Arthur Guy Painting Prize

I am honoured that “Pure Responsibility” has been selected from almost 1000 entries nationally as a finalist in the highly-prestigious biannual Arthur Guy Memorial painting prize, which is held at the Bendigo Art Gallery from 25 November 2023 until 18 February 2024.

The laws of motion inherent in a Newton’s Cradles’ design align with the notion of action and reaction, making it the ultimate metaphor of executive control. “Pure Responsibility” expands this cliché to encompass decision and consequence, demand and culpability.

The analogy also extends to corporate decisions made in one location without consideration of the potential consequences elsewhere in the world, out of sight from the instigator. While the two events may not at first be obviously related, the explosive chain reaction exposes the undeniable link.

If only responsibility and accountability were so connected.

Held every two years, the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize attracts some of