Andrew Ensor – “Illustrations for the Ill”
Andrew is about to put on an Exhibition “Illustration for the Ill” Feb 12 – 24 at Gaffa Gallery 1/7 Randle Street Surry Hills NSW and is willingly writing about his journey… Brave Lad! Let’s check out what’s happening, as he adds information I will add it below…
21/01/09 – the story so far…
It is 3 weeks until the opening night of my 12th solo exhibition, entitled “Illustrations for the Ill”. It will be my third with Gaffa Gallery, an artist run space in Surry Hills. I had applied at the end of last year for a show in late 09, but another artist’s cancellation left a slot free for 2 weeks in February, which I was happy to take. I’m writing this in an attempt to share the trials, tribulation and tantrums involved in putting on an exhibition.
So far the gallery has been paid for, the first half is paid upon the initial booking, the second half is paid 4 weeks prior to the opening night. The invites have been decided on, and are being sent to the printers today. The artwork itself is mostly finished, I’m trying to limit the show to 24 pieces this time, of which about 20 have been chosen so far. Framing remains one of the bigger issues, having picked up about 10 frames so far I was informed that certain colours I liked were ‘discontinued lines’ which means a bit of a re-think.
This is probably the most prepared I’ve ever been at this stage before a show, usually my approach has been to work on paintings and drawings in these weeks leading up to the opening in an effort to explore every aspect of the theme and ideas in the show. This time I’ve taken a different approach, as I’m not sure how beneficial my previous method was. It’s certainly helps the nerves to have things prepared in advance.
I’ll try and expand and detail what’s been mentioned above in future posts.
Regards
Andrew
27/01/09 – gallery matters…
The long weekend was unproductive in terms of preparations for the show. More thinking than doing was involved. I had some more ideas about how the art work should be arranged in the space as well as how things should be framed but instead of documenting some of these mundane choices (that will probably change half a dozen times in the next two weeks anyway) I thought I’d write a bit about one of the more important elements of an exhibition, the gallery.
Of the three galleries I have exhibited with Gaffa is the largest in terms of floor space, it is also the only gallery still operating. (An unfortunate nature of artist run spaces is their short lifespan). Although it is an artist run space, Gaffa Gallery does receive government funding which means unlike the other galleries I’ve shown at, someone is paid for to sit the space during opening hours and the invites are paid for too. This is a big help to me, as it means I don’t have to take 2 weeks off work in order to put on an exhibition all the time. They also handle the bar on opening night, invites, press and just make life easier in general.
I’ve been fortunate that each gallery I’ve shown with has been run by wonderful, inspiring, not to mention helpful and forgiving people. And in the case of both Side-on Gallery and Gallery Fourtyfour I’d still be having shows there today if they hadn’t closed down.
Of course it’s always a little bit easier the second time having a show with a gallery, at least you know where everything is, and how things work, hopefully more so by the third time. Anything that minimises the work load and lets me focus on the actual artwork and set up is a bonus, as there are always plenty of things to stress about if the inclination is there.
Cheers
A.
01/02/09 – framed…
As an illustrator that works on paper framing is an important and costly part of any exhibition, In the past I have tried most things, for a few years I used a professional framer, and this really is the best thing you can do for your work, but in order to have more than one show a year I had to find other ways to get work framed, including cheap store bought stuff from $2 stores, reusing frames, pinning work directly to the wall etc…
For this show I really wanted to put some money into frames to give the show a fresh feel. The ones I had been using in the past were getting a bit worn having been recycled for a number of exhibitions.
My local mini mall has a camera store that stock a shadow box frame in various pastel colours and after buying a couple to hang work at home I thought they would be an effective way to tie the show together.
In some ways I would have preferred to go back to a framer, but with very little time to prepare it just became easier to go with the photo frame option, they are of a high quality and re-usable plus I think they suit the drawings.
2/3rds of the drawings are good to go and I’ll finish putting them behind glass tonight which should give me a better idea of how to finish the last eight I think.
Thanks for reading
A.
