Glittering prize: Art NSW '09

The NSW art scene has weathered the financial storm; 10 leading lights pick the year’s top shows and predict the best for 2010.
Article by Steve Dow, 2009

Click here to read the full coverage. Excerpt below quoting the gallery manager, Robert Maconachie.

“The Nora Heysen exhibition that just finished at the S.H. Ervin Gallery was brilliant; beautiful portraits and delicately painted still lives.” The South Australian-born artist, who died in 2003, did her “more sophisticated” work as she grew older, says Maconachie. Meanwhile at Eva Breuer the first exhibition to pair works Judy Cassab and her son John Seed at Eva Breuer had buyers flocking, as did Doreen Gadsby’s show. His 2010 tip? Scottish-born, Sydney resident emerging artist Michael Muir, who’s showing in June 2010.

GALLERY NEWS 5 JANUARY 2010: Ray Crooke, Tim Storrier, Garry Shead

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

Garry Shead (b.1942)

Garry Shead (b.1942)
Monarchy at Sunset 1995
Oil on canvas
122 x 155 cm
Signed 'Garry Shead 95' lower left
no.1606

Illustrated: Grishin., S, Garry Shead, Encounters with Royalty,
Craftsman House 1998, plate 3, page 37.

Exhibited: Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
Touring Exhibition, Brisbane City Gallery, 1998

Provenance: Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney

Monarchy at Sunset 1995 is one of the largest major paintings from the early period of the important 'Royal Suite' series.

The painting is illustrated in the definitive text on the series and is one of the largest paintings from the beginning of the series in 1995. The composition is a complex one involving multiple large figures including both the Queen and the Consort. The painting also includes the other essential images of the best paintings of the series; the harbour bridge, the silhouetted kangaroo, the Koala and the sprig of golden wattle.

Visit our website to view other important Australian paintings

Garry Shead (b.1942)
The Rocking Horse 1986
Oil on board
90 x 120 cm
Provenance: Private collection Sydney
no.11133

Spanning more than five years, the 'Outback' series is an important period of work by Garry Shead that encapsulates his father’s narrative history of the adventurous jackaroo. Themes running throughout the body of work include loss of freedom and frustration symbolised by the breaking of the horse. Visually inspired by the outback landscapes by Sidney Nolan, the paintings are composed of warm ochres and burnt sienna reds. Initially the horses depicted in the early works from the series contained parts of the female body. The horses evolved to embody a sexual energy typically reserved for Shead’s female subjects and the relationship between man and horse served “as a metaphor for the relationship between man and woman, while the vastness of the outback landscape is constant setting for this drama.”1

1 Grishin S, Garry Shead and The Erotic Muse, Craftsman House, 2001 p.87

Visit our website to view other paintings by Garry Shead

Garry Shead (b.1942)
Dancer c.1998
Oil on board
59 x 43 cm
Provenance: Private collection Sydney
no.11134

As Sasha Grishin describes the series: “Throughout the series the constant recurring motif is that of the fully clad male dancer, usually shown in an evening suit and occasionally appearing slightly awkward and uncertain of himself, accompanied by a nude, or an almost nude female dancer. On one very basic level there is the aspect of voyeuristic erotic wish-fullfillment, drawing on the surrealist strategy of undressing the woman with the male gaze that had been so effectively employed by Renne Magrite. Shead’s female dancers are of great sensuous beauty and lyrical charm. There is a hint of a more metaphysical dimension of this dance, relating it to the dance of life as interpreted by artists like Edvard Munch. The Dance is performed on an allegorical stage like the arena of life, sometimes with an awareness of an audience and sometimes under the harsh glow of the spotlights. In most of the ‘Dance Sequence’ paintings there is an indication of an open door in the background, at times shown as the source of light, but in all instances the door way is a path for esacpe. Shead achieves in this series of paintings a great lryicism in the paint surface, a warm sensuousness through which the female flesh glows in a rich radiance. Increasingly these intimate interior settings allude to ambiguous and seductive dream-like reality where ideas and interpretations float free from gravity and verbal associations."

Reference: Grishin S, Garry Shead and The Erotic Muse, Craftsman House, 2001 p.166.

