Silva represents a significant voice in the emerging contemporary eco-printing movement, a rapidly growing practice that challenges the craft's traditional boundaries. As an accomplished fine artist working across oil, watercolour, botanical painting, and earth pigments, she has brought her technical mastery and conceptual depth to eco-printing, elevating it to gallery-calibre contemporary art. Her breakthrough work in this medium represents years of artistic evolution and a deliberate choice to harness the potential she sees in the intersection of gardening, printmaking, and fine painting. Through this integrated approach, Dharshi continues to expand the possibilities of what eco-printing can achieve and communicate within contemporary art discourse.

Her artistic mission is grounded in a desire to delight viewers and open their hearts to nature's beauty and its profound lessons. Rather than confining her work within genre categories, Dharshi invites interpretation of her paintings as vanitas pieces—contemporary meditations that encourage reflection on mortality, renewal, and the perennial human search for meaning through visual beauty. Each work stands as evidence of her commitment to sustainable practice: no two pieces are identical, every canvas reflects the unique imprint of living plants, and the entire process honours both artistic integrity and environmental responsibility.

Viewing the Collection: Apartment Shows and Private Appointments

Hoo Gallery presents its collection through intimate apartment-style showings held across its Richmond and Mount Eliza locations. This thoughtfully curated approach to gallery experience prioritises depth of engagement over commercial scale, allowing visitors to develop meaningful connections with individual artworks in carefully considered domestic settings. The gallery invites prospective collectors and art enthusiasts to book private viewings through its online appointment system, ensuring that each visit is tailored to the visitor's interests and pace of discovery. This model reflects the gallery's philosophy that contemporary eco-print paintings deserve unhurried appreciation and personalised consultation.

For those considering a visit, Hoo Gallery welcomes inquiries via contact form, telephone, or email to schedule viewings. The gallery's commitment to accessibility and dialogue extends beyond the appointment process—potential buyers and curious visitors are encouraged to ask questions, request further information, and engage directly with Dharshi about her work and process. Whether you're an established collector of contemporary botanical art or discovering eco-printing for the first time, the gallery experience is designed to facilitate genuine connection between viewer and artwork.

Sustainable Craft and Fine Art Excellence

Every piece at Hoo Gallery represents a convergence of artistic innovation, environmental stewardship, and meticulous handcraft. Dharshi de Silva's commitment to sustainability is not merely an aesthetic choice but a foundational principle—each work is created using natural materials, garden-grown plants, and earth pigments, with no two paintings identical. This embrace of nature's inherent variability and uniqueness stands in deliberate contrast to mass production, instead celebrating the profound beauty found in singular, unrepeatable artworks. The gallery's entire practice demonstrates that contemporary fine art and ecological responsibility are not competing values but complementary visions.

For collectors seeking art that speaks to current conversations around sustainability, nature, and artistic authenticity, Hoo Gallery offers works imbued with genuine environmental consciousness and conceptual rigour. Located in Richmond and Mount Eliza, the gallery invites visitors to experience contemporary botanical art that extends beyond decoration to offer meaningful reflection on beauty, impermanence, and our relationship with the natural world.