Ricky Swallows Watercolours Open in Christchurch

MEDIA RELEASE

Date: 30 November 2009

Ricky Swallow Ned/Mick 2007. watercolour on paper. Proclaim Collection, Melbourne.

The biggest exhibition of Ricky Swallow’s work to ever come to New Zealand opens at Christchurch Art Gallery this month.

Ricky Swallow: Watercolours incorporates more than eighty paintings by one of Australia’s best-known artists. Although Swallow first won fame for his meticulous sculptures, which reinvent the still-life tradition on contemporary terms, he also creates playful and atmospheric watercolours.

In this enticing collection of works on paper, Swallow displays a full range of his ‘atmospheric presentations’ – from early science-fiction scenarios and still-life studies through to haunting portraits of members of the Kelly Gang and vanitas subjects that remind us of our mortality.

Over the past decade, watercolour has enjoyed a quiet renaissance in the hands of artists looking for an alternative to big gallery spaces. For Swallow, the very things that give watercolour such a marginal place in the public gallery hierarchy are at the heart of its appeal.

“Swallow’s watercolours invite an inquisitive eye for detail and a willingness to look beyond the obvious,” says Gallery Director Jenny Harper.

“Watercolours offers a fabulous opportunity for the public to become familiar with Swallow’s portfolio of work and we are delighted to have this touring exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery.”

Swallow won the Contempora 5 award in 1999, represented Australia at the 2005 Venice Biennale, and has exhibited in America, Europe, New Zealand and Japan. He now lives and works in Los Angeles.

Ricky Swallow: Watercolours will be at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu from 12 December 2009 – 21 February 2010, a UQ Art Museum touring exhibition.

ENDS

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