Visit our website to view other paintings by Garry Shead

Ray Crooke (b.1922)

Ray Crooke (b.1922)
Untitled (Three Figures)
oil on canvas
75 x 61cm
signed lower left 'R. Crooke'
Provenance: Private collection Sydney
no.11049

Visit our website to view other paintings by Ray Crooke

Ray Crooke (b.1922)
Untitled
Oil on board
49.3 x 60 cm
Provenance: Private collection Sydney
no.10657

Visit our website to view other paintings by Ray Crooke

Tim Storrier (b.1949)

Tim Storrier (b.1949)
The Night Wind 2009
oil on canvas
61.5 x 122.5cm
no.11149

Visit our website to view other paintings by Tim Storrier

Roland Wakelin (1887-1971)

Roland Wakelin (1887-1971)
Terrace Houses Double Bay 1963
Oil on board
45 x 64 cm
Signed 'R.Wakelin 63' bottom left
no.11144

Provenance:
Private collection, Melbourne
Private collection, Sydney

Exhibited:
Toorak Art Gallery (label attached verso) - On loan from Mr P English
Geelong Art Gallery (label attached verso)
Roland Wakelin Retrospective Art Gallery of NSW 8 - 30 April 1967 cat no.87
Roland Wakelin: Master of Colour, A Newcastle Regional Gallery Touring exhibition, 2002
Toured to Newcastle City Art Gallery 10-13 May 1967

Illustrated:
Roland Wakelin: Master of Colour, A Newcastle Regional Gallery Touring exhibition, 2002

Visit our website to view other paintings by Roland Wakelin

John Coburn (1925-2006)

John Coburn (1925-2006)
The Four Seasons (Summer) 1994
Oil on canvas
64.5 x 89.5cm
Signed 'Coburn' lower right
Signed and inscribed verso 'John Coburn/ summer/ 1994/ Oil'
Provenance: The Royal Pines Resort, Queensland. Commissioned directly from the artist in 1994
no.9087
cat no.11

Influenced by Matisse, Rothko and Miro, Coburn’s art is motivated by the natural world and by his own personal spirituality. The Seasons is arguably one of the most important motifs of Coburn’s career. Encompassing both the natural and the spiritual, the Seasons appear in all decades of Coburn’s work culminating in a series of nine monumental tapestries commissioned in 1988 by the Christensen Fund which were woven in Aubusson, France. The present four paintings represent the individual seasons of nature and parallel the ‘growth, development, transformation and renewal of the spirit.’1 As Alan Rozen suggests “it is through his integrity in relating his religion to nature and nature to religion,” that Coburn achieves his raison d’etre.2

Memories of the landscape of his childhood are predominant in all the Seasons of Nature paintings. As Coburn told Nadine Amadio; “They derive from my childhood when I was growing up in Queensland in the tropical vegetation.”3 Each of the present paintings, which were commissioned by the Royal Pines Resort in 1994, is a seasonal garden of delight; Spring has a clarity and brightness that suggests warm spring air and new life, Autumn glows with rich golden hues, Winter suggests a withdrawing and pulling back of life forces and Summer is an exultant celebration of life and regeneration.

1 Amadio, N., John Coburn’s The Seasons Tapestries, The Christensen Fund, 1988, p.3.
2 Rozen, A., The Art of John Coburn, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1979, p.9.
3 Amadio, N., John Coburn’s ‘The Seasons’ Tapestries, The Christensen Fund, 1988, p.12.

Visit our website to view other paintings by John Coburn

Anna Platten (b.1957)

Anna Platten (b.1957)
Head and House 2007
charcoal on paper
125 x 100 cm
Finalist in the Kedumba drawing prize 2007
no.10769

Visit our website to view other important Australian works on paper

Sale Section

David Boyd (b.1924)

David Boyd (b.1924)
The Willow and the Wattle 1990
Oil on canvas
34 x 44cm
Signed lower left 'David Boyd'
Titled, signed and dated on stretcher verso
Provenance: Private collection Sydney
no.10699

Visit our website to view other paintings by David Boyd

Jimmy Pike (1940-2002)

Jimmy Pike (1940-2002)
Parapara and Kurrkuminti
acrylic on canvas
75 x 60cm
verso: parapara and kurrkuminti
J Pike
no.10152

Pike was born during World War Two in the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia. His people, the Walmajarri, had very limited contact with white Australians, and Pike did not meet a white person until he was 13. While living a traditional nomadic life Pike learned to create ceremonial designs, often applied to the body, which depicted the stories and knowledge of his tribe. As a young adult Pike begun working at cattle stations in the Kimberley rather than continuing to live a traditional nomadic life. During this time he begun to supplement his earnings as a stockman by carving boomerangs and wooden curios to sell to tourists.

In 1979 Pike was sent to jail after being convicted of killing another Aboriginal man. While incarcerated he begun to paint, draw and make prints. His bold colours and patterns drew attention early and his two art teachers in prison set up a company to market his work. After his release in 1986 Pike concentrated on his art, and he and his wife (Pat Lowe, a community welfare officer he met while in prison) published several books written by her and illustrated by Pike.

