Talking with Painters

The scale of his paintings is large and the colour is bold. The word ‘psychedelic’ has been used more than once in describing his work and it certainly applies to his show about to hit the Sydney art scene. It’s fabulously called Mankini Island.

David’s a painter, sculptor and filmmaker, has exhibited in over 25 solo shows and has been hung in the prestigious Archibald Prize eight times. 

A large part of who he is as an artist stems from his time in the Philippines where he lived for over 10 years. Many of the works he produced there were included in the powerful survey exhibition ‘Between Nature and Sin’ which travelled across Australia over about two years.

Through his Archibald portraits he’s been open about his experiences with depression and in this episode he shares his views on how he manages and overcomes it.

Mankini Island opens at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery on Friday, 7 February 2020.

To listen to the podcast episode click ‘play’ beneath the above photo.

Scroll down to see a short video of Maria Stoljar talking with David Griggs in his studio

If it had been dusk I would have felt I was driving through a Wolfhagen painting because capturing the landscape surrounding his property is a large part of Philip’s practice. In particular he beautifully captures that moment of twilight, often with a hint of melancholy, through his expert use of colour and superb application of paint. 

However, there is more to Philip Wolfhagen than painting. His interests span from music to gardening and building and these other pursuits feed into his work. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation where we talked about those subjects as well as many others, especially his use of colour.

He is one of Australia’s most acclaimed and respected contemporary landscape artists. He has exhibited in over 40 solo shows, has won the Wynne prize and the Lloyd Rees art prize amongst other awards, was highly commended in last year’s Hadley’s art prize and has been awarded the Centenary Medal for contribution made to the Arts.  

A major survey of his work travelled the country in 2013-14 and his paintings are held in nearly every major state and national public art institution in Australia as well as many private and corporate collections both in Australia and internationally.

To listen to the podcast episode press play beneath the above feature photo.

Looking back at the artists of 2019!

Listen to this podcast episode for highlights of my conversations with the amazing Australian painters listed below. Click on the artist’s name to hear the full interview – and most have a video on their page too!

Luke Sciberras

Nicholas Harding

Kiata Mason

Del Kathryn Barton

Blak Douglas

Neil Frazer

Tony Costa

Nicole Kelly

Tim Storrier

Susan Baird

Tom Carment

Kathrin Longhurst

Ben Quilty

Distilling fifteen years of creative energy, Slade has brought together an exhibition which not only presents these works to the viewer in a compelling way, but evokes curiosity and creates meaning.

The exhibition originated in the Art Gallery of South Australia and travelled to Queensland Art gallery before ending with a Sydney showing.

As the Assistant Director, Artistic Programs of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Lisa Slade has also curated exhibitions of many other artists.

She has known Ben Quilty for over 20 years forming a strong friendship over that time. This interview therefore not only covers how the show came together and what a curator does but you’ll hear about Ben Quilty’s life and work from the perspective of someone who knows him well.

To hear the podcast conversation press ‘play’ beneath the above photo or listen however you get your podcasts.

The exhibition ‘Quilty’ is free and is showing at the Art Gallery of NSW until February 2, 2020.

Above photo provided by the Art Gallery of South Australia

In the last 15 years he has shot to prominence not just as an artist – although he’s won the Archibald Prize, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship – but as an observer and commentator on social and political issues which concern us all.

Whether it’s issues faced by our indigenous communities, our involvement in wars on foreign soil, and their consequences, or the cruelty of the death penalty imposed on Myuran Sukamaran and on Andrew Chan and Quilty’s campaign to save their lives, he pours maximum energy in highlighting the inequities and injustices in our world through his actions, words and art. His belief that art can instigate positive change is inspiring.

The excellent survey show ‘Quilty’ has just landed in Sydney – via Adelaide and Brisbane – and the Art Gallery of NSW is the perfect venue for it given Quilty’s HSC major work was hung there in 1991 as part of Art Express and 20 years later he won the gallery’s Archibald Prize. He has since become a trustee of the Art Gallery. The exhibition is free and includes works over a 15 year period.

The next podcast episode is with Lisa Slade, the curator of the exhibition and close friend of Quilty, who gives an interesting perspective from a curator’s point of view. That episode will be online in a few weeks.

To hear the podcast interview click on ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo.

Above feature photo:: AGNSW/ Mim Stirling

Kathrin Longhurst was born on the eastern side of that wall and experienced, first-hand, what life was like behind the Iron Curtain. It was a life that would influence the direction of her work as an artist many years later.  

A figurative painter and a feminist, her work often parodies the Communist propaganda art which she would see in the streets in East Berlin – but instead of images of triumphant soldiers and workers, she would depict strong, defiant women using military imagery and female sexuality to brilliant effect. 

