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IN THIS ISSUE … IN FOCUS MEDIA VIEW TOP PERFORMERS SMART ART GOINGS ON An Expert perspective MARKET WATCH COMING UP |
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brad munro
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Dear Subscribers, The extraordinary success of Women’s Business last month at Barrack Gallery@Art Equity, has once again focused the attention of the worldwide desire for outstanding Indigenous art. The remarkable paintings by Ningurra Naparrula and Walungkura Napanangka which trace the dreamings of their tribal ancestral country, not only captured the collecting public’s eye, but also the imagination of the commercial rental market. Several of the works were placed directly into the foyers of major corporates. This month we celebrate the exhibition of new works by Sydney artist, Brad Munro. The stunning beauty that his paintings convey has once again been recognised by collectors, both private and corporate. Opening last Thursday at Barrack Gallery, the show is already a near sell-out. Collectors of Jeffrey Makin, Laura Matthews and Andrew McIlroy will be heartened to hear that these artists were commissioned by Landcom to feature in a massive national advertising campaign for a major new property development in Sydney. It is an interesting shift in Australian culture with advertisers using fine art to sell property as in Colonial times. Read more about this project in our Goings On section. Our latest news to press is the announcement of our representative association with world renowned Australian artist, photographer and filmmaker, George Gittoes. We profile Gittoes in our Top Performers section with an insight into his recent selection as a finalist in the famed Raindance Film Festival in London for his film RAMPAGE.
Ralph Hobbs Art Director
Brad Munro, Gush, Oil on canvas, 105 x 88cm (*Available) |
Brad Munro, Quench, Oil on canvas, 105 x 88cm (*Sold)
In the career of a committed and serious artist, there are important landmarks which need to be acknowledged and reflected upon by his audience.
The Grail Castle, a new body of work by Sydney artist Brad Munro, delivers to its audience an insight into the vision and aesthetic brilliance of one of Australia’s most exciting abstract expressionist artists. Throughout his painting career, Munro has journeyed through the stages of alchemy, expressing this with pure colour on canvas. In The Grail Castle, he selects highlights from his journey, and draws these to its completion. Munro has pushed the boundaries of his medium and the philosophical challenges that he has set himself have at times left him emotionally spent but never lost. Throughout the last decade of his professional career, he has set about delivering on an ambitious aesthetic doctrine, to create painting that is at once beautiful, yet challenging of ones perception and personal ideology. Munro’s language is paint, delivered in all its viscous dynamism. He has the ability to create harmony from the explosion of colour and passion manifested in one picture plane. It is painting that is informed but transcends diverse cultural tradition, from ancient eastern colour theory to the power of the New York school. Munro
draws on the history but redefines it for our age. He delivers hope and
beauty in a world that desperately needs it. Hope and beauty really is
the Alchemist dream of today. Ralph Hobbs, 2006
The Grail Castle opened at Barrack Gallery@Art Equity on Thursday 14th September and continues until Friday 29th September 2006. |
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Brett Whiteley's Frangipani and Hummingbird sold at Sotheby's
Makinti Napanangka, Body painting AENAPM6642MM, Acrylic on Linen, 120 x 180cm (*Available)
Euan Macleod, Untitled, 2006, Right panel of Triptych, Collagraph,
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Size and controversy do matter in the art world "CRAIG Ruddy installed himself as an artist capable of raising cash as well as controversy last night when his Archibald Prize-winning portrait of David Gulpilil sold for more than $300,000 in Sydney." (Excerpt) By Simon Kearney and Jane Fraser, The Australian, August 29, 2006
Aboriginal art: buyer beware fakes and dodgy dealers "Those who are confident about their buying - who have a good aesthetic eye and who know their artists and their dealers - should not be too concerned about the review." "For those who are new to the area, however, it seems best to either hold off until it is easier to differentiate between good art and bad art, good dealers and bad dealers, or do extensive research before committing money to an artwork." (Excerpts) Click here for full article
Brokers' Latest Pick: Warhol? "Wealth managers are getting bullish on art. The heightened appreciation for art as an investment is driven largely by rising prices at auctions, particularly for contemporary art. The Mei Moses All Art Index, which tracks repeat auction sales, rose 14.52% last year, compared with a 4.91% total return for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index." (Excerpts) By Scott Stearns,
Wall Street Journal Online,
19th August 2006 Blake winner mourns a spiritual wilderness "Macleod's untitled oil on canvas of a figure bathed in a pool of light in front of the rugged West MacDonald Ranges was yesterday awarded this year's $15,000 Blake Prize for Religious Art." By Jon Reid, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30th August 2006Will the boom ever end?; Arts "this boom is not fuelled by one particular category. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, for example, the high prices were largely in the Impressionists category and were being pushed up mainly by Japanese corporate buyers. This time the spread is much wider and more even." (Excerpt) By Joanna Pitman, The Times (UK), 22nd August 2006 A picture's worth a thousand, er, dollars ... or more "Like the share market, many factors can affect the price of an investment: a retrospective exhibition, biography, major art prize and death (which caps the stock available) inflate an artist's prices, while auction or gallery disappointments deflate them. So too does a general perception that prices have gone too far too fast or the work has become formulaic." (Excerpt) By David Tribe, Sun Herald, 17th September, 2006
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Ningurra Naparrula in front of one of her paintings at the opening
George Gittoes, Timor Lorosae 2000, Oil on Canvas
180 cm x 210 cm
George Gittoes behind the camera
George Gittoes, The Preacher, 2001, Three plate coloured etching,hand coloured watercolour, 45 x 60cm (*Available) |
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Our September Smart Art offers Art Insight subscribers the opportunity to get involved with a work by George Gittoes. We have a very limited allocation of a three plate coloured etching with hand coloured watercolour and text made by the artist in 2001. The Preacher is based on the Blake Prize winning oil painting of the same title by Gittoes which, according to the artist "is probably the most famous painting I've done." The first 5 sales by Art Insight readers will receive 5% off the sale price of the print. To view the work and read more about George Gittoes, click on the link below.
