It’s nothing much to look at. A few words in a column relegated to things to do to fill in lazy Friday afternoon. But for me it was a big deal, huge. Being invited to showcase my work in Goulburn Regional Art Gallery (GRAG) as part of ‘A Snapshot’ series meant so much to me. Not only did I get to share gallery space with the … Continue reading What is smaller than matchbox but can move mountains?
If anyone knows anything about Sidney Nolan, they know his Ned Kelly series: an Australian bushranger immortalised in enamel on hardboard, many painted on the kitchen table of Heidi on the outskirts of Melbourne while Sunday Reed made steaming cups of tea and writhed in the bedsheets. I thought I knew the works of Nolan. I was wrong. One wing in MONA is dedicated to … Continue reading A mammoth work of staggering brilliance: Nolan’s Snake
A trip to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania is the closest you’ll get to entering Hades. In a good way. Carved into a mountain, you drop into the dark depths of the museum and then flail your way back to the surface. This photo is looking down into the complicated web-like stair structures that emerge from the darkness. A … Continue reading A dark journey into sex, death and the purgatory in between
Jack Featherstone is an amazing man. He spent a great deal of his life travelling the Australian outback, giving dental care to remote communities and investigating the bacteria of the mouths of Indigenous Australians. His paintings are wonderfully naive, but what I love the most are the stories that go with them. It made me realise while it’s fine to make pretty pictures, the works … Continue reading Art with a story is better than art for art’s sake
I didn’t know Bea Maddock’s work until I saw it on the walls of the National Gallery of Victoria. There’s something soul-destroyingly sad about her work that I can’t quite put my finger on.The statement as you enter the gallery is touched with melancholy, about an artist who tries to crack the art world, doesn’t quite make a living, retreats home and hones her craft. … Continue reading Walking into an eerie sadness with Bea Maddock at the NGV
I’m looking at the months ahead and they look like a gaping yawn, a wide open mouth ready to devour me. After a relaxed Easter, I’m in danger of dropping into that post-exhibition dark hole. I know what I have to do next, I just have to do it. But at the moment, there’s an unfinished work on the easel and I’m doing what … Continue reading Is video art real art?
This has to be one of my absolute favourite times of the year. You can almost feel the zappiness in the air as artist’s around the country wait to see if their work will be shortlisted for the Archibald, Wynne or Sulman Prize. I love how it’s so contentious and there’s always a lot of snootiness and declarations of artistic wowserism. I got so … Continue reading Is that a little bit of Basquiat in the Archibald’s this year?
I was lucky enough to stop by Ben Quilty‘s exhibition at the National Art School. Ben was the offical war artist in Afghanistan, commissioned by the Australian War Memorial. His works are staggering in scale and paintwork. It looks like he’s taken great slabs of paint and smeared them across the canvas. It makes the paint very meaty, very chunky and made me want to … Continue reading Why you want to bite into Ben Quilty’s work, just mind the nipples
At home, I don’t mind being disorganised or messy, as you would have seen from my kitchen photos earlier on. But when I’m in the public eye, I like to look like I know what I am doing, even if that’s not the case. That’s why last night I sat down with the gallery plans for Gaffa Gallery and painstakingly make a scale replica of … Continue reading An organised artist: is that an oxymoron?
The kitchen is a mess. There’s no question about it. I have a studio, so there’s no reason for the kitchen to look like this, but I work better in this space. The light is great, I’m close to hot buttered toast and endless cups of tea. The dog is just outside and I great great views to the fields to north and the changing … Continue reading Why kitchens are so inspiring (and messy)
Ray Monde 