A Clifton Pugh Moment

Look who visited this morning. She or he should have been back in the burrow at 9:30 am. Feeling a Clifton Pugh/Jackie French moment coming on I wanted to invite it to stay but was firmly reminded by my ever practical partner that it had to go. It must have picked up on the unwelcome vibes as after I took this photo it turned around and dashed off into the shrubs. What do you think of Agnes or Arthur for names?

The Friday Report

Yesterday I went to Ikea to get a few furniture items for my new studio. Any journey to Ikea is taken with a great deal of trepidation. I hate the place! I have an anxiety attack even before I get out of the car. Their lovely catalogues make the idea of getting a few pieces of utilitarian furniture look so easy and, as I don't like wasting days shopping, I always get sucked in. Into the nightmare world of Ikea, into the cheery egalitarian disney world of Scandinavian chic, sucked though endless walkways with all the other happy homemakers, most of whom are decades younger than me and pushing those multiple prams. The nightmare begins. What am I doing here?

Two hours later after wrestling with 1.6m long cartons which weigh 33kg (oh, I would happily pay a 20% service charge for some assistance or, perish the thought, an online shopping service) I emerge into the car park much in need of sustenance that is not of the meatball and watery coffee self serve variety. Mr Ikea, are you listening, baby boomers who are good customers need a little more service. 

Enough of the griping. I summoned up what energy I had left and went to see Tom Loveday's exhibition Memorial at Dominick Mersch Gallery .

Tom Loveday, Yellow Memorial, © 2009, 214cm x 183cm, Acrylic on Canvas.

These dynamic works, rather than providing a quick fix of cheery optimism, invite contemplation with their beautiful composition and skillful use of colour and tone. All is well with the world again.

When I arrived home there was an invitation to the opening of Jordi Alcaraz's exhibition at Galeria Nieves Fernandez in Madrid in the mail ..... if only!

Jordi Alcaraz. Altered Book.

The rest of the week was spent blissfully in the studio.

Leon Ferrari at Museo Nacional de Artes Reina Sofia in Madrid

"Trees" by León Ferrari is on view at the Museo Nacional Centro de Artes Reina Sofia in Madrid. Photo: EFE/Ballesteros

This image comes from the Art Daily Newsletter a great source of arts news from around the world. I saw the Leon Ferrari and Mira Schendel three times at MOMA. Yes it was that good.

The Artist Gallery Relationship

Installation View Portraits of the Unknown. Anita Traverso Gallery 2008.

It's fairly common to find complaints and laments about artist's experiences with galleries on blogs and one Australian artist who has a very successful practice actively advocates complete withdrawal from the system. While I am not saying that  these complaints aren't justified, for some artists it is easier to leave sales and promotion to someone else so I thought it was time to present the other side of the argument. 

I don't feel this way as I am very fortunate to have a very happy and productive relationship with my gallery. 

I first visited Anita Traverso Gallery in Richmond, Melbourne in 2007 when I spent about 30 minutes there looking at two exhibition.

As we left the gallery I said to my partner  'that is the sort of gallery I would love to have represent me'. I was greeted in a relaxed manner when I entered and after I had been there looking at the work for a while Anita came over and talked to me. I was struck by her passion for her artists and their work.

I sent Anita a folio and was offered an exhibition the following year. 

My exhibition was handled professionally, I had a great time working with Anita and Catherine   and they have continued to promote  my work, including my work in curated group shows and, best of all, making regular sales.

Please comment and share your experiences. 

The Friday Report

The air conditioning was installed in my studio on Wednesday just in time for a run of 30 degree plus days so I am reporting in air conditioned comfort.
This week I have documented and packed my works to be included in the 30 SQUARE exhibition at Doggett Street Studio in Brisbane. I'll post the work off tomorrow. The exhibition goes online at www.doggettCHRISTMAS.com on Tuesday 08/12/09 at 11am and opens Friday 11 December from 6 - 9pm.
I have been thinking about making some metal cut out wall hangings using the patterns from my current work and began preliminary discussions with a metal fabricator in Sydney on Wednesday. This is a very new area for me as I have never outsourced work before. I am about to make some preliminary drawings to get some quotes. Stay tuned!

Queensland artist Nicola Moss released her book Layers of Life last week. I was fortunate to see the draft of the book which documents Nicola's residency at the Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and it is fantastic. I'd recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in Australian plant species and to all artists as it documents the artist's experience in a residency and the value of serial observation in an artists practice.
 

Melissa Meyer

Melissa Meyer, Paint It Black, 2009, Oil on Canvas,60x50ins.

This beautiful work by Melissa Meyer is currently on show at Lennon, Weinberg, inc. in New York. It is worth a visit to their website to see the rest of the exhibition. 

The Friday Report

As you will have seen in earlier posts this week has seen me move into the studio.
I had two blissful days of painting and have a new work well on the way. I think that the light is so good in the studio that I should be able to take some reasonable images when the work is finished.
It was also the week when all the things I have been planning for next year feel into place. My gallery in Melbourne has scheduled my 2010 exhibition for early May and  I have secured an exhibition in Sydney at Depot Gallery for late June. So thats the next six or seven months taken care of.
Yesterday I visited the world of another artist. Whitely, the garden of cook, gardener, writer and artist Jenny Ferguson was open for inspection to raise funds for the local hospital. I had read Jenny's books and really wanted to see her garden. The Ferguson's are obviously financially very secure (understatement!). It was like visiting a palazzo in Europe with many acres of gardens with magnificent vistas and beautiful trees, sculptures and gardens.
Here is the garden view from Jenny's studio which would happily accommodate a family and sits beside the beautiful stables which are in the building with the clock tower in the background.

I managed to peek through the window into the very classy studio where works for Jenny's next book Pound Dogs are being created. Three or four dog beds! Oh well, back to life in my one dog studio. Jenny has recently published 'A Year in my Garden' if you would like to see more of gardens.