ARCHIBALD, WYNNE AND SULMAN PRIZES 2011
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Until until 26 Jun 2011
The Archibald Prize has its critics. But there’s something magnetic about artists all having to work within certain parameters. It’s like a fête where the largest straightest orangest carrot makes us go ooooh next to the wizened gnarly minions alongside. Some astute people will recognize that the gnarly might have better flavour. This difference of opinion is just part of the draw. So where would I place my rosettes this year?
(Image: Portrait of Tom Silver by Fiona Lowry, Courtesy of Art Gallery of NSW)
Fiona Lowry’s Portrait of Tim Silver keeps conjuring up one word: forceful. Its ephemeral style shouldn’t give such force of presence. This precipice between haze and physicality is mesmerising. And it is fitting as Silver’s artwork concerns the perpetual state of entropy.
Natasha Bieniek’s self portrait October must have caused a headache when it came to its display. Around the size of a matchbox you need to wait to get in close for a good look. Her intention is that “the scale of the painting contributes to the fragility of its content.” Inspired by keepsakes and miniatures from the 16th century it’s got that Elizabethan/Tiffany allure that makes me wish it was mine. It’s a reminder of intimacy and a distant era that you can’t help compare with society today. Your findings will be mixed – we have gained a lot, but are there any drawbacks?
The 2011 Archibald Winner Ben Quilty doesn’t need my rosette added to the pile against his painting of Margaret Olley. Up close it is like icing on a paper plate but her expression is spot on. I understand the hype around his work. But I believe he’s finding his feet still – with the confidence to burst wider than his comfort zone he will be intergalactic, like a bad superhero.
(Image: Margaret Olley by Ben Quilty, Courtesy of Art Gallery of NSW)
Many portraits stand out for their detail and realism. Jiawei Shen’s self-portrait after a photograph by John Thomson (1837–1921) is like an oriental Vermeer or similar Dutch genre scene - full of calm and symbolism.
Moving through the landscape section, A J Taylor’s Winter rain, Hawkesbury River, Joshua Yeldham’s Morning Bay – Lovers Rock, and Kate Shaw’s Morphology stuck in my memory – as if each artist has applied their own distinct filter to a traditional geography. The atmospheres that materialise caught in my mind.
James Powditch’s Eucalyptus gives us a simple, almost Spartan surface compared to many of the Wynne entries, but it’s brimming with commentary. Maybe I’m too cynical but the chintzy pattern and film title starring the usual big names in Australian cinema move my thinking to darker layers. Underlying his references to the novel by Murray Bail and its attempted film adaptation I sense negative connotations related to Australian identity.
The People’s Choice Winner from the 2009 Archibald Prize – the portrait of child actor Brandon Walters in Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” also falls under my scrutiny as I stand there. I walk away pondering his inclusion of the large copyright notice. He’s a more intellectual artist than he’d like to admit.
Luke Barker’s Tekno-colour is another smart work – getting graffiti into the gallery space. Barker’s landscape isn’t rolling hills or outback Australia, but a modern urbanity that is an increasing part of our geography – and only likely to be more so in the future.
John Dean’s Made in China was the stand-out among the Sulman Finalists but I almost missed it as it’s positioned at the exit area. He presents a throwaway plastic shower curtain instead of a canvas as his support. It shows imagination, and is a succinct statement with no hedging around the issue. It looks primeval, aggressive and is created from our society’s most reviled material.
(Image: Made in China by John Dean, Courtesy of Art Gallery of NSW)
Upstairs in the main foyer Bram Bogart’s Daybreak is a real candidate for a rosette, although it’s not part of the Archibald exhibition. Quilty’s brushwork appears as a thin wash in comparison to this play-doh-esque joyful and sculptural painting. A very young child approaches and screams “I like that!!”
Like the local fête it’s a good day out, and that is a great part of why we flock there, with our imaginary rosettes in hand.
END
Images courtesy of the artists and The Art Gallery of NSW.
Art is the means by which life reflects on, transforms and indeed creates its values; human life without it would not properly be human at all.
Antony Gormley