She also paints larger-than-life head and shoulder paintings – from the intense portrayals of children going through tough times in her Forging of a Human Spirit series to her current incredible work focussing on female refugees which were lining the walls of her studio when I met her.

Kathrin moved to Australia almost 20 years ago after meeting her Australian husband and became a full time artist in the early 2000s after a career in the corporate world.

She has exhibited in over 15 solo shows, has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Doug Moran National Portrait prize and many other prizes and her work is held in major collections in Australia and overseas.

To hear the podcast interview press ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo. You can also see a short video of Kathrin Longhurst below and on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel .

Above feature Photo by Bernie Meyers @breeze.pics

His work crosses landscape, portraiture and still life and if you visited the Art Gallery of NSW in 2019 for the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes you may have noticed that there was a Carment work shortlisted in every prize – a rare accomplishment for any artist.

The winner of numerous art prizes including the Gallipoli, Mosman and NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, Tom has been shortlisted in the Archibald 11 times and hung in the Salon des Refusés over 20 times. He has had over 25 solo shows and his work is held in public and private institutions in Australia and overseas.

He’s also an acclaimed writer and his most recent book – ‘Womerah Lane: Lives and Landscapes’ – is a memorable collection of stories over the time he has lived in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Darlinghurst including pictures of many of his paintings. 

His solo show opens at King Street Gallery at the end of October 2019 and when I visited him at his Womerah Lane terrace he was in the process of framing dozens of oil paintings with beautiful Tasmanian blackwood.

In this podcast episode you will hear how he started out, his time in Lavender Bay in the 70s living next door to Brett Whiteley, how he only started painting still life at 60, as well as portraiture, landscape, process and more. Just click ‘play’ under the feature photo.

Scroll down to see a short video of Tom Carment talking with Maria Stoljar in his studio.

She left school at 16 and, after a year of study, found a job working for a graphic designer who also enjoyed painting. It was through seeing him paint that the course of her life shifted entirely.

By the age of 18 she’d exhibited in her first solo show in Sydney’s premier art district. She went on to study in New York and Sydney and has been painting for over 35 years. She has exhibited in over a dozen solo shows, many more group shows and has been shortlisted in art prizes on over 20 occasions.

Primarily working in landscape en plein air, Baird’s works reflect the beauty peculiar to this country with colour used expertly through years of experience – using brushes, palette knives and even squeegees to transport us into the dreamlike world she portrays.

Her solo show ‘All Around Me’, which opens at Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne on 15 October 2019, centres around a place she’s been visiting for over 10 years and where she now owns a home: the historic NSW town of Hill End.

In this podcast episode we talk about creativity in childhood, the allure of Hill End, painting techniques, motherhood and much more.

To hear the podcast episode click on ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo.

To see the Talking with Painters YouTube video of Susan at her home and studio at Hill End click here 

Above feature photo by photographer Sheridan Nilsson.

One of Australia’s premier artists, his paintings often take the form of a memento mori – a reminder of our mortality – with detritus strewn across the landscape to remind us of what is left after life has moved on.

He has been painting for over 50 years and in 1968 was the youngest artist ever to win the Sulman prize at 19 years of age. He has since won the Sulman a second time and has been awarded the Archibald Prize, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and Archibald Packing Room Prize. His work is held in most Australian national and state art institutions and in private collections across the world.

He has exhibited in dozens of solo shows including a stunning survey show in 2011 at S.H.Ervin Gallery, was a trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW for most of the 90s and has been awarded a member of the Order of Australia for service to the arts.

He’s also known for being forthright and at times controversial and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him at his historic home in Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

We talk about finding one’s voice, his friendships with John Olsen and Brett Whiteley and he talks of the aftermath of Whiteley’s death – he was the person the police called to identify Brett Whiteley’s body –  as well as his views on the Archibald and post modern art (not all positive!).

To hear the podcast interview press play below the above feature photo.

Scroll down for video of Maria Stoljar talking with Storrier in his home and studio.

Above photo of Tim Storrier by Gary Grealy Photography

She’s had 10 solo shows, has won the coveted Brett Whiteley travelling art scholarship, Hurford Hardwood portrait prize, as well as other prizes, and has been finalist in many others.

I spoke with her in her studio in Sydney where she was creating work for her November show with Arthouse Gallery in Sydney. We also filmed some video on that day which will be uploaded to the website soon.

Nicole grew up in the Sutherland Shire in southern Sydney and now lives in Thirroul, south of Sydney.  She didn’t paint or draw much as a child and in fact was more interested in photography in high school and particularly the work of Bill Henson.

After school, encouraged by photographer and academic Ella Dreyfus, she decided to apply for the National Art School.

Press play beneath the feature photo above to hear us talk about her time at National Art School, in Paris and a lot more about her paintings and process.