Showing posts with label Still Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Still Life. Show all posts

Friday, February 26, 2010

Press Release: Food & Art


The representation of food has always had a presence within the realm of the visual arts. The sharing of food and drink is a communal behavior similar to the way art acts as a forum for dialogue. This collection of paintings from the gallery stock room explores the appearance of food in not only traditional still life paintings and banquet scenes but also in figurative paintings such as David Boyd’s Two Children with apple and orange and Ray Crooke’s Villagers Relaxing.


The still life paintings range from knobby yellow capsicums by Ena Joyce to Elisabeth Kruger’s perfectly round clementines that appear to be rosy and ripe. Sophie Dunlop’s opulent coloured etchings display fruits scattered among various bowls and pitchers with a background echoing the aesthetic of a Roman fresco. Dunlop layers the connections between food and art by referencing art itself within the genre of a still life. With this in mind, the quite composition of a jar of paint brushes and a lone squash in Judy Cassab’s Untitled painting can be viewed as the crux of the exhibition and a celebration of creative output, both artistic and culinary.


Food & Art will be on view starting March 26th at Eva Breuer Art Dealer.

Food & Art from the Gallery Stock Room

On view from 26th March 2010

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Artwork of the Day - Sutherland - Asters in a White Vase

Jean Sutherland (1902 - 1978)
Asters in a White Vase c.1927
Oil on canvas
56 x 41cm
no.3146

Jean Sutherland is represented in the National Gallery of Victoria as well as many important collections throughout Australia. Sutherland was the recipient of many awards including the 1923 National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Art Scholarship.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Staff Picks - Gallery Associate Megan Fizell

Clifton Pugh (1924 - 1990)
Hand & Orchid
Etching 25/75
22 x 15cm (image size)
33 x 25cm (paper size)
no.11067

Born in 1924 in Richmond, Victoria, Clifton Pugh made a name for himself for his portraiture and landscape paintings, after serving in the Australian Imperial Forces in New Guinea in his early years. Pugh attended the National Gallery of Victoria Art School from 1947 to 1949, and then spent much of his life in his bush property 'Dunmoochin' outside of Melbourne. Greatly inspired by the natural environment, Pugh was joined in his love of the land by other artists, who together with him became the Dunmoochin Artists Society in 1953. In the year before his death in 1990, Pugh set up the Dunmoochin Foundation to preserve the bushland and enable other artists to use the studios in future.

Brett Whiteley (1939-1992)
The Luxembourg Gardens (glimpse) (detail)
Pen and Ink on Paper
55.5 x 75 cm
Initialed 'BW' lower right
Illustrated: Brett Whiteley: Paris Regarde de Côté, Australian Galleries, 1990, Plate 41.
Provenance: Australian Galleries
Private collection Melbourne since 1992
no.11042

The Luxembourg Gardens (glimpse) is part of a series of works on paper which Whiteley produced in Paris between June and July of 1989. Whiteley had rented an apartment on the Rue de Tournon and produced one work a day for 60 days. These are regarde de cote (sidelong glances), which Whiteley saw as the answer to creating images of the city which were not cliché. "millions of pictures have been painted – how to find a new vision is the challenge. What one is after is a high-octane visual poetic journalism, brief, essential and above all fresh. This can best be achieved by drawing, and not the heavy métier of oil paint." Offered for the first time since it was acquired from the Paris Regarde de Coté exhibition this is a superb example of Whiteley's masterful draughtsmanship.

Reference: Brett Whiteley's introduction to: Brett Whiteley: Paris Regarde De Côté, Australian Galleries, 1990.


Adriane Strampp (b.1960)
Stags 2009
Oil on linen
101.5 x 101.5 cm
no.10650

Strampp’s new work takes another look at the horse and the landscape, in a quieter and more contemplative manner, together with the use of a limited palette. Her work continues to explore the intangible and evocative, that communicates before it is understood, and the importance of and relationship between scale, surface and the poetic image through a method of layering and reduction that reflects the experience of connection, through history on either a personal or broader level. Subject and shadow are indeterminate, and the viewer is drawn into the work to decide between what is ‘real’ and what is not. More importantly, it is hoped that the viewer will experience a connection of experience through the work. This new body of work will be exhibited later in the year as part of her Master’s degree submission.

