Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 John Beard

Lot 24 John Beard - Untitled I
Lot 24 John Beard – Untitled I

In order to appreciate Beards unique style of painting, as is the case with any acclaimed artwork, it is important to understand the context from whence it came.

John Beard, much like many of our favoured Australian artists from the same era, is an adopted Australian who made his way down and across the continents until settling, at first in Perth, and later Sydney – where he remains today.

Born in Aberdare, Wales, in 1943 he is a by-product of his Celtic ancestry, nurtured by an“ancient, often ravaged, perennially colonised … land of mines and chapels. The visual imprint is of an interminably grey place where silver skies merge and mingle with laden seas. It is a place where time past and present is inextricably intertwined, where the young Beard began to experience the world, his cultural endowment full of the old and the new.” (Wright, 2009, p. 663)

After receiving the Welsh National Art Scholarship at the age of 19, Beard studied at the Swansea College of Art and later studied at the University of London, and the Royal College of Art, London.

In 1965 he won the British Arts Council International Prize and Commission. He taught in the UK extensively before making his way in 1983 to Curtin University – or the Western Australian Institute of Technology, as it was known at the time – where he became the Senior Lecturer, Head of Painting.

Beard spent six years in WA, and it was in his last year here that this monotype Untitled I was produced. It came after a period of great success and warm regard in the artistic community in Perth, where he produced massive works out of his Fremantle studio the likes of The Gods (1984-85),a massive landscape as viewed from the perspective of the outsider now in the collection of the University of Western Australia.

His large scale works produced in the mid 80’s exhibit the interest he had in neo-expressionism at the time, blurring the boundaries between abstraction and figuration which he well accomplished, however, this monotype produced four years later – during the year that he resigned from Curtin University to pursue a travelling sabbatical from Australia to Portugal, New York, Lisbon and all over – reveals a transformation in his style, one that he would fully accomplish during his time in Adraga.

It shows a shift from the heavy impasto works that he was already becoming noted for, towards an expression of interest in the nature of the paint and medium he was using, an exploration of the ways in which he could apply his innate reception of landscape and nature in new and compelling ways.

He would come to note, in Adraga, that “I realised that paint to me was really like the sea. There’s this pliable material that could be thick and lumpy, solid like a through of water, or it could be vaporous, frothy like the crash of a wave. It could be opaque or it could be transparent; all of these different qualities. It could be still, just shimmering, it could be moving so quickly that you felt there was an incredible vibrancy about it. The totality of this experience of rock and water had this evanescence, which you felt; it came right up to you, to the top of the cliff.”

Beard returned to Australia in the late 90’s and settled in Sydney, the accomplished artist has since won the Archibald and Wynne prize among many others. He has perpetually challenged his style and medium and continues to produce the work of an artist whose eye has traversed and encompassed a worldly view that few achieve in a lifetime.

References

Wright, W. (2009). Headland. Art & Australia, 661-667.

 

 

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Mike Parr

Lot 38 Mike Parr - Echolalia (The Road)
Lot 38 Mike Parr – Echolalia (The Road)

Mike Parr is a seminal figure in the contemporary Australian art scene. He is best known for his emergence as a performance artist and concept artist in the late 1960’s producing hundreds of performance and multimedia pieces during an important era for the development of that genre within the Australian art scene.

It was a time when performance art was not acknowledged as a visual art, which might explain why Parr emerged with such force.

One of his most renowned early works involved him seated calmly in front of an audience before beginning to attack his forearm with an axe, unbeknownst to the audience that he in fact suffered the loss of his arm as an infant and was wearing a prosthetic arm filled with mince and fake blood.

He is noted for performance works involving a great deal of stress to the physical body, such as an installation of the artist in a gallery for days without food and water, or 100 Breaths a visual/multimedia work during which, with 100 breaths, Parr breaths and holds a different etching to his face. As he suffers loss of oxygen in the bloodstream, his face – the focal point of the video – naturally disfigures and the viewer is subjected to the stress he is inducing on his body. In another work Parr’s face is sewn with thread to disfigure it into an expression of disgrace.

