'Painting matters to Australia and Australians as it does in few other countries. It has formed our consciousness, our sense of where we come from, and who we are. It cries out for wider recognition and acknowledgement.' - Patrick McCaughey Why has Australia, an island continent with a small population, produced such original and powerful art? And why is it so little known beyond our shores? Strange Country: Why Australian Painting Matters is Patrick McCaughey's answer.
Sasha Grishin is a leading Australian art historian, art critic and curator who has published some twenty books and over two thousand articles on various aspects of art. This book is his magnum opus, a comprehensive and definitive history of Australian art. Australian Art: A History provides an overview of the major developments in Australian art, from its origins to the present. The book commences with ancient Aboriginal rock art and early colonialists' interpretations of their surroundings, and moves on to discuss the formation of an Australian identity through art, the shock of early modernism and the notorious Heide circle. It finishes with the popular recognition of modern Indigenous art and contemporary Australian art and its place in the world.
Describes the art of the Australian Aborigines including rock painting and engraving as well as sand and bark painting; also discusses the symbolism found in these works.
A collection of traditional Aboriginal paintings which spans decades and which displays the distinctive styles of two regions of Australia: the western desert and Arnhem Land. The paintings are simply presented to be easily appreciated, with brief notes on information provided by the artists themselves.
"This publication accompanies the exhibition Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 5 through September 18, 2016."
The newest addition to the Artist’s Materials series offers the first technical study of one of Australia’s greatest modern painters. Sidney Nolan (1917–1992) is renowned for an oeuvre ranging from views of Melbourne’s seaside suburb St. Kilda to an iconic series on outlaw hero Ned Kelly. Working in factories from age fourteen, Nolan began his training spray painting signs on glass, which was followed by a job cutting and painting displays for Fayrefield Hats. Such employment offered him firsthand experience with commercial synthetic paints developed during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1939, having given up his job at Fayrefield in pursuit of an artistic career, Nolan became obsessed with European abstract paintings he saw reproduced in books and magazines. With little regard for the longevity of his work, he began to exploit materials such as boot polish, dyes, secondhand canvas, tissue paper, and old photographs, in addition to commercial and household paints. He continued to embrace new materials after moving to London in 1953. Oil-based Ripolin enamel is known to have been Nolan’s preferred paint, but this fascinating study—certain to appeal to conservators, conservation scientists, art historians, and general readers with an interest in modern art—reveals his equally innovative use of nitrocellulose, alkyds, and other diverse materials.
