NORTH ART 21 JUNE- 7JULY 2015
There are four categories of paintings on display. All feature what I consider to be a personal paint treatment not used by many if any other artists. Images are produced by not just application of paint to a finite visualised end product as is the norm, rather paint is applied and removed by various means, evaluated reworked and so on until the painting is wrecked or put on display. The painting may change meaning, turn into something else, or come back as the original idea in an even stronger or stranger form.
1)Animal Husbandry Steerage
These were commenced in Australia in 2001 and were painted on canvas and brought back to NZ.
Here they were cut horizontally in half, rejoined / mounted on board to create a new work, a hybrid of two different steers. This new work was then treated to produce a new animal but still retaining qualities of the two ” parents “.
These paintings have been treated off and on since they were started in Australia and cut down on different occasions to fit frames I had available
The title can also be applied to the works as a low budget form of transport or even lifestyle.
I intend to do an more animal husbandry series on dogs and poultry.
2) STRUTH 3Birds 3Blessings
The last remaining painting of a series of 15 that was done in 2009.
Those paintings were done to celebrate the blessing of the Bird Sculpture foundation and were produced on bought canvases and not treated much, just a little and sold from Whakatiwai at a real good price or given away to friends.
The remaining two paintings were removed from their frames, opened up, glued onto a backing board and reworked hard. The other reworked painting was sold to an American collector.
3)The Last fence
Second to last of a series of maybe 10 works started when I lived in Wellington in the early 90s.
They were painted on old Land and Survey Maps and featured riders on horses.
At one stage they were mounted on archival boards for an exhibition which produced an interesting crinkled effect which over time and paint application has resulted in the work you see exhibited.
The paint treatment has been so extensive there is no need to be concerned about the” foxing” problem that can plague works on paper in the Auckland area.
4) Now and again I think of Glen
This work has undergone many transformations since being started before 2000.
It has been used as an expression of vented anger with strong juju elements towards two separate individuals but has now settled down ( as I seemed to have done too) into a statement about an aspect of the kiwi psyche that still remains a little bit personal. The outside frame can be removed if space was a consideration.
Photos from the above North Art exhibition.
All photos by Jason Burgess @ Burgseye