03/02/09 – invite delays …
The gallery emailed on the weekend to let me know the fliers had been delayed as the printers they use are Chinese and were closed a few days due to the Chinese new year (a great example of how regardless of your preparation, things can always come up you hadn’t counted on). I received another email today saying they’d be ready for pick up tomorrow which is good. This is an exciting part of an exhibition, watching it all come together. The fliers are usually the first thing which makes it actually feel real for me.
There’s still a bit to do once the invites are picked up. I still have to distribute them, finish off framing, decide on the titles and prices of work, organise a way to transport the art to the gallery (I don’t have a licence or a car), install the work, and probably a few other things I always forget too.
In order to do all this I’ve taken a couple of days off work next week (I work full time in a university library and so generally I try to exhibit in the school holidays when it isn’t as busy). As mentioned in a previous post the gallery cover someone to sit the space, so at least I only have to take a few days instead of a couple of weeks.
Cheers
A
08/02/09 – Just three more sleeps…
until I will be setting up the show. Exhaustion, doubt, paranoia, fear, derision, delirium, terror, tears, trauma, disaster, horror, headaches, frustration, back pains, nausea, nightmares, tooth aches, humiliation, panic, rage, regret, noose bleeds and heart breaks will all feature at some point in my week if they have not already.
I’ve been handing out fliers since getting them on Wednesday, putting some in cafes and bars, art schools, galleries and book stores, anywhere that has a display area for such things, at this point the focus is on trying to promote the show as much as possible. I’ve had a lot more school friends as well as extended family join facebook in the past year since so it will interesting to see if this helps get a few more people through the door. It is always easier to promote work I’m confident in, and I really feel this is some of my best drawing. The better the job done with promotion the more pressure there is to put on a good show.
Regards
A.
12/02/09 – show time!
Yesterday was the ‘bump in’ and I’ll admit to being as nervous as I’ve ever been. Things were off to a bad start when I rang Dominos pizza instead of a taxi cab when trying to get 25 framed drawings to the gallery. But despite my failings as a human being that always rise to the surface when the pressure is on, I still managed to get it all done. It’s hard to tell yet if it works as an exhibition, at the moment I can only see the mistakes and what could have been – potential that was missed. That’s not to say I’m not happy with my artwork, because I am. It’s just that a good show can really be greater than the sum of its parts if done correctly.
The opening is tonight.
All there is to do now is turn up, get drunk and try to have a good time, hopefully sell something.
20/02/09 – back to reality…
It’s been over a week since the opening night, and I appologise for the lack of posting in that time. I would like to say that it’s due to all the illicit sex and drugs involved in being an exhibiting artist, but unfortunatley that isn’t the case. In fact I’ve been back at work since Monday getting ready for another semester of students. It gets harder to return to work after each show.
All went well, a good turn out of people and a few red dots by the end of the opening meant I slept a little better that night. Unfortunatley I forgot to take my camera, but I have taken some shots of the exhibition during the day and will hopefully get them up on the weekend. I was a little dissapointed in the way I hung the show, hopefully I’m just being my own worse critic but I like an exhibition to be greater than the sum of it’s parts. In this case the work was some of my best, but I’m not sure that the ideas came through or that it came together as well as it could have.
Although I’ve been doing this for a few years now, I am aware that these are still very early days, and it’s all a learning experience at this point. I had planned to book a couple more shows at a different gallery for later in the year, which I emailed after my opening. Saddley the intended gallery, another artist run space will be shutting it’s doors soon. This leaves me a bit up in the air for the rest of the year as I like to have something on the horizon to work towards. At least this will motivate me to start seeing more shows and checking out new gallerys.
The exhibition is still on for a few more days, I will take the work down next Tuesday evening. So for those Sydney people that would still like to see the show it will be on until the 24/02/09, it might be the last chance you have to see my work for another year or so.
Thanks again to Steve for the added online promotion, and for anyone that kept reading, or came along to the show. It is apprieciated.
Thanks again
Andrew
Bud, Pete and Archie…
One of our contributors, Artist and interviewee Peter Biram has again managed to get some PR exposure for his entry into this years Archibald prize, Well done Pete!
Time to say a few words
Dear Visual Arts people… (That means you!) In doing research on the Arts, websites, Artists and various other resources. I have come to the conclusion things are not as easy or simple as they seem.