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Laura Matthews, Little Bay - commissioned by Landcom
Andrew McIlroy, Emerald Waters, Little Bay - commissioned by Landcom |
Art Equity Artists selected for Landcom project Art Equity was approached by Landcom in August to commission three landscape artists to feature in a marketing campaign for a major new residential property development, Prince Henry at Little Bay. Little Bay is one of the last remaining coastal enclaves in Sydney's eastern suburbs and was made famous by international artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude who wrapped the cliffs in over one million square feet of fabric in 1969. This was a significant event in the history of Australian contemporary art. Jeff Makin, Laura Matthews and Andrew McIlroy were commissioned for the project and each has painted their impression of Little Bay onto canvas (see images at left). The artists have been photographed alongside their paintings as a marketing vehicle for Landcom’s new Coast Horizons Homesites, targeting high-end Australian and Asian property investors. The three artists (along with three
Victorian based painters) will act as the "face" of the advertising
campaign for one month each, in up to 60 publications. Jeffrey
Makin and his painting will be featured on a 18 x 5 metre billboard at
Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport. A documentary has also been produced
filming the artis'ts creative journeys. It will be available to
view on www.princehenry.com.au The campaign is scheduled to start in early October. This is a tremendous privilege for Art Equity and these artists whose exposure to the public domain will be immeasurable. Barry Pearce Art Gallery of New South Wales
Most keen art collectors are hastily seeking the "next big thing" in art - a "Whiteley" or "Boyd" in the making. With literally thousands of talented and not-so talented Australian artists striving to make it in a viciously competitive market, collectors and investors need to arm themselves with key criteria to guide their selection. With the Landcom commissions and several art prizes awarded to Art Equity artists in recent months, it seemed appropriate to bring to the fore the importance for emerging artists to establish a solid track record and mainstream recognition. Committing to their career producing consistently high quality work with intellectual rigor is vital. This month Art Insight spoke to Barry Pearce who gave his perspective on what to look for in the emerging artist. "There is an old-fashioned bohemian notion that truly pure artists must struggle for their self-sufficient vision without having to depend on commercial enterprises like awards, exhibitions and commissions. But these events have their purpose. They provide a structure through
which the art public - in particular collectors - can partake in the
recognition and support of deserving talent. And if they're lucky,
collectors may have the pleasure of acquiring works by such talent
still emerging, before it becomes beyond the reach of all but the most
elite wealthy. "
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Sidney Nolan, Kelly, sold by Sotheby's Sydney on August 26th
Tim Storrier, Summers Evening Lament, Collagraph |
Sotheby's and Deutscher-Menzies auction houses have recently held major sales of Fine Art which combined, fetched over $14.5 million. Sotheby's auction of Important Australian Art on August 28th was highly anticipated - not so much for the iconic names of Whiteley, Olsen and Nolan but the sale of Craig Ruddy's 2004 Archibald Prize-winning portrait of actor David Gulpilil titled Two Worlds. The controversy surrounding the work (was it a painting or a drawing?) climaxed when artist Tony Johansen challenged its eligibility of the award in the NSW Supreme Court. It seems the controversy and associated publicity did Ruddy a favour - he won the case and sold the work for double the Sotheby's estimate. A private collector paid $312,000 for Two Worlds, more than 30 times higher than Ruddy's previous highest price of $9,600. A four metre wide Brett Whiteley painting Frangipani and Hummingbird 1998, sold for $2.04 million, a new record for a Whiteley painting and the third highest price for an Australian artist. The painting last sold in 1988 for $100,000 (four years before his death) at Whiteley's final "bird" exhibition. The last Whiteley to sell, of similar scale The Jacaranda Tree, was in 1999. It fetched $1.98 million. A new record was also set for an editioned work by Whiteley at Deutscher-Menzies auction. The Arrival 1988, an offset lithograph sold for $27,600 against an estimate of $16-20,000. The hype surrounding the Ruddy and Whiteley overshadowed the sale of a Sidney Nolan painting from his iconic "Ned Kelly" series. The work fetched an unremarkable $810,000, the middle of Sotheby's estimate range. Not a bad result however, given the same painting was bought for $69,000 just 10 years ago. Sotheby's Managing Director, Mark Fraser made the comment that " it was a great day for art when a museum-class Nolan painting numbered only third at the sale on the focal point scale." (The Australian, 29 August 2006). The auction of 108 paintings fetched a total of $7.7 million. Results worth highlighting from Deutscher-Menzies 13 & 14th September auction include... Charles Blackman's Shy Schoolgirl, charcoal on paper sold for $22,800 against an estimate of $10,000-15,000. (*All sale prices include buyer's premium) |
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Jeffrey Makin, Western Tiers near Westbury, Etching, Edition of 30, signed lower right, 45cm x 90cm JUST RELEASED (*Available)
Brad Munro Golden Greens
120 x 136cm,
Charles Blackman, Children playing 1974, Oil on board,Signed and dated lower left 49.5 x 73 cm (*Available)
Lin Onus, Garrkman (Frogs) 1995,Gouache on illustration board
Garry Shead, Resurrection of Ern Malley, Etching, 33 x 46cm
*Available from Art Equity at the time of publishing
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