During his life Pike held successful exhibitions in China, South Africa, Italy, England and the Philippines. His work is held in numerous public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

Visit our website to view other contemporary Aboriginal paintings

Tim Storrier (b.1949)

Tim Storrier (b. 1949)
Desert c.1975
Oil on board
104 x 140cm
signed 'Storrier' lower right
no.10151

Visit our website to view other paintings by Tim Storrier

Contemporary Australian Paintings

Stephen Nothling (b.1962)

Stephen Nothling (b.1962)

Cover of Darkness 2
oil on canvas
160 x 190cm
no.10879

Visit our website to view other paintings by Stephen Nothling

Michael Muir (b.1975)

Michael Muir (b.1975)
Untitled
pastel on paper
oil on canvas
66 x 66cm
no.10743

Visit our website to view other paintings by Michael Muir

Don Rankin (b.1947)

Don Rankin (b.1947)
Poppies (study #4) 2009
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm

Visit our website to view other paintings by Don Rankin

Featured Graphic

John Olsen (b.1928)

John Olsen (b.1928)
Fish & Kettle 2002
Etching 10/30
11 x 20cm (plate size)
no.9583

Visit our website to view other graphics by John Olsen

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

Please send us an email if you wish to be added to the weekly newsletter list.

2010 Exhibition Schedule

Wayne Eager (b.1957) Exhibition 2010: New Work Opening 6 March 2010, 3-5PM

Pam Sackville (b.1944) Exhibition 2010: New Work Opening 24 April 2010, 3-5PM

Brian Seidel (b.1928) Exhibition 2010: Cocktail Hour Opening 8 May 2010, 3-5PM

Michael Muir (b.1975) Exhibition 2010: New Work Opening 5 June 2010, 3-5PM

Petra Reece Exhibition 2010: New Work Opening 17 July 2010, 3-5PM

Geoffrey Proud (b.1946) Exhibition 2010: New Work Opening 15 September 2010, 6-8PM

Artist Spotlight: Michael Muir

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

I have a number of artists whose work I admire Mark Rothko, Paddy Bedford, Jeffrey Smart and Francis Bacon.

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

Have a fairly eclectic taste in music I normally hit shuffle on the ipod otherwise FBI radio is great.

Who of your peers do you respect the most?

All peers who have been committed and persistent with their chosen fields

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

no rituals time is precious

When did you decide to become an artist?

I decided whilst working as a desktop publisher for a fashion mag in the Phillippines when I was 21. Not a big fan of offices or computers!

What is your favourite colour?

Favourite colour at the moment is cadmium yellow.

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

Of the top of my head favourite paintings change all the time John Passmore jumping horse mackerel.

Gallery News 11 September: Tony Irving, Garry Shead, Arthur Boyd, Patrick Hockey, Podcasts

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

Garry Shead (b.1942)

Garry Shead (b.1942)
Monarchy at Sunset 1995
Oil on canvas
122 x 155cm
Signed 'Garry Shead 95' lower left
no.1606

Illustrated: Grishin., S, Garry Shead, Encounters with Royalty,
Craftsman House 1998, plate 3, page 37.

Exhibited: Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
Touring Exhibition, Brisbane City Gallery, 1998

Provenance: Lyall Burton Gallery, Melbourne
Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney

Monarchy at Sunset 1995 is one of the largest major paintings from the early period of the important 'Royal Suite' series.

The painting is illustrated in the definitive text on the series and is one of the largest paintings from the beginning of the series in 1995. The composition is a complex one involving multiple large figures including both the Queen and the Consort. The painting also includes the other essential images of the best paintings of the series; the harbour bridge, the silhouetted kangaroo, the Koala and the sprig of golden wattle. Please contact the gallery for further information or to arrange a viewing.

Visit our website to view other works by Garry Shead

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)
Two Angels with Black Hair 1964
Pastel on paper
46 x 61.5cm (image size)
no.7356

Provenance: Collection of the artist
John Gild Galleries, WA
Lister Calder Galleries, Perth
Private collection, Perth

Exhibited: Arthur Boyd, Skinner Galleries, Perth, 1965, ca. 34
Arthur Boyd Pastels, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 1965, cat. 27
John Gild Galleries, Perth
Lister Calder Galleries, Perth

Arthur Boyd is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, all state galleries, many regional galleries, as well as many other important public collections in Australia and overseas. Born into a lineage of gifted painters, potters, musicians and architects, Arthur Boyd became the most celebrated member, in Australia’s cultural history, of that revered artistic family.

Two Angels with Black Hair 1964 is a powerful, dream-like image. Boyd’s use of the delicate pastel contrasts with the dramatic struggle of the two angel’s frozen in mid motion across the page.

