Wednesday, January 13, 2010

GALLERY NEWS 12 JANUARY 2010: John Coburn, Tim Storrier, Elisabeth Kruger

83 Moncur Street Woollahra NSW 2025
tel: 02 9362 0297 fax: 02 9362 0318
email: art@evabreuerartdealer.com.au
website: www.evabreuerartdealer.com.au


Important Australian Paintings

John Coburn (1925-2006)

John Coburn (1925-2006)
Ah What is a Man (That you should be so mindful of him?) 1987
Oil on canvas
122 x 90cm
inscribed verso: John Coburn / Ah, What is Man
(That you Should be Mindful of Him?) / (oil) 1987
Provenance: The Artist
no.4961
cat no.8

Exhibited:
Mandorla Art Prize, October 1987
Macquarie Galleries, Sydney 8-26 November 1988, cat.no.8 (label affixed verso)

Coburn was always interested in religious subjects and painted the spiritual in many forms throughout his career. He entered numerous awards for religious art and was the recipient of numerous coveted awards including the 1960 and 1977 Blake Prize, the 1963 Mirabooka Prize and the 1996 Mandorla Prize. The Mandorla Prize was established in Western Australia in 1985 with the annual theme set around biblical texts. In 1987 the theme was “The Glory of God and Dignity of Man” from Psalm 8 verses 3-4. The present painting entered that year Ah What is a Man (That you should be mindful of him?) 1987 addresses that question to God from insignificant Man.

As Nadine Amadio writes, Ah, What is Man, “is like a radiant stained glass window drenched in vibrant colour. The dynamic figure of Mankind is still, however, very much a symbol surrounded by symbolic shapes. The colour brings it into that mythical realm evoked by the great stained glass windows both ancient and modern. It is a world where static figures are given life and passion by the streams of light passing through them, as if through a transformer.”1

Undoubtedly his first figurative painting in over thirty years, Coburn submitted this work to the Mandorla Art Prize in October 1987. It inspired a series of drawings and paintings on the subject that would return him briefly to figuration for the next two years.

1Amadio, N., John Coburn: Painitngs, Craftsman House, Roseville, 1988, p.186.



Tim Storrier (b.1949)

Tim Storrier (b. 1949)
The Night Line / Comet 2009
Acrylic on canvas
61.5 x 122.5 cm
no.11150

At the age of nineteen in 1968, Tim Storrier was the youngest ever recipient of the Sulman Prize, an award also conferred on him in 1984. He studied graphic design at the National Art School, Sydney, and has travelled extensively to the USA, Europe, China and the Middle East. His study tours to Egypt and Central Australia conveyed to him the vastness of the landscape and remote civilisations. The 'Burning Rope' series began as a site-specific installation in Central Australia and portrays a line of fire invisibly suspended between two points, mirroring the horizon line in the distance. Storrier is interested in the spiritual significance of reduced landscapes, the ephemeral gestures left by human interaction with nature and fire as representation of both devastation and renewal. There is a tension in his work between beauty and decay: his evocative use of texture and colour in the atmospheric effects at daybreak and dusk, are counterbalanced by destructive or gruesome elements like fire, snakes and slabs of meat.



Elisabeth Kruger (b.1955)

Elisabeth Kruger (b.1955)
Spill 2007
Oil on linen
122 x 122cm
no.10885

Awarded the prestigious Moet & Chandon Art Fellowship (1989) and an overseas studio residency with the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council (1990), Elisabeth Kruger is recognised as one of Australia's leading contemporary artists. In her newest series of paintings, Kruger explores the luscious beauty of flowers, painting in a unique and encompassing macro perspective. These are stunning floral masterpieces with a contemporary edge. Her work is represented in the Australian National Gallery, The National Gallery of Victoria, the Parliament House Collection, Macquarie University and major private collections.



Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)
Portrait of Alannah Coleman I c.1971
Oil on canvas
76 x 63 cm
no.3160

Arthur Boyd’s paintings of art world personalities such as this portrait of the art dealer Alannah Coleman, a figure celebrated for her undying commitment to promoting the careers of Australian artists at home and abroad in the 50's and 60's, are masterfully executed expressions of the sitter. Boyd translates the nuances of his subject in vigorous strokes of yellow, blue and red, which animate the painterly surface. The subject eventually relocated to London in 1950 were she continued to expose British audiences and collectors to works by Australian artists.



Eubena Nampitjin (b.c1921)

Eubena Nampitjin (born c.1921)
Kunawarritjic
Acrylic on linen
100 x 100cm
Warlayirti Artists # 860/04
verso: Warlayirti Artists 1000 x 1000
Eubena Nampitjin 860/04
no. 8597a

Eubena Nampitjin is represented in all state galleries including the National Gallery of Australia, many regional galleries as well as many other public collections throughout Australia.

Eubena has painted some of her country south west of Balgo, along the Canning Stock Route. The circle to the right of the painting represents Kunawarritji (Well 33) and is the place where Eubena would often hunt. The circle to left is a small tjurrnu and a place where women dance. The strong lines in the painting depict the tali (sandhills) that dominate this country.





New in the Gallery

Matthew Perceval (b.1945)

Matthew Perceval (b.1945)
Yankannina Kimberley 1996
Oil on Board
91 x 61cm
no.11187

Matthew Perceval's landscapes are filled with light and fresh energy due to his dynamic brushstrokes. Matthew, the son of John Perceval and Mary Boyd, was born in Australia but spent the majority of his early formative years in London before moving to the south of France. The vivid colours of the Mediterranean had a positive influence on his work and during his time in France he began exhibiting all over Europe and had his first one man show in London in 1967 (with Arthur Boyd making the first purchase from the exhibition)1. The tone and mood of the paintings are set via the colour scheme ranging from pure brilliant tones to soft palettes of blues and creams. His paintings can be found in numerous public and private collections in Australia and abroad. The National Portrait Gallery held the first solo exhibition of Perceval's portraits in late 2007 - early 2008.

1 Sayers, A., 'Painters' Paradise', Portrait Magazine, Summer 2007-2008, p.12




Matthew Perceval (b.1945)
Wallum Bush 1989
Oil on Board
46 x 36cm
no.11188



Tessa Perceval (b.1947)

Tessa Perceval (b.1947)
Bush Creek Waterfall, South Wales
Oil on linen
76 x 91cm
no.9877

Tessa Perceval was born in Melbourne in 1947, the eldest daughter of John Perceval and Mary Boyd. She is primarily a self taught painter, although she studied art for a short time in London in the 1960's and in Florence in 1971. She held her first solo exhibition in London in 1971 and since then has exhibited widely in Australia and the U.K.

Throughout her career as a landscape painter she has travelled extensively, painting on location in many parts of Europe, the UK, Ireland and Australia. Based in London for most of her adult life, she now lives with her family in Herefordshire near the south Wales border, returning to Australia periodically. Her work is in public collections in Australia and in private collections internationally.





Sale

Harold Abbott (1906-1986)

Harold Abbott (1906-1986)
Mantle Shelf
Oil on canvas
44 x 46.5cm
no.3551

Beginning his art studies under the tutelage of Julian Ashton at the Sydney Art School in 1923, Harold Abbott's career as a painter and art teacher spanned several decades. He was awarded the NSW Society of Artists Travelling Art Scholarship in 1931 and later went on to win the Sulman Prize and to serve as the official war artist for Australia in 1943 during World War II. Abbott always possessed an appreciation for still life and genre painting, an interest that enabled him to effectively apply a narrative element to his war scenes as well as subtly infuse everyday objects with a stoic sense of beauty and purpose. Abott's works are included in national collections ranging from the National Gallery of Australia to the Australian War Memorial.



