|
From January through to February I was given the privelege of exhibiting alongside some of Perth's best artists like Andrew Nicholls, Olga Cironis, Eva Fernandez, and Carla Adams. As part of the Fringe World Festival, the exhibition LUST FOR LUSTRE featured 23 artists including myself, curated by artist Gemma Ben-Ary and Rizzy at Ellenbrook Arts Centre. LUST FOR LUSTRE focused on our cultural and individual relationships to pearls, from myth to scientific to personal significance, in any way the artist wished. The show concluded with a Fringe Award for Visual Arts and Design.
I've somehow misplaced my hi-res photographs. I'll post them another time. So we'll have to make do with some bad phone pictures of small details of my painting ''The Farming''. Click to enlarge each photo. I painted something perhaps unexpected, of cows birthing pearls in a factory farm, surrounding miserable factory workers. It became a diptych after I decided one panel couldn't convey the painting's atmosphere, and I wanted to add a third panel and maybe a fourth. But under the time constraints, learning to paint cows and then finish a painting of this type was tough. |
''The Farming'' - Oil on Canvas - 66 (cm) H x 137 (cm) W.
|
I'm glad this isn't the end for The Farming; today it was sent to the Netherlands for a group exhibition with some of my heroes, living and dead. The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) is Maastricht's biggest art event, and galleries from all over the world exhibit both in and around the heart of the city. My gallery Emanuel von Baeyer London is exhibiting in the main building and is hosting a group exhibition nearby at ANDRIESKAPEL, a repurposed chapel-turned-art-space.
|
|
If anyone remembers my 2016 graduate painting ''Achilles'', accurately dubbed ''Dickfoot'' by the community, it might be a surprise that this beast (2.5 meters by 2 meters) is now hung on the chapel walls! See below for some snapshots from 2016 and from four years later, preparing for TEFAF 2020.
2016 shot of ''Achilles'' aka ''Dickfoot'', 2.5 meters long x 2 meters tall. Oil on canvas
2016 shot from my graduating series WORTHLESS REFUSE, and ''Achilles/Dickfoot'' offering scale comparison.
Rolled up and packed with the courier.
|
In Maastricht, Image courtesy of Alex Vardaxoglou 2020.
|
In Maastricht, photo courtesy of Alex Vardaxoglou.
Very exciting! I'm saving the final pictures of installation for my next blog entry. In one week I'll be in Maastricht to view ANDRIESKAPEL and photograph young Dickfoot and The Farming, under the chapel roof, alongside artworks by my heroes Karel Appel, Marwan, and Martin Assig. It'll be my first time outside of Australia, so I'm bracing for a visual overload of beauty and culture. Follow my instagram to see live updates of my travels!
These two exhibitions have been the biggest jump in my career. I am very grateful for the opportunities given me by Gemma Ben-Ary and Emanuel von Baeyer, and for Sophie La Maitre who pushes me towards greater things.
These two exhibitions have been the biggest jump in my career. I am very grateful for the opportunities given me by Gemma Ben-Ary and Emanuel von Baeyer, and for Sophie La Maitre who pushes me towards greater things.