Reference: Philipp, F., Arthur Boyd, Thames & Hudson, London, 1967, cat. 14.30, p.129, illus pl. XLI

Visit our website to view other works by Arthur Boyd

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)
Sleeping woman with dragonfly and watching figure c.1964
pastel on paper
48.5 x 63 cm (image size)
Signed 'Arthur Boyd' lower right
Provenance: Private collection, Sydney
no.10815

Arthur Boyd’s work of the 1960s is characterised by a great focus on experimentation with alternative media such as pastel. Perhaps Boyd’s greatest achievement in pastel are the series of works based on Italy’s most revered Saint, St Francis of Assisi, which were produced in this period following his move to London. St Francis is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. St Francis has been an important subject throughout art history and in 1963, prior to his visit to Umbria, Boyd looked at the St Francis paintings by the old master Sassetta at the National Gallery, London. In the summer of 1964, he and his family travelled to Italy, visiting the town of Gubbio where St Francis is said to have tamed the dangerous local wolfe. In the autumn of the same year, Boyd produced pastel images of the 'Wolf of Gubbio'.

The St Francis series are a major body of work, examples of which are included in all major public galleries in Australia. The series includes lithographs, paintings, pastels and tapestry. In 1975 the Australian National Gallery purchased twenty tapestries including from the St Francis series, some of which were subsequently used in the re-furnishing of Yarralumla, the Governor-General’s residence in Canberra. In 1968 Boyd made sixteen lithographs which were made into a book with TSR Boase and published by Thames and Hudson. Maragret Pont’s Arthur Boyd and Saint Francis of Assisi 1964-1974 was published by Macmillain in 2004.

Visit our website to view other works by Arthur Boyd

Patrick Hockey (1948-1992)

Patrick Hockey (1948-1992)
Nindooinbah Interior c.1984
acrylic on board
91 x 121cm
Provenance: Private collection, Sydney
Signed lower right 'Hockey'
no.10767

Visit our website to view other works by Patrick Hockey


Anna Platten (b.1957)

Anna Platten (b.1957)
The Waking Dream 2009
Oil on linen
210.5 x 119 cm
no.10819

Visit our website to view other works by Anna Platten

Contemporary Painting

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)
Daydream 2009
Oil on canvas
61 x 200cm

Visit our website to view other works by Tomasz Talaj

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)
Untitled 2009
Oil on canvas
90 x 140cm

Visit our website to view other works by Tomasz Talaj

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)
Untitled 2009
Oil on canvas
90 x 140cm

Visit our website to view other works by Tomasz Talaj

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)
Untitled 2009
Oil on canvas
122 x 183cm

Visit our website to view other works by Tomasz Talaj

Tomasz Talaj (b.1964)
Untitled 2009
Oil on canvas
183 x 122cm

Visit our website to view other works by Tomasz Talaj

Michael Muir (b.1975)

Michael Muir (b.1975)
Untitled
Oil on canvas
66 x 66cm
no.10742

Visit our website to view other works by Michael Muir

Michael Muir (b.1975)
Untitled
Oil on canvas
66 x 66cm
no.10743

Visit our website to view other works by Michael Muir

Current Exhibition

Tony Irving (b.1939)
Other places, other views
Opening Saturday 12 September 3-5pm

Tony Irving (b.1939)
Watching and Waiting in Rome 2009
Oil on linen
137 x 185.5cm
no.10808

Visit our website to view other works by Tony Irving

Tony Irving (b.1939)
The Warrior
Gouache on arches paper
40 x 40cm
no.10799

Visit our website to view other works by Tony Irving




Upcoming Exhibition

Judy Cassab (b.1920) & John Seed (b.1945)
The Two of Us
Opening Wednesday 30 September 6-8pm

Judy Cassab (b.1920)
Morning Light 2008
Oil on canvas
50 x 39.5 cm
signed 'Cassab 08' lower right
no.10679

Visit our website to view other works by Judy Cassab

John Seed (b.1945)
Magellanic Cloud
Painted steel
55 x 52 x 40cm
signed 'Proud' lower right

Visit our website to view other works by John Seed

Featured Graphic

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)

Arthur Boyd (1920-1999)
Saint Jerome
Etching
65 x 49.5cm (sheet size)
'hc' lower left, signed 'Arthur Boyd' lower right
Provenance: The artist's family
no.8700

Note: 'hc' is an abbreviation for a Hors d'Commerce proof - a version of the print that is identical to the others in the edition but that was not intended for sale. The graphic above may have been used as a sample to show galleries and dealers, or as a gift to a friend.

Visit our website to view other graphics by Arthur Boyd

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 Podcasts

1. 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)

Current Exhibition

September
Gallery 1: Tony Irving
Gallery 2: Spring Exhibition


Upcoming Exhibitions

September
Gallery 2: Spring Exhibition
Gallery 1: Judy Cassab & John Seed

October
Gallery 1: Spring Exhibition
Gallery 2: Sam Wade
Gallery 2: Rosemary Valadon
Gallery 2: Madeleine Winch

November
Gallery 1: Summer Exhibition
Gallery 2: Doreen Gadsby

Please send us an email if you wish to be added to the weekly newsletter list.