Lets look at it this way, I have tried (and very carefully thought about) how I would set up my sites so the user could get the info they wanted in what I hope is reasonably effective ways. However in flipping about websites and searching, I find others seem to not have the same thought in mind with their sites.
Now I ask, what’s going on here, wouldn’t you want people to find your site or information on you (Artists especially) easily, and then be able to navigate it readily… Ok some are clearly not “offay” with the idea of being found, in fact many seem to want to bury themselves so deep no one can find them or their works.
Some sites have minimal contact details, some have an email login system that does not work “Type in the security code…” When that does not work, what then? (Simple I give up and go elsewhere…)
Many of the artists I have contacted regarding an interview are ones with websites, (I want to be able to send people somewhere and not just a gallery that represents the artist.) and what do I find, many don’t have one, but the USA artists (many with multiple gallery representation) have them, so guess what, they get contacted. and hey most are very accepting of my approach. On the other hand some of the Aussie artists seem somehow “Non-plussed” by the idea and don’t jump on the idea.
Commercial websites for various art organisations I have looked at, some of them have been woeful in being able to navigate and figure out their forums, send them info on linking to us etc…
In short in these times of “let’s be user friendly” I am left to wonder about the state of play…
Artists, get a web site, and make it simple, sharp and to the point, I want to see your work and find out what’s up.
Galleries, thanks to those that make it easy to get in contact with their artists, you are a blessing.
Art resource sites, please, if you offer contact details for an artist via a link, don’t give me an error page saying I need to be a member… I just take the artists name and google them directly so thanks for the barrier… (What were they thinking?) And while I’m at it, organisations handling taxpayer funded $$, cut the fat and the crap and give the money to artists in easily accessible ways, your admin costs are funds that could make a world of difference, instead the barriers and hassles in making application for funds are simply to hard to bother with (go check out some art forums to validate that!).
It comes down to good old customer service folks, sometimes you don’t know what the customer wants, how they want it and what they will do next… end of story.
Interesting resources
I came across a couple of resources which may be of value, can anyone tell me if they are? esp if you are a member…
http://www.artistcareer.com.au
I found things a little difficult to navigate but the potential seems to be there.
Ok when I sign up to something I expect it to be useable, hell I am reasonably web savvy… So when I get lost in a site trying to figure things out surely others might too, is that good? short answer… no.
Auction result in a down market
This just in from one of our early interviewees Hazel Dooney. A great result!
Dooney Painting Exceeds High Estimate At Deutscher-Menzies Contemporary Art Auction
Hazel Dooney’s ten-year-old enamel painting, Drowned Ophelia, was sold last night in Sydney, at Deutscher-Menzies’ high profile auction of contemporary art, for over $A13,000. It was an astonishing result during a deep economic downturn that has impacted heavily on the global art market. With buyers premium and taxes added, this far exceeds Deutscher-Menzies’ ambitious pre-sale estimate of $A10,000 to $A14,000 and represents a strong argument for the enduring investment value of Dooney’s work as one of Australia’s top young female artists. The painting was first sold for around $A1,200.
Of the 300 works by local and international artists that went under the hammer at Deutscher-Menzies, last night, 70 per cent found buyers. The Dooney work was offered for sale by a prominent Sydney collector.
“I have to admit, I was really nervous before the sale,” Dooney said. “There’s been very little good news coming out of auctions overseas, with work by modern masters being passed in or sold at prices well below what they might have been a year ago. I figured my work would also be revalued sharply downwards but as it turned out, this value has demonstrated remarkable robustness.”
The result is even more remarkable when it is considered that Dooney abandoned the traditional gallery system two years ago, quitting major galleries representing her work in Sydney and Melbourne, Instead, she took on the challenge of marketing and selling her work worldwide herself, as well as promoting her own art events, mainly using the web. She is widely acknowledged as the first Australian artist to manage her own career in this way and she has established a wide collector base in Australia, Asia, the USA and the UK.
The next test of Dooney’s success will be at Christie’s auction rooms in London, in less than a week, when her large (2.10m x 1.6m) enamel on board painting, Dangerous Career Babe: The Aviatrix, (below), is included in the sale of Modern And Contemporary Australian Art And South African Art on 16th December, 2008. The renowned auction house’s pre-sale estimate for what is the first of Dooney’s most recent paintings to be offered in the open market is between $A32,000 and $A37,500!