There is a stark contrast between his confrontational performance work and his pensive etchings. On one hand, Parr’s performance work is visceral, physically demeaning, abrasive and deeply concerned with notions of eliciting strong physical responses as well as cognitive; however, he also focuses on notions of memory and subjectivity.

It is these notions of memory and subjectivity that carry through to his etchings, what is lesser known about Parr is his love of drawing, lines and form. While he was making splashes in the 70’s for his controversial performances, he returned to his love of drawing in the 1980’s.

Parr began print making in 1987 when he was invited to create a print for the Bicentennial Folio (a joint commission of the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian Bicentennial Authority) and he has been creating prints ever since.

This work, Echolalia (The Road) – which can also be found in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia – delves into those notions of memory and subjectivity. “Parr has been fascinated with observation and the possibilities and responses of memory distortions. His ‘landscape’ prints are such depictions – memories of views passed by.” (National Gallery of Australia, n.d.)

Echolalia means a repetition of speech, or in this case, when applied to the notion of the road, the repetition of line can be seen as the landscape rushing past the window of a moving train or vehicle – an idea Parr was interested in – or delving deeper, one could interpret any metaphorical meaning of repetition, and road, in the context of space, time and existence.

Although he is best known for his bizarre, confronting and ground breaking performance works, artworks such as this etching by Parr are rare and coveted by the arts community.

References

National Gallery of Australia. (n.d.). Mike Parr. Retrieved May 20, 2016, from National Gallery of Australia Website: http://nga.gov.au/landscapes/Par.htm

 

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Nigel Thomson

During his brief life, Nigel Thomson fulfilled the enigmatic lifestyle of the struggling artist. He would fly by the seat of his pants, improvising and surviving based on his skills as an artist. Constantly on the search for adventure, his curiosity and drive sent him on a journey that would see him evolve as one of Australia’s lesser known, but no less important, contemporary artists of the 20th century.

Thomson was born in Mosman, New South Wales in 1945.As a boy, it is said that he lived near and passed by daily, the site where missing Sydney boy Graeme Thorne had been buried. It was a shock to the community and is an experience attributable to the development of Nigel’s style – a hyper realistic exploration of the ways that the seemingly meaningless can have sinister undertones.

He left school by the age of 15 and travelled before enrolling in the Julian Ashton School of Art. After graduating in 1965 he had a few unsuccessful shows in Sydney and finally ended up in Perth in the late 1960’s. It is here that Thompson began to flourish – while still maintaining a vagrant lifestyle, he hitchhiked across the Nullabor and spent his first night here on a park bench. Regardless, he secured a job in no time as an art teacher at a secondary school in Pinjarra. “With no documents and no qualifications that he could prove … He clinched the job with three drawings he had worked up the night before his interview.” (McDonald, 2004, p. 9)

Thomson became heavily involved in the arts community in Perth; he was especially active with the WA Contemporary Art Society where he was eventually appointed president in 1970. He won several prizes during his time here and taught evenings at Perth Tech. while preparing for exhibitions. The most noted being a solo show at Skinner Gallery in October 1972. The exhibition was well received with six works sold, one to the English actor Moira Lister who invited him to contact her should he ever find himself in London. And with that, he was off to London.

Thomson exhibited extensively during his travels through England and Europe in the 70’s, he exhibited especially through the Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London – during the height of its popularity. During this time he fully realised his style of critical realism that he would become most noted for in Australia during the 80’s and 90’s after his return to Sydney in 1979.

Twice winner of the Archibald Prize, Thomson’s works are unapologetic and meticulously crafted with the intent to evoke. In another exhibition in Perth in the 80’s one critic called his works “’an unpleasant mixture of violence, callousness, insanity, terror and anxiety.’” (McDonald, 2004, p. 5)Somewhat valid although harsh descriptions of Thompsons works, however, once you begin to consider the context behind his works, each image opens a vault of interpretations with words more like ironic, witty, sardonic and clever springing to mind.

He consumed news headlines and popular culture incessantly, was possessed by the need to expose the hypocrisies of modern society and does so with subtle integrity. The sheer fact that Thomson’s works can elicit such powerful responses is only a testament to his staple within the canon of important contemporary Australian artists.

