Look, I admit it. I was never much of a fan of Monet. When we look at his ‘pretty pictures’, it’s easy to forget the struggle behind them. That’s why the exhibition Monet at Étretat at the Seattle Art Museum grabbed me by the balls. Here’s why Monet is right, right now. As the exhibition synopsis says, here we meet Monet at a pivotal moment. … Continue reading Monet is not the man you think he is.
When you’re hiking a mountain, you’re often focused on the very next step. Avoiding rocks. Tree roots ready to trip you. You’re surrounded by beauty – but you’re looking at the ground ahead. It’s only when you stop to take a breath and turn around, do you see the incredible journey you’ve been on. Looking back helps us look forward. In February last year I … Continue reading Only by looking back, will you see how far you’ve come.
It’s a cold June night. The power has been out since 4.30pm. I’ve cooked fried eggs in chilli on the wood stove and lit my last two candles. For a while, I blow out the candles, sit on the sofa in the dark and watch the firelight flicker on the wood panelled ceiling. Then I just sit, in the dark. The cuckoo clock stirs into … Continue reading How to pass the time.
As Ray Monde prepares for his art walk from Goulburn to Braidwood, what lies on the road ahead? Continue reading On the road: preparing to walk from Goulburn to Braidwood.
What if the masks we wear to avoid COVID-19 are not oppressive but a key to discover our true selves? Continue reading Masks of quarantine: does hiding your face liberate your soul?
When I exhibited at The Other Art Fair in Sydney and Melbourne, people would come up to me and say, “I just don’t know what to buy“. I’d always reply, “You have to live with it, so buy what you like, buy work that says something to you“. Since then, I’ve changed my recommendation a little. Now I’d say buy what you like, but know … Continue reading Who gives the best advice when buying art?
We live moment after moment. Many of those moments pass unnoticed. But sometimes those moments become momentous and profoundly change our lives. For some of us, art is a catalyst for a dramatic change in our lives. It’s hard to imagine how someone’s scratchings on a canvas in their studio can seismically shift a life. That one artist can push another unknown-unmet-person to take a … Continue reading How art can profoundly change us all.
I’ve been thinking about these artworks for a long time. I think it’s an important story to tell. Having recently read David Marr’s biography of Patrick White, which has great sections on Australian artist Sidney Nolan who created the Fraser works, I decided that I just needed to take the first step and see what happens. So, what am I talking about? I’m talking about … Continue reading A most-difficult path.
Soon after visiting the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the world shut down as it succumbed to the novel corona virus. I found myself isolated in a strange city, needing to hunker down for an indefinite period of time. I thought a lot about the Chinese landscapes I saw in the museum and how the figures in the landscape were tiny specs, dwarfed by what was … Continue reading Danny Lacy and Ray Monde talk COVID art; National Works on Paper Prize
I’ve just left Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s ablaze with COVID-19. Home to the horn-wearing hoodlum who stormed the Capitol. Rocky desert, filled with thorns. Ringed by freeways. Now, I’ve hopped the border into California and am hunkering down in Palm Springs. The streets are empty, except for occasional middle-aged gays wearing matching tight shorts and bandanas around their necks. Nothing else. It’s warm here. A hot … Continue reading What’s going to happen to us in 2021?