STOP PRES!!!
This just in… 17/12/08
“The Aviatrix Sets New Record At Auction For Hazel Dooney’s Work
Hazel Dooney’s large enamel on board painting, Dangerous Career Babe: The Aviatrix, commissioned earlier this year by a major Australian collector, was sold last night for $A32,701 at Christie’s sale of Modern And Contemporary Australian And South African Art in London. This exceeded the low-end of Christie’s pre-sale estimate and represents a new record for Dooney’s work at auction – an extraordinary achievement during a global economic downturn, especially for a 30-year-old artist who has yet to exhibit in Europe.
Last December, at another Christie’s sale in London, two of Dooney’s early enamel Sports Career Babes, set a new high for her work of over $A23,000.
This is Dooney’s second remarkable auction result in less than a week, this time in one of the world’s most important art market. However, it is an increasingly volatile market, in which the biggest names in Australian and international art are suffering significant revaluations downwards and many works are not selling at all.”
Great result!
An Archibald Journey
The following article is By Victorian Artist Peter Biram chronicling some of his “Archibald Journey” thanks Pete for your fascinating look at the Archibald Portrait Prize (An Australian Artistic Institution), this is a fantastic chance to see behind the scenes from an artists perspective… Take it away Pete…
Steve Gray
There is something special about the magic and frustration of the big prize known as the ‘Archibald Prize – My journey concerning entering the Prize over the past couple of years, has been a ‘double edged sword’. A story of joy and reward, and of disappointment. I feel with this statement I have just summed up the art world. But first let me take you back to the beginning, why enter the Archibald? Some say it’s “Nothing more than a chook raffle”, while other say “It’s the dunny of Australian art… attracting entries like odor attracts flies”.
I don’t share this view point, however a can see some strength in their argument. At the end of the day I feel the true strength of the argument lies in the fact we are opening up a wider avenue of dialogue, this in turn has to be good for Art.
Before I share my story with you it may be valuable to underpin this essay with a little background on the history of the Archibald…
The Archibald Prize originated with a charitable bequest endowed by Jules Francois Archibald in 1916. His will stipulates a portrait painted by any artist resident in Australasia, preferably of some one distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics.
Jules François Archibald (1856 – 1919),
The Archibald Prize has a litigious history with many of its defining moments in the Courtroom. The most significant of these was the 1943 Dobell case in which artists challenged the winner on the grounds the work by Dobell was a caricature rather than a portrait. Less famous but possibly more importantly, the Bloomfield case, in which the Art Gallery Trustees took an artist to court when they found he had not painted the portrait from life.
Their position appeared to be in the interests of fairness and their legal obligations under the terms of the bequest the matter required Court action. No award in history has caused so much controversy as the Dobell case in 1943 over the Joshua Smith portrait, since then a lot of brave attempts have been made to be controversial, the Brett Whiteley Portrait, Self – Portrait in Studio, I felt hits the mark.
Each year the entry form is headed by an invitation by the Art Gallery of New South Wales trust to artists to ‘submit paintings in competition for the Archibald Prize’. They then quote the words of Archibald in which he mentions ‘painted’ and then they quote from the Bloomfield case judgement and state that ‘For the purposes of this Prize, the Trustees apply the definition of a portrait as determined in the judgement of 1983: “a picture of a person painted from life”.’ So each year the hunt is on sitters of note wanted to be painted and artists searching for the sitter “of note” hoping that the choice of sitter will give the artist an edge and will catch the judges eye.
Many Archibald contenders go to a great deal of trouble to seek out their sitters; some subjects being closely guarded secrets. There is no doubt a famous and well-liked public figure may increase an artist’s chances of being hung. As a challenge to myself some years I selected a worthy yet generally unknown subject, In 2007 I painted a good friend I have known more than 20 years. We moved into our house about 20 years ago and that’s when I met Robyn who lived next door.
Portrait of Dr Robyn Arianrhod 2007 Oil on Canvas
The background of the portrait was born out of our long-term friendship and the professional respect I have for Robyn – this is my fourth year of entering the Archibald portrait competition, and being both a writer and a scientist, Robyn is a perfect subject under the Archibald rules.
