News Letter
How Was the Archibald for You?
Extract from August 2009 News Letter by Eric Harvey
There was something for everyone at the Archibald Prize 2009 finalists Exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery. Thirty seven paintings were on display, and it was clear that most entrants adhered to the maxim that bigger is better.
Bendigo is a great place to see this exhibition; three large galleries with plenty of space for viewing which is often required to accommodate the scale of many of the paintings. An added bonus at Bendigo is the opportunity to see the other concurrent exhibitions. This time a collection of long lost World War One photos found in a biscuit tin in a farm shed in Bendigo and of course the normal collection of this excellent regional gallery.
A drawcard of the Archibald is the variety of the interpretations of the human character. Larger than life, photo realistic, impressionistic, symbolic, thick impasto, finely brushed, palette knifed, high key, low key, monochromatic and colourful. There were oils, watercolours, acrylics and mixed media, there was linen, canvas, watercolour paper and even plywood. Few tools from the artists armoury were left aside.
Because itŐs the Archibald itŐs hard to resist picking a winner. The overall prize had been given to a monochromatic oil painting of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu by Guy Maestri, and a beautiful photo realist painting by Vincent Fantauzzo of an aboriginal child called Brandon won the Packing Room award. Unusually, I agreed with the judges wholeheartedly, both very different paintings with different styles, both magnificent examples of their genre. It was purely a coincidence that two paintings of indigenous people were the prize winners.
So apart from the winning paintings what else deserved a prize but was unlucky on the day? I really liked the painting of Dame Elizabeth Murdoch by Hong Fu and so did Dame Elizabeth apparently. This is a large oil on canvas and addresses only this hundred year old face, warm intelligent and lively, painted with the broad brush strokes typical of Hong Fu which each describe a minor plane. Good Morning This is Neil Mitchell by Zhansui Kordelya Chi was excellent, beautifully rendered again in broad brushstrokes. For the impasto prize and six paintings for the price of one it would be hard to go past Ray Hughes And Five Other Moods by Jun Chen, thick delicious oil paint which looks as though it was applied with gusto using a wide stick to get a great rough impasto textured finish.
Self portraits are always a drawcard, and as expected there are a couple of good ones here. The first a classic palette and brush clutching mirror gazing pose by Robert Hannaford, which for intensity of expression and as far as I could tell the honesty of rendering with an almost pointillist background was an inspiration to those of us who occasionally scowl into the mirror paintbrush in hand. But Remembering Titian by Peter Hanley successfully paid homage to a master with a calm beanie clad self portrait left arm posed in blue.
For the message painting of the exhibition the thought provoking Peter Powditch is a Dead Man Smoking by James Powditch which depicts as a black and white almost screen printed graphic, the artistŐs father who is succumbing in his mid sixties to the ravages of his lifetime habit is a sobering image.
I loved all these but had to give my vote for my favourite painting to Waiting For The Day by Megan Roodenrys. A large oil depicting an almost life sized Ben Cousins in three poses in a restless mood as he tosses and turns impatiently in bed. This is a carefully painted realistic figure painting of a well known subject which will still be interesting in a hundred years from today.
However the award for the most quirkily titled painting in this and any show that I have previously been to must surely go to Anthony Bennetts Self-Portrait In The Bathroom Discussing Beauty, Bukowski and Brett Whiteley With My Ex, Now A Stripper, Who Likes To Dress As Wonder Woman. The painting is interesting as well. If you missed it you missed a treat but you can still check it out on the internet.
ABN: 75 593 958 13
