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OTTAVIO "OTTO" BORON
Born: Fume, Italy.
The artist arrived in Melbourne in 1959 with thousands of other Italian immigrants for a new start in life. At the age of 15 years old Otto tackled his first oil painting.
In 1962 Otto joined the National Gallery of Victoria life drawing classes. The schoolmaster at the time, John Brack gave students lectures and comments. He emphasised "the importance in painting" along with colour, harmony, structural design, shape and compositional balance remain the stable ground from which he takes risks and innovates new solutions to old painterly problems.
In 1967 Otto was employed by G.T.V 9 television station, as a scenic artist- assuring a weekly earning which was essential then for a family with 2 children.
In 1970 he was offered employment at the ABC Television station at the Ripponlea studios in their scenic arts department.
During the 18 years of scenic artwork, Otto had gained enormous experience working across many artistic styles in a wide spectrum of techniques in making large-scale backdrops and imitations of old and modern masters.
His work has been described, as abstract rhythms of fractured cubist like shapes.
Many years have comprised of learning from old and modern masters, experimenting with different styles and trends in painting. With no formal art training, Otto is a very much a self taught artist.
Otto has received awards and commendations from artists and art critics such as:
He is included in the book by Michael Berry "Selected Contemporary Artists of Australia."
My aim in painting is not so much in trying to copy nature as it presents itself to the eye, but more like transfigure it into rhythms of flowing patterns. This instinctively takes place in the process of painting, which doesn't follow the law of conventional perspective. This gives me the liberty of expanding the boundaries and offering a sense of wonder. I believe that perspective is a mechanical device widely applied in architectural drawings, though it is not necessary to be applied in a creative painting.
My subject matter can vary from ordinary daily events, such as shoppers in a suburban supermarket, the sea and it's coastline, faces and flowers as a motif, portraiture and landscapes among other things.
Otto's work is presented in private, municipal and regional gallery collections.
The
Contemporary Art Society of Victoria (Inc.) is a non-profit
organisation, run on a voluntary basis by artists, for artists, and
the Society has a long history of supporting and fostering artists -
particularly emerging artists and those from regional
Australia.