Both Robyn and I have a love and concern for the environment and I’ve tried to convey this in the painting. Robyn is sitting in a ‘personal space’ (being in a private garden). The garden represents a ‘micro’ response to ‘land use’ and this is contrasted with the ‘macro’ response in the right hand panel.
The composition is broken into two halves, in order to symbolize “mathematical balance”. There is also contrast between strength and femininity and an interesting juxtaposition of sensuality and the stereotypically male-dominated environment of mathematics.
The right side of the portrait contains a landscape, on one level it is juxtaposed against the portrait offering an extension as a narrative to the portrait; on the other hand it operates as a ‘stand alone’ landscape in its own right, the landscape reads as on the following layers -
- Mark making – On this level the viewer processes the work on a surface level, that is to say the paint texture and colour of the work. The work at this level can be read in decorative terms.
- Subject – At this level the viewer reads the work as a landscape, within this framework the observer can interpret the geometric forms as pure decoration.
- Conceptual Narrative – The current body of work exploring the theme of ‘land ownership’ and ‘usage’ within an environmental framework. This relationship includes traditional and non-traditional interaction with the land. For example, within this theme of land ownership I am exploring the pressure placed on the land in an environmental sense both in a western/ European standpoint (the ‘Triangle’) and the koorie perspective, (the dots).
Within this theme I am exploring the fine balance that exists in the natural environment. This is to say “Order & Chaos” found within nature and the balance of power shifting between the two states.
The composition is deliberately broken into two sections symbolizing the two states of chaos & order, the fine balance of nature is placed under pressure re land “caretakership”.
Within this framework I have explored both contemporary ownership symbolized by the triangle in the bottom half of the composition.(from a European standpoint)
The ‘hard edged’ nature of the triangle also represents past civilizations (the pyramids of Egypt) this presents a symbol of ‘land ownership’ in the sense of ‘branding’ the land.
I choose the triangle/pyramid shape because of its direct contrast to the soft organic nature of the bush motif. This also symbolizes human kind’s influence on the natural landscape.
The two triangles “together” also read as a symbol for a ‘black hole’ within the context of a universe the top triangle is a symbol for Steve Hawking’s theory on the ‘Dual Universe’. I use this as a metaphor for “Order & Chaos” and how one juxtaposes one against another, that is to say, as human beings our nature is to explore, from a ‘micro’ level, our backyard, to a ‘macro’ level our universe.
Myself & Robyn in front of the Portrait in the studio Above: the 2007 Archibald entry
Part of entering the Archibald, I believe, is the opportunity to raise ones profile, this seems to be a sticking point for many artists, and the question of how many hours in the week do I devote to the quest of building ones profile. Some say 50/50, others put aside one day a week others two, at this point I am not going to explore this question as this topic would produce another essay to do it justice. However I have found on the question of raising ones profile, the Archibald gives quite an advantage, to date I have not been successful as being selected as a finalist for the Archibald, but I have been selected as a finalist (five times) for the Salon Des Refuses. (Melbourne)
The Artists who submit for the Archibald and are not hung, are invited to submit the rejected work for the Salon des Refuses, which is in the tradition of the French impressionists of the 1860’s who held a breakaway exhibition from the French Academy.
In 2007 I was very fortunate, as not only was my portrait of Robyn selected for the Salon Des Refuses but also a portrait of myself painted by one of my students and now dear friend and artist Ursula Theinert
Myself & Ursula at the opening of “The Hidden Faces of the Archibald” Exhibition 2007
This was indeed special as I was able to share good fortune with my friends and family returning to the question of increasing ones profile, such is the power of the Archibald as one can tap into publicity even by absence of success in being a finalist in the big prize. I suppose at the end of the day the Archibald enables the emerging Artist to “make it” within certain circles of the art world.
Opening night of ‘The hidden Faces of the Archibald’
In 2009 I wanted to draw an analogy between sport and art, so I picked a sports star who had reached the top of his profession but I also wanted to pick someone who experiences the same frustration as I do.
Nathan’s broken records but hardly anyone knows about him. Despite holding the world record for the 50km walk, Nathan has been starved of the lucrative sponsorship and advertising opportunities that so many Australian sports people are afforded. If he was a swimmer of a footballer he’d have no problem. But he’s gone into debt and had to sell his car to keep himself going. I just think it’s tragic.
