'Full moon over the night road' by Tim Storrier is painted on a 76 x 152 cm sized canvas. I would describe this as a classic Storrier - coals burn below an evening sky which features the brilliant arc of a comet. The image can be viewed in the paintings section of the Storrier page on this website.

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I have recently written a brief background to Tim Storrier's 2012 Archibald Prize winning portrait and thought it would be useful to post it here as I often get contacted by people wanting to know more about a particular artist and their work...

The histrionic wayfarer (after Bosch) by Tim Storrier:

The title of this work references a painting by the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. Storrier worked on the portrait over 2011-12 completing it just prior to its entry in the 2012 Archibald prize.

The work is part of an important series within the artist's oeuvre, the 'In absentia' paintings.

Rather than being traditional portraits this series explores the recognition or memory of a person through the portrayal of their clothing and accumulated (but often incidental) possessions. The resulting images evoke a simultaneous sense of presence and loss.

Smudge, the artist's faithful companion was a late addition to the portrait. Storrier was initially reluctant to put the dog in as he was concerned it might be seen as some sort of trick. But he became convinced that her presence would add balance to the painting: she is looking in the opposite direction to the main figure and her gaze is directed at a paper sketch of the artist borne in the wind.

Smudge initially belonged to a tutor of Storrier's children and lived at the local school. Sadly she ate 'Scooter' the guinea pig and was sent to the pound. The artist's children were distraught that ''Midgey was sent to the pound because she ate Scooter'' and implored him to rescue her. A phone call was placed to Margaret, the wonderful and kind lady who 'rebirths' dogs at the Bathurst Pound. Not one to miss an opportunity to place one of her renegade charges she was over straight away with Midgey on an 'approval only' basis. The dog stayed.

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Congratulations to Tim Storrier whose painting ' 'The histrionic wayfarer (after Bosch) ' has been accepted as a finalist in the 2012 Archibald Prize.

Storrier's painting 'The Dalliance' has also been accepted as a finalist in the 2012 Wynne Prize which will show alongside the Archibald in Sydney. This work features a stunning landscape above which floats a helix-shaped array of flowers while a comet arcs across the sky.

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A wonderful new painting by Michael Leunig has just come into stock. This brightly coloured work is painted on linen and was featured in the 2010 'Leunig Calendar. The painting can be view in the 'Paintings' section of the Leunig page in the stockroom section.

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A major monograph on the work of Tim Storrier has been published this year. The book is called 'Tim Storrier: Moments'. It shoud be available in most hight quality bookshops but if you are having trouble finding it the gallery store at the Queensland Art Gallery has it available online. Here is their overview:

Tim Storrier: Moments

Edmund Capon, Ken McGregor, William Wright and Jenny Zimmer
332 pages hardcover colour

Tim Storrier, among Australia's most highly regarded and best-selling painters, remains enigmatic. His paintings, which combine the traditional genres of landscape and still-life, executed at a masterly level, are at once beautiful and frightening. Edmund Capon, Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, has observed that Tim Storriers visions and sensibilities are acute responses to his place, to the flat landscape of Australia in which the horizon is low and the sky is vast. But Storrier's treatment of the landscape is quite unique often animated by a blazing fire-line or used as a stage-set for capturing memories and intimations of human mortality.

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Four Tim Storrier paintings are new to the stockroom. Please click on the 'Tim Storrier' link in the artists or stockroom sections and then go to the paintings page to view.

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Tim Maguire has recently had an exhibition of his work open at the Shanghai University Gallery along with various sites in the Caoyang precinct. This is a public arts project initiated by Shanghai University Fine Arts College.

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Euan Macleod is currently having an exhibition of his work in Leipzeg, Germany along with the Australian artist Shonah Trescott as part of the Leipzeg International Art Programme. The exhibition has been extended to October 15th. One can understand how his highly expressive works would be appreciated in Europe. The latest issue of the magazine 'Artist Profile' has an in-depth interview with Macleod which is well worth reading.

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The Sidney Nolan retrospective has moved on to Melbourne. I noticed a least one review in the Melbourne press that put forward the view that after the brilliant early works Nolan became a cynical painter. In my opinion this is just plain wrong. Time after time throughout his whole career Sidney Nolan produced paintings of stunning power. In common with many prolific artists Nolan produced his share of lesser works. But even when you compare these pieces to the work of his contemporaries you see what an extraordinary imagination he had as an artist.

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I had decided to wait for a while before visiting the Sidney Nolan retrospective in Sydney. Nolan is my favourite Australian painter and I didn't want the press reviews of the show to colour how I took the exhibition in. On the whole it is a great retrospective. Some rare works of very high quality are included in the show and the selection of the Kelly paintings includes some stunning pieces that are outside of the main series and have a claim to be of equal if not greater strength. I was however saddened to see that the Gallipoli paintings were not represented. If some of the late China works were left out there would have been space for several of the best paintings from this important series. What the retrospective does show off is the sheer depth of Nolan's vision - what an imagination! I will collect my thoughts over the next few days and add a new post concentrating on some highlights. If Sidney Nolan is an artist who you have felt unsure of I urge you to visit this beautiful exhibition!

Posted in: Exhibition Reviews