New in the gallery
Elisabeth Kruger (b.1955)
Sir Sidney Nolan (1917-1992)
Untitled (Gallipoli Series) 1960
Ripolin enamel on paper
30.3 x 25.3cm
Signed lower left: Nolan
verso: Oct 20th 1960 / Nolan
no.95999Provenance: The artist, Private collection Sydney
Nolan's Gallipoli series is the subject of the major exhibition
Sidney Nolan: The Gallipoli Series, currently at the Australian War Memorial.
Nolan donated works from this series to the War Memorial in 1978 in honour of his brother who died in an accident before the end of the Second World War.
John Coburn (1925-2006)
John Coburn (1925-2006)
Plants in Moonlight 1972
Oil on canvas
106 x 113cm
Signed 'Coburn' lower right
no.8229
The Garden is an important motif in
Coburn’s body of work. There are obvious connotations to the Garden of Eden but of significance are his childhood memories of northern Queensland and the tropical rainforests with their deluge of lush colours.1 As Nadine Amadio explains, “the memory of youth among rich tropical plant growth, of rainforests and tropical jungles, has remained with him as an essential and evocative part of his symbolic language … Sometimes when his foliage and plant shapes have the exotic and overgrown mystery reminiscent of Henri Rousseau, it seems glowingly evident that he is haunted by the world of his earliest childhood.3” In 1953 an exhibition of contemporary French painting by Matisse, Picasso, Leger, Mannessiere de Stael and others was hung at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. French Painting Today made
Coburn feel for the first time that here was an art that was relevant to him.
Coburn recalled in an interview with Lou Klepac that it was at this point that the Garden became an important subject in his work. He recalled seeing a garden shortly after viewing the exhibition – “I went home that night and did a painting of it. It was an abstract painting, but it was all about that garden and that was my first success as a painter.”2
1 Rozen, A., The Art of John Coburn, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1979, p.8.
2 John Coburn quoted in, Klepac, L., John Coburn: The Spirit of Colour, The Beagle Press, Roseville, 2003.
3 Amadio, N., John Coburn: Paintings, Craftsman House, Roseville, 1988, p.7.
Geoffrey Proud (b. 1946)
Geoffrey Proud (b. 1946)
Sunday Morning 2007
oil on canvas
59.5 x 90 cm
signed lower right
no.9715
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 impasto 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.
Brian Dunlop (b.1938)
Brian Dunlop (b.1938)
Towards Plato 1
Gouache on paper
33 x 48cm
no.9547
Brian Dunlop is one of Australia's foremost representational painters. He is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries, many regional galleries as well as numerous other public collections throughout Australia and overseas. He has won numerous coveted awards including the 1981 Sulman Prize.
Dunlop's Large Lagoon 2009 was a finalist in this year's Tattersall's Club Landscape Art Prize. The above painting is the pair to a similar work which has recently been acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Current Exhibition
Closes tomorrow
Tony Irving (b.1939)
Other places, other views
Upcoming Exhibition
Judy Cassab (b.1920) & John Seed (b.1945)
The Two of Us
Opening Wednesday 30 September 6-8pm
by the Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG
Sale Section
Ray Crooke (b.1922)
Ray Crooke (b.1922)
Greetings 2007
oil on canvas on board
59 x 49cm
Signed: 'R Crooke' lower left
Provenance:
Phillip Bacon Gallery Brisbane
Private collection Sydney
no.10537
Crooke's broad-leafed tropical vistas in vivid colours and contrasted areas of light and dark, often likened to Gauguin, are among the most important in Australian landscape painting. Both Gauguin and
Crooke shared the experience of Island life.
Crooke captures the 'essence of Island life, a place where the pattern of life is simple... where there is an innocence of the complexity of life.'
Ray Crooke is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries many regional galleries as well as many other public collections throughout Australia and overseas. He was won numerous coveted awards including 1969 Archibald Prize for his portrait of journalist and novelist George Johnston.
Reference: Island Journal Ray Crooke, Introduction by Peter Denham, Bede Publishing, Australia, p.8.
Eubena Nampitjin (born c.1921)
Kunawarritjilc
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 the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries, 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.
Graphics: New in the gallery
Anne Smith
Eva Breuer Art Dealer Podcasts
In 2009 the gallery has introduced
podcasts (online videos) which appear on the website in conjunction with each exhibition. In addition to exhibitions, the
podcasts will also cover the important Australian artists in which the gallery specialises, including Sidney Nolan (below). The
podcasts include two minutes of commentary by gallery staff, an interview with each artist and images of the paintings available.
How to Use Podcasts1. Download Apple Quicktime player if is not already installed on your computer.
Click here to download the free software.
2. Install Apple Quicktime player.
3. Once installed, visit the Podcast page by
clicking here.
4. Click on the image of the podcast you would like to watch and the movie will begin to play.
5. Please ensure your volume is turned on so that the sound is audible.
Sample Podcast (Click the image to visit the podcast page)
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