Nathan has seemingly been blocked out of the Australian sporting mainstream, emerging artists face a similar battle to have their work taken seriously among a host of perennial Archibald finalists.
I think a lot of people have been locked out of the Archibald, because by the time you get all the leading portrait painters together, there might only be room for one or two wildcards (in the final exhibition).
2008 Archibald entry “Nathan Deakes, Race Walker”
Myself standing in front of my painting of Nathan at the Salon Des Refuses, (the hidden of the Archibald)
and in the studio.
In 2006 the entry contained a little political bite, I painted Channel Ten newsreader Mal Walden, kicking back after a bit of gardening, still resplendent in gumboots and shorts, holding a shovel with his fluffy little dog Gypsy to the side. Down next to the dog, is a seemingly innocuous rabbit, painted by Jessica, my daughter. Well, that rabbit has extra political bite, it was a comment on – level playing field, it’s not.
I entered the Archibald Prize before, but my portrait of media personality Roland Rocchiccioli was rejected.
The rabbit was my comment on the Archibald Prize entry process, where seemingly artists outside a certain circle of regular entrants are often “locked out”. A few years ago an artist entered a painting of a rabbit into the Archibald Prize, which is for portraits of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics.
The Archibald is for paintings of distinguished people so how could a rabbit be in the Archibald? If the rabbit was used as a direct metaphor connected to the sitter I could understand, however at the time I thought the conceptual content regarding the choice of motif was a little ambiguous.
I think it’s the same every year, the same old names; Kerrie Lester, Jenny Sage, Robert Hannaford, Gary Shead. Their work is good but it’s the same artist’s every year. What is this saying? That there’s no new talent in portrait painting in this country? However I don’t want to be seen as having sour grapes about being rejected last year. It is simply saying “Try to open up a critical discourse and dialogue”. I like to describe the criticism as a “double edged sword”.
The Archibald is about controversy and I love the Archibald because we can criticise it. That’s what I love about being Australian, we like having a go at the establishment and while I worship the Archibald – and would worship it even more if I won it – it should be able to stand up to criticism. An artist’s job is to act as a commentator on what’s happening.
I think most artists probably feel the same way as I do (about the Archibald Prize) but if they feel they’re being gagged then they’re not doing their job. However my entry is not simply a criticism of the Archibald Prize, It’s multi-layered, it’s basically about Mal’s passion which is gardening. Secondly, it’s about personal space and changing. The painting is about how nothing stays the same on a personal level, in a changing garden.
Then on a macro-level things are changing. In Australia there’s environmental change, pressure on land created by how we use it, as well as issues such as salinity and clear felling. And as for that little rabbit, the innocent little bunny that represents criticism of the Archibald Prize, there is another story behind it. When I knocked on Mal’s door, this cute little dog came bounding down the hallway. I straight away thought I wanted to paint the dog. The dog had a toy rabbit in its mouth.
An article from the Melbourne Age 2006 with the portrait of Mal Walden
At the end of the day I believe it’s about giving it a go, its like theatre, the stage, performing to an audience, putting all on the line and waiting for feedback, if any.
As you can see in the above article, Peter encourages his students to be involved in the Archibald prize, to see more evidence of this take a look at this link. Scroll down on that page to see the articles and learn more about artists and students at work. Particularly of interest is this from a Gippsland Victoria Regional TV station.
Going Solo… Ursula Theinert
It’s not every day you get a chance to explore the behind the scenes efforts of artists, as they do their “bit” to add to the cultural landscape and provide us with their unique insights into the world from their creative standpoint. So here is a “diary” of setting up a show by Ursula Theinert, who’s first solo show is at a public gallery in large country town, blessed with a great regional gallery. So lets follow part of her journey as events unfold, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have. Oh and see her own website by following her link in the artists links to the right below for more images of the show.
Steve Gray
‘FOREST MANAGEMENT’ THE FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION OF URSULA THEINERT
AT THE LATROBE REGIONAL GALLERY MORWELL Vic Oct 2008
This is an insight into the last few days of my first solo exhibition. I am going to include a short introduction and then a series of photographs and diary entries that show the sequence of events that lead to the attainment of one of the important goals, which artists set for themselves.