Christopher Beaumont (b.1961)
Still Life with Quince, Artichoke and Ivy 2006
Oil on linen
76 x 84cm

The space in these works is a virtual or abstract space while the rendering of objects wholly representational. I had a great interest in astronomy as a child. The heavens are an abstract emptiness with objects moving on principles of geometry. The world of atoms & molecules are often pictured as coloured spheres in this same black space. Atoms and molecules don’t actually look like this at all but this helps us to understand them conceptually. It is the same space of 3D computer modelling. I have grown up in a time when these images are commonplace and this is definitely an influence on the way I conceive of paintings. -Christopher Beaumont, 2007

Kerry Lester
Aridne auf Naxos
Woodcut print 42/60
76.5 x 56.5cm
Commissioned by the Australian Opera for its
Australian Opera's 40th Anniversity Print Portfolio
(to be sold individually)
no.7733


Geoffrey Proud (b. 1946)
Near the Orchard – a Study in Black 2008
oil on canvas
89 x 120cm
no.9843

Often quirky and verging on the surreal, Geoffrey Proud's paintings in oil and pastel are like fractured fairytales. Depicting a world of innocence with a sometimes ominous edge, Proud's paintings are fantastic and bizarre. His choice of subjects is broad, including children and childhood narratives, flowers, still lifes and nudes. Alternating between expressionist impastoed brushwork and sensitive detail, he experiments freely with vibrant colour and varying textures. The highly glazed surfaces of his recent oils give his scenes an ethereal and otherworldly quality. Proud has won numerous awards including the Sulman Prize in 1976 for a painting on perspex, and the Archibald prize in 1990 for his portrait of writer Dorothy Hewett. He has exhibited consistently in all state capitals since 1966 and is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; many State and regional gallery collections; Parliament House collections in Canberra and Sydney; Artbank; IBM collection; and the Elton John collection, London.

Tomasz Talaj (b. 1964)
Epic Flight 2007
Oil on plywood
10.5 x 15.3cm
no. 9432

Sarah Edmondson
Untitled (Lemons on a Pink Plate) 2003
Oil on canvas
30 x 30cm
Signed 'sarah edmondson '03' lower right
no.8091

Stephen Nothling (b.1962)
Swimming Bird II
Oil on canvas
10 x 10 cm

Known for his paintings of paradise–evoking roses, this exhibition of paradise landscapes was born out of Nothling’s monumental 2008 self portrait entitled Self Portrait out the front, exhibited in the Salon de Refusés last year. The work was in homage to Nothling’s own paradise – his home on the outskirts of Brisbane – and from it emerged this larger series loosely based on local Brisbane landscapes.

Immersed within the idea of paradise and perfection, Nothling created the fictional, ‘Nowhereland,’ an imaginary destination which acts as a backdrop for his pictorial theatrics. In Nowhereland Nothling’s parachuted navigator, (perhaps the pilot from the biplane in Joyflight) descends gently to the middle of nowhere.

Victor Rubin (b.1950)
Still Life II, Jan 1975
oil on masonite
15.2 x 20.3 cm
Signed and dated lower right 'Jan 75 VR.'
no.10731

Painted when Rubin was in his early to late 20’s the boards have been archived in Victor’s studio since they were painted. The period covers 1974-1976 with the majority of paintings from 1974-75 when he was living in Raine Street Bondi Junction in Sydney. This period of his work follows on from his involvement with the famous Yellow House in Macleay Street, Potts Point where he exhibited in 1971 at which point the Yellow House attracted the most cutting edge contemporary artists of the time including Brett Whiteley and others. The period is also marked by a strong influence from John Olsen who was Rubin’s teacher at the Bakery Art School and who remains a close friend.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Press Release: Brenda Humble


Brenda Humble's December exhibition includes paintings and sculpture from 1988 to the present. Humble's body of jewel-like still life's, abstracted in varying degrees are painterly, boldly colourful and beautifully simple. Her continuing motif; the silhouette of vase and flowers against an open window, is distinct and distilled to essential elements and colour blocks. Her palette is high keyed like Mattisse and in some of the still lives, the flatness and bold outline of shapes is somewhat reminiscent of Picasso.

Her sculptures share a similar simplification of form; Humble pares back the image to its most elemental lines, creating crisp linea images of quirky teachers, laughing horses, squinting love hearts and little Alice figures.

Humble won the 1982 Portia Geach Prize for her portrait of Virginia Hall, the American world war II spy. In August this year her work was honoured with a retrospective which explored her painting of the 1970's and 80's. Brenda Humble: Art as Activism coincided with History Week 2009 and the Kings Cross Library 50th Anniversary. The exhibition explored Brenda's involvement in the activism in the Kings Cross area during that period, her work on the Green Bans and the disappearance of Juanita Nielsen.