In this image, painted in 1985 during the apex of his career, we can see the subtle dichotomy between light and dark, innocence and menace. Upon closer inspection, the viewer will notice the delicate nuances that make Thomson’s work so intriguing. Once the eye looks past the unsettling large dog in the darkened foreground that overshadows the seemingly innocent child, you begin to notice the stuffing pulled from the teddy bear, the punctures in the doll, the menace behind the innocence of the child, and the innocence in expression behind the menace of the dog, you begin to question which subject is really in danger here.

The breadth of Thomson’s work is not extensive; he destroyed a large portion of his early works “describing them as acts of undergraduate humour or potboilers.” (McDonald, 2004, p. 7)

This, combined with his early death due to cancer in 1999, cut short a very promising body of work. In the past two decades since his death only four works have been offered on the secondary market making owners of his paintings the envy of any serious collector of contemporary Australian art.

Olivia Gardner

References

McDonald, J. (2004). Nigel Thomson Critical Realist. Manly, NSW, Australia: Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Stacha Halpern

Lot 26 Stacha Halpern - Laura
Lot 26 Stacha Halpern – Laura

Stacha Halpern’s paintings are not easy to forget he would bound into them with an energy and verve that didn’t stop until they were completed. They leave an indelible impression in one’s mind and love them or hate them one never forgets them.

Halpern returned to Australia in 1966 but the reception his work received was disappointing for him. The scrap between the abstractionists and antipodeans was still in play and despite a successful career in France, the Australian public wasn’t ready for a naturalised expatriate whose images seemed to have a foot in both camps – figurative with the antipodeans and expressionist with the others. It would take almost three decades before the public was able to step up to the mark even though Halpern had champions along the way, desperately wanting to help the others to see.

Stan Rapotec, another émigré would say of his own career, after he was mistaken for an overnight sensation “…. I firmly and strongly believe now, that to build up an artist in any field you need twenty years of struggle – struggling, battling, performing, experimenting, exercising and, yes, exposing oneself in one’s work to the full brunt of criticism.”  Halpern had already served an apprenticeship in Paris – he had achieved prominence and success there in just fifteen years but that didn’t count in Australia, he still had his time to serve and one can be confident in saying that he would have given the time, as above all else – including his Polish birthplace and his European successes – he considered himself to be Australian.

Unfortunately Halpern didn’t have another 20 years to give and died through heart disease in 1969 – three years after his return.

Halpern’s position and effect in the international art scene of the 60’s is finally being respected in Australia. A Parisian art critic referred him to as an example of what young French artists should aspire to; he hung in galleries alongside Rothko, Guston and Frankenthaler. His works were exhibited at group and solo shows in Paris, Rome, New York, Amsterdam, Basle and Milan. And unlike many of those Australians that preceded him to Europe, he was to have a real effect in the international art scene, particularly in Paris.

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Robert Juniper

In the early phase of his career, Robert Juniper and other Western Australian painters developed their styles in isolation, far away from Melbourne and Sydney which were the perceptible centres of the Australian art scene.

Juniper became thankful for that remoteness as it allowed him to develop at his own pace, free from the effects of fashion and the art movements that were sweeping through those centres.

He did have doubts about not being on the east coast, and they surfaced from time to time, but soon passed as he felt that he was able to grow as a painter. Juniper also had a teaching career that provided for the family and afforded him the freedom to paint as he wished – “I can think of nothing worse than going into the studio and thinking I’ve got to feed the family.”

In an interview with Laurie Thomas in 1969 Robert Juniper said, “I think it is a painter’s duty if not his goal to be himself – to paint from his own experience, what’s inside him and not from the glossy magazines.” Thomas considered that Juniper had a poetic feeling for the Australian landscape. “I feel that I’m developing what I feel is an indigenous thing – indigenous to Western Australia – because I don’t feel any strong influence from anywhere else,” was another quote from the Thomas interview.

Juniper is correct in his assessment as his work is free from outside influence, though others have been influenced by his work. His success as an artist ensured that he would not be free of imitators as they hitched a ride on his success and rather than be irritated by the others he treated it as a form of flattery.