At the time of submitting my proposal to the gallery, on 25/4/07, I only had the concept, which was, to address the hidden problems of forest management. My focus was going to be on pine plantations to highlight the plantations of an alien species of trees which covers thousands of hectares of land, insidiously effecting the environment. I wanted to reveal that under the canopy of perceived green there is a veritable desert of pine needles affecting the habitat of our native flora and fauna.
I intended to express the landscape in human terms, as a living entity, in order to heighten passion and empathy.
The gallery took me on good faith and I worked very hard to complete the series of paintings. This personal journey culminated with the exhibition opening night on the 24th of October, 2008. It has been a very rewarding experience and one that I will to share with you through my diary.
Having created the works I was now in the final planning stages, on the weekend before the set up day 21/10/08, I made a list of the final jobs that needed to be done.
18/10/08
I typed up and printed my labels and then pasted them to the back of all my works on paper and canvas.
I then needed to find enough “D” rings to attach to the back of all the canvases. I also checked that all the edges of the canvases were clean, and painted them white. I also decided to measure and mark the distances for hanging just above the “D” rings so that the set up day would go smoothly. I used the formula :-
A divided by 2 +B – C = D
A = The height of the work.
B = The height from the floor to the centre line of the work, which is 1500mm.
C = The distance from the top of the work down to the top of the “D” ring.
D = The height from the floor to where you should place the hanging system.
19/10/08
I had an interesting wood sculpture that was a little unstable but I wanted to include it in the exhibition. So I went on a hunt around the back of our old workshop and found a beautiful rusty old piece of forged steel, which I think is part of an old railway line. It was used to go under the railway track which is then fixed onto the sleeper. It was perfect for the sculpture “Time Warp”, and after a great deal of wire brushing and hitting rust off with a hammer, and then oiling, it looked wonderful. Two holes were drilled through the steel and attached to the sculpture. All I needed to do then was to re-sand the sculpture and oil it. This was followed by a buff and polish and it was ready!
20/10/08
I had 16 paintings to pack into the van. Eight of them were framed and all were about 750 x 1000mm, so they were quite heavy. They went down first and then the four 1500 x 1200mm canvases, followed by the three 1000 x 2.200mm canvases. My handy commuter van has plenty of storage space. I could even put the small canvas at the end of the bay.
I almost forgot my sculpture. I wrapped it up and strapped it into the seat with the seat belt. Finally, all the packing was done along with a bag full of trifolds, business cards, and a visitor book. I also had an additional list of measurements, cleaning cloths and glass cleaner. I was a little nervous about the set up day and I wanted to be organized and look as professional as possible!
21/10/08 – SET UP DAY!
I didn’t sleep well that night. My husband, Werner, and I arrived at the Latrobe Regional Gallery at about 9.30 a.m. and had a coffee at the gallery coffee shop “So Swish”. We then got to work and were pleasantly surprised that some of the gallery staff helped us unload the van and get the work into the gallery space. They told us that there was a shared “set up day” with Monash University Gippsland Campus – Magistery Exhibition. I was also going to have a joint opening with this exhibition! This exhibition would have works from past and present art lecturers, and so they would not be able to help me set up that morning and would install my works either later that day or the next morning. All I had to do was to unwrap the works and decide on the placement along the walls. That job was easy especially when my friends and fellow artists were there to help me.
After the placement was decided all I had to do was to revise me list of works to help the gallery staff amend the copy that I had emailed them earlier. I also wrote down some additional instructions e.g. I needed two plinths – one for the sculpture and one for the trifolds, business cards and visitor’s book.
It was lovely to have Kerrie, Leonie (artists and dear friends) and Werner, my photographer, share this day with me. It was a great support and made the day a lot of fun. We all enjoyed a cup of coffee and a chat afterwards. I decided to come back the following day just to check that all was well. And of course the gallery staff did a super job!