Mike Parr (b.1945)

Mike Parr (b.1945)
Zastruga Self Portrait 1986
Oil crayon & charcoal on paper
69.5 x 100 cm
Provenance: Charles Nodrum Gallery
no.2772





Contemporary Paintings

Stephen Nothling (b.1962)

Stephen Nothling (b.1962)
A Rough Guide to all the Wrens 2007
Oil on canvas
100 x 150cm
no.9237

Having won a handful of prestigious art awards as well as having been a finalist for the Dobell Drawing and Archibald Prizes, Stephen Nothling has remained an Australian art world favourite. The internationally exhibited artist is perhaps best known for his sensitive yet bold representation of roses in various stages of bloom, a cycle he likens to the arch of his own human potential. Much of his work incorporates elements and objects from nature, juxtaposed with surreal backgrounds or rendered in a mildly stylised and graphic treatment.



Wayne Eager (b.1957)

Wayne Eager (b.1957)
Backyard View 2008
acrylic on linen
122 x 137cm
no.10784

Beginning his art career as a founding member of the Melbourne-based art collective Roar Studios in the 1980's, Wayne Eager has continued to involve himself with the support of grassroots Australian art communities. In the early 1990's he relocated with his wife, Marina, to Haasts Bluff, NT where he became involved with the establishment of the Ikuntji Women's Centre and later became Field Officer for the Papunya Tula Artists. He has always maintained a solitary approach to painting his surrounds of the desert bush yet continues to be inspired by the work of neighbouring indigenous art communities. His paintings are a careful consideration of the constantly changing desert landscape with a nod to Western art movements, namely Abstract Expressionism.



Pam Sackville (b.1944)

Pam Sackville (b.1944)
Poppies III 2008
Watercolour on arches paper
105 x 75cm
no.10134


Pam Sackville has been painting with watercolour for over 20 years – her dedication to the medium won over by the translucency and vibrancy of watercolour and by the way the colours run and blend together to create their own hues. Sackville frequently paints flowers, as she is intrigued by their softness, delicacy and fragility. Over her many years of painting flowers she has developed a great passion for them and through her work explores different ways to express their vibrant beauty. Sackville will be exhibiting at Eva Breuer Art Dealer in April.



Christopher Beaumont (b.1961)

Christopher Beaumont (b.1961)
Still life with Blossom 2009
Oil on fine linen
25 x 30 cm
no. 10472

With a strong background in maths and sciences and an eye for intriguing composition and design, Christopher Beaumont fuses these proclivities into a unique aesthetic that gives his paintings a delicate and crisp precision. In his final year of art school, Beaumont became fascinated by seventeenth century Spanish life paintings, particularly the stark, geometric compositions of fruit and vegetables. Utilising digital design software, Beaumont compiles digital photographs to create a composition that is then transferred to canvas by use of a grid. His exacting and methodical approach gives the objects a sharp and luminous three-dimensional quality with a sophisticated sense of style.





Featured Graphic

Anne Smith

Anne Smith
Odalisque I
Etching 14/50
19.5 x 24cm (image)
38 x 57cm (paper)
no.10865

U.K. born and having resided in Australia since 1971, Anne Smith has been in collaboration with artists such as Garry Shead, Wendy Sharpe, Bernard Ollis and Alan Peascod on their series of etchings. After establishing an etching studio in Sydney, Smith moved her studio to the Blue Mountains and opened the Falls Gallery in 1989. She has exhibited locally and internationally with shows in Bulgaria and Japan. She was a finalist for the 8th World mini Print Exhibition and the National Print Awards.




Current Exhibition

January
Gallery 1 & 2: Summer Exhibition


Upcoming Exhibitions

February
Gallery 1 & 2: Summer Exhibition

March
Gallery 1: Autumn Exhibition
Gallery 2: Wayne Eager

April
Gallery 1: Autumn Exhibition
Gallery 2: Pam Sackville

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