Lot 68 Robert Juniper - Clay Pan
Lot 68 Robert Juniper – Clay Pan

With this work “Clay Pan”, Juniper has painted a detail of a landscape with no horizon line and minimal figurative elements. He was more concerned with the subject’s texture and experimenting with different materials to create the feeling of being in the presence of a clay pan in high summer. He has succeeded effectively.

As with most of his work, the human influence or presence is never over looked and reminders of earlier habitation is on display. On this occasion it is in the form of a discarded window frame in the upper center of the composition and what could be considered as a road surface and roof lines surrounding the subject.

The Perth metropolitan area has many small pockets of clay and this work was probably inspired by observing a similar subject close to his home in Darlington.

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Mac Betts

Lot 3 Mac Betts - Desert Journey
Lot 3 Mac Betts – Desert Journey

It is often thought that painters seek fame and fortune and while those blessings have been imposed upon some, to earn their keep from their training seems to be the highest reward that most painters seek – Mac Betts achieved that status and it was only late in his career and upon his passing, that his contribution to the development of painting in this country is being properly acknowledged.

Instead of remaining at his home in England to forge his career, he travelled and began to explore the world at large. Mac disliked the English weather and craved sunshine and warmth and his first excursion from home allowed him to lecture in art at the Ahmudu Bello University in Northern Nigeria for eight years.

From there he began trekking again and painted in Spain and Northern Africa before finding his way to Western Australia in the early 70’s. He became the senior lecturer in painting and drawing at Curtin University and remained in that position until his retirement in 1992.

From that time on, he was able to devote himself to painting full time. His work was exhibited on a regular basis across Australia, through various galleries in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth including the prestigious Holdsworth, Bonython, Editions and Delaney Galleries.

Lot 41 Mac Betts - Dalgarna Hill Evening
Lot 41 Mac Betts – Dalgarna Hill Evening

George Haynes was to remark “it is fortunate that popularity came later in my career as I wouldn’t know as much about painting as I do now. “ Betts is another of those who can make a similar claim, as his work never stagnated to meet the demands of his audience. It continued to evolve and develop to reflect his requirements as a landscape painter.

Lot 12 Mac Betts - Maritime II
Lot 12 Mac Betts – Maritime II

He never commenced a painting with a preconceived idea and would let the image develop. When the canvas invoked the memory of a place once visited, he would lay down the brushes and apply the title. He carried his travels in his head and always had a steady stream of subjects from which to draw.

The highly regarded artist Elizabeth Ford was in wonder of Betts use of colour. “A visit to his studio inspires me for months” she once said in the presence of Mac and myself. And Mac in his unassuming manner just nodded an acknowledgement of the compliment and continued to work.

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Jonathan Snowball

Jonathan Snowball” I said identifying the painter to a friend who had just called in to the gallery for a quick reconnoitrer “each picture has taken months to complete.

Lot 176 Jonathan Snowball -  Railway Bridge
Lot 176 Jonathan Snowball – Railway Bridge

Upon learning the identity, my friend explained that she had taught Jonathan when he was a young man. “He would come into the studio and sit for ages before picking up a brush or crayon and starting to work “ she explained. “Everything took time with Jonathan and he would work away at the one piece for ages – he was never in a hurry to finish a picture and it doesn’t appear that he has changed.”

These observations were similar to my experiences. I had discovered early in my dealings with Jonathan that urging was pointless – threats of deadlines were futile. The picture has to be just right and to his standard – he sets a very high standard. Colour and tone must be to his liking; composition accurate but not clinically so, the hand of the artist should never be lost. It’s enlightening to have him discuss his work with you – he causes you to look again, glancing is not an option – take nothing for granted, all the marks are there for a reason.

George Haynes also taught Jonathan and like Haynes Jonathan enjoys painting the effect of light on an object.  “I enjoy painting nocturnes, I can get up to ten variations of tone with a nocturne and only three with daylight – the light is so subtle and variable. I like artificial light and the challenges it presents.”