24/10/08 – THE OPENING NIGHT
It was very exciting to have the opening of the exhibition finally arrive. It was a joint opening and there was a large crowd and a wonderful atmosphere. Paul Holton welcomed everyone and then gave the opening speech for my exhibition – I had butterflies and a smile from ear to ear! Tony Hanning then gave his speech which was followed by the guest speaker for the Magistery exhibition Professor Helen Bartlett, who is the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash University Gippsland Campus. It was a grand affair!! How fortunate for me to be part of this special opening night.
After the speeches people went up to Gallery 6 and my exhibition. I was very happy to see the many friends, family and fellow students coming along to support me. It was also pleasing to see so many unknown faces in the crowd too.
I felt so fortunate to have my teachers, Peter Biram and Chris Myers, who have always been so encouraging and inspiring, to be at the exhibition. And my son James, who flew down from Cairns to share that special night with me.
Just to show you the beautiful space at Latrobe Regional Gallery.
The whole experience of exhibiting at LRG was enriching, and one that I wouldn’t have missed for anything! The exhibition space is beautiful, and the staff were professional and helpful.
LAST THOUGHTS
It is a challenging journey to strive to be an artist and it extremely important to be surrounded by talented, stimulating and encouraging people. I recognize that I have been extremely fortunate to have so many wonderful and kind people supporting me and they have all played a part in making one of my dreams come true.
Do you have questions for the Artist? Go to the comments section at the bottom of this post and ask away.
Compiled and edited by Steve Gray Contemporary Australian Artist
Royalties for Visual Artists
This has been brewing for a while and hopefully the final version will be of wide value all round. The Melb Age newspaper did this article to give an insight as to where it’s at. I know Charles Nodrum the director at Charles Nodrum Gallery has a lengthy email on the topic and if he gives me permission I will reproduce it in here for all to peruse.
7 Steps to Great Gallery Representation
In a recent chat with a gallery director, I found there are just seven steps artists need to follow to make a good gallery connection. Stephen Nall is a Director at Dickerson Gallery at 44 Oxford St Collingwood and a casual chat revealed this great little list of things to know when you aim to approach a gallery.
- The gallery’s style… – Have you looked at the gallery’s website and the artists they represent? Check out the type of works the gallery has, often the select artists work that fits to their target market. They know their clients and the works they like and purchase. So if you are into street art or grungy ephemera of some kind a gallery that has highly finished landscapes and still lives will probably ditch you in a second, so save yourself the hassle and rejection go for a gallery with a closer match.
- Are you passionate about art? – It’s one thing to say you are, but how does that show up? Is your portfolio of work showing it somehow? Is your visual diary or journal gushing to communicate your passion? Are you able to hold a reasonable conversation about Visual Art with a range of people… all of these things can assist in showing your prowess as a passionate person thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of artistic notoriety…
- Is the work well finished? – Quality framing, if it requires it… Quality materials used, student based paints can fade fast… The difference can be subtle but make the world of difference. Take the buyers perspective, when they get the work delivered they want it to stay in one piece for a LONG while to come, so quality counts.
- How compelling is making art for you? – If a gallery represents you the aim is for a long term relationship, of mutual benefit for both parties… So they want to represent artists who truly want to be engaged in the creative and practical process of making art. Sure you can have a creative slump now and again, but the art process should be seen as a long term goal from your perspective.
- Family support – People are only as good as the foundations that support them, partners, and their extended family can assist in setting the artist up for success or they can do the opposite… Art creation in the main can be a tough road to traverse so the familial support the artists gets can be a vital factor to ongoing success. Therefore be aware of how negative communication about the artist making work can put too much downward pressure on art making and creative development. This may not be a question a gallery will directly ask about, but may well be something they look for, perhaps subconsciously
- Be market savvy – Know that being an artist is about being a small business operator, you have to market yourself, be willing to be marketed, can communicate with people in a professional way, can manage yourself and your “business” effectively.
- Likability - Just because your partner or your Mum likes your work, doesn’t mean everyone else will, sometimes you may need to “harden up” and take some hard knocks along the way. Not every artist has sell out shows, not every gallery will love what you do. This does not mean your work is not valid, it does however mean you may have to be resilient and have the ability to bounce back fast to move on to the next level.
Thanks for the chat Stephen I appreciate it, and to the readers, I trust it’s of value to understand more about what a gallery might be looking for, so do your homework to avoid some hassles along the way…