Having graduated from the national art school in 1960 Brenda Humble has been a major part of the Sydney art world for more than 50 years. She has had over 16 solo exhibitions in Sydney and was a finalist in the 1974 Wynne Prize, the 1982 Waverley Art Prize and the 1981 Mornington peninsula Drawing prize amongst others.

Brenda Humble is represented in the Artbank Collection, Parliament House, Canberra the Reserve Bank of Australia, University of NSW, the IBM Collection, Sydney, Mackay City Library, Queensland as well as private and corporate collections in Australia, Canada, Japan, UK and USA.

Press: Humble - Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Press Release: Rosemary Valadon

Rosemary Valadon (b.1947)
Euphoria; The Tea Party
Opening Saturday 17 October 2009, 3-5PM


Eva Breuer Art Dealer is pleased to announce the opening of exhibition of new paintings by Rosemary Valadon, Euphoria; The Tea Party. The lush works depict richly painted floral teacups, and centre around the pleasures, comfort and ceremony of drinking tea.

Valadon has taken her inspiration for these works from a source most would consider disheartening rather than uplifting – the recent economic downturn. The half full/half empty cups invite the viewer to discover if they view the world in an optimistic or pessimistic way, while in some of the works such as Gypsy Rose the cups themselves seem to jut out of the picture plane, suggesting that one could jump into them and drown their sorrows. The richness of the exteriors of cups of Euphoria, American Beauty and Arcadia, amongst others, provide an antidote to recessional thinking, a quiet moment of lush beauty and excess. And, as the economy picks up, and spring arrives, the lone piece of lemon (which sometimes appears in the cup) is being joined by various spring blossoms – pear, apple, and nectarine.

Valadon, herself an indulgent tea drinker, has included teacups in her paintings for years and has always loved beautiful china. After commencing this series Valadon has been loaned and given favourite cups from many of her friends and family.

Rosemary Valadon’s works are held in numerous public and corporate collections around the country including that of the National Portrait Gallery, Macquarie University, Muswellbrook Art Prize Collection and BHP Billiton. She has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize, Sulman Prize and Mosman Art Prize multiple times, and has won the Portia Geach Memorial Award and Blake Religious Art Prize.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Artist Spotlight: Don Rankin

This week Eva Breuer Art Dealer is proud to spotlight still life painter Don Rankin. His 2009 exhibition, Dead Calm, is a beautiful collection of works that are further illuminated by the interview below.

Who (or what) do you consider your artistic inspiration?

My main inspiration is the whole history of painting. I am always educating myself on this legacy by constantly reading, looking and learning. I feel sorry for those contemporary artists who dismiss anything done before 1950 as irrelevant to modern artistic practice – they miss so much as a consequence. Art is enriched immeasurably by what has come before but you have to be receptive to it and open-minded. If I were to single out particular artists who have inspired me it would be Chardin and Morandi, but there are of course many others.

Do you listen to music while you work, and if so, what is most often playing?

I prefer total silence when painting. I have wide musical interests but enjoy piano pieces by Chopin, Debussy and Satie the most.



Who of your peers do you respect the most?

The artists who are not influenced by current trends and styles but instead persevere along their chosen paths: ie. the mavericks. Interestingly, these artists are often well-informed about art history.

Do you have any habits/rituals or strange superstitions when painting?


Painting needs the personal discipline to get in the studio and work no matter whether things are going well or not. I only paint under natural light so on dull days I make frames or stretch canvases. I don’t allow anyone to observe while I am painting – painting is a solitary activity and the daily struggle with the rectangle can only be shared and evaluated at a later time.


When did you decide to become an artist?

I have painted since I was a teenager at school, then through university and later when working as a teacher. I only became a full-time artist in 2004 but had a long established exhibition history before then.


Do you have a favourite painting or work of art? If so, what is it?

Almost any painting by Giorgio Morandi made between 1950 and 1963 (when he died). Also a group of small, late still-lives by Chardin in the Louvre, Paris. Then there are the Bonnards in the AGNSW, the Bellini’s in the Accademia in Venice, … I could on for a long time, there is so much superb art to be seen all over the world.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Rosemary Valadon - Mosman Art Prize Finalist

Rosemary Valadon, Afternoon Delight, 2009, Oil on canvas, 137 x 107 cm

Congratulations to Rosemary Valadon for being selected as a finalist in the 2009 Mosman Art Prize for his painting Afternoon Delight. Click here to view available works by Rosemary Valadon from Eva Breuer Art Dealer.
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