Haynes considered Jonathan to be one of his most talented students and was a bit miffed when the responsibility of marriage and family caused the student to choose a career other than painting. Jonathan chose metal fabrication and started a business. “Children like to eat regularly, they need warm clothes and an education” he said “I wasn’t confident that the income from selling paintings would afford all of that.”

In time, he eventually sold out of the business for other pursuits, one of which happened to be gold leafing the domes of Buddhist temples across Australia

Jonathan’s output is not large, it’s the way he works and it’s a trait he has displayed since his days at art school – probably before. He likes to draw and treats it as a form of therapy. Often when he’s stuck on a picture and the resolution is evasive, he will set down the brushes and draw for a while – sometimes for a week. He considers drawing as a confidence builder and an important tool in every artist’s chest.

When I told him of my teacher friend’s comments about his student habit of sitting and considering before starting to work, he sat for a while considering his response, as spontaneity is not in his nature. “As a student” he said, “I think the pain of hangover was confused with that of consideration.”  Did I get around to mentioning his sense of humour?

Auction Highlight Autumn 2016 Hayward Veal

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Lot 86 Hayward Veal – City Parkland

Hayward Veal was a showman as well as an artist and he called his style Perceptual Impressionism. The detail of the subject wasn’t important to him – his only interest was the colour and tone. Through economical and confident brush strokes he was able to extract the essence of the subject while maintaining the integrity of the scene. He was devoid of lofty ideas about humanity and the arts.

Veal’s showmanship and unique teaching methods enabled him to draw crowds of over 100 to his shows. At one such show in Florida in 1956 the arts reviewer Charles Benbow was to say “His style of painting will help you become interested in the tremendous variety of naturesuch demonstrations are valuable for painters with immature styles and for experiencing another point of view on art and in this case, for a good show.”

Veal had a number of quirky methods to eliminate detail. Often he would survey his subject through reversed binoculars and he regularly painted wearing triple sunglasses – both these methods were successful in eliminating the nonessential. He had an aversion to the unnecessary and knew that by including the basics of form through colour and tone, that the mind’s eye would insert the rest.

As well as being a talented painter, teacher and entertainer he was a mentor to numerous Australian artists and when he moved to London in 1951 to teach and exhibit, his door was always open.

Veal returned to Australia in 1968 and unfortunately died in the same year. He was only 55 and at the height of his powers as a painter.

Sunday AuctionCollector’s Art Market

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LOT 31 GREG IRVINE – LADY WITH CAT

The upcoming Sunday Auction, “Collectors Art Market” isn’t exactly a new concept for GFL. We’ve conducted similar auctions like this in the past, although we used to call them by a different name. These were Decorative and Collective sales – which some of you will remember – and they were conducted out of our cavernous warehouse in the industrial district of Welshpool.

Some clients were very fond of the old venue and the appeal of finding a quality work at clearance prices; however, many clients found that the old venue was not conveniently accessible.

In order to enable easier access for clients, in a more familiar surroundings, we have decided to move the auction to our preferred venue of the Wilkinson Gallery in the Claremont Showgrounds and have rebadged the event as Sunday Auction Collectors Art Market. Other changes include:

  • The auction day has moved from Saturday Morning to Sunday afternoon commencing at 2pm,
  • Viewing is held on the Friday and Saturday preceding Sunday’s auction,
  • An improved and better designed in house catalogue has been produced,
  • The quality of the offering has been improved to reflect the superior viewing conditions and,
  • The auction will be streamed live online in order to allow for those unable to attend on the day the opportunity to participate from home or wherever they may be.

The auction promises to be a lively affair with most works unreserved. It’s the perfect opportunity to acquire affordable works for those who are new to collecting or established.

Artists include many of Australia’s luminaries and a smattering of international pieces as well.

We trust that you will be able to join us over the weekend and discover a work that enthuses you.

Auction

Sunday 3rd of April at 2:00pm

Viewing

Friday 1st April 11:00am – 6.00pm
Saturday 2nd April 10:00am – 5:00pm

Venue

Wilkinson Gallery
GATE 1 – Claremont Showgrounds
1 Graylands Road, Claremont

Click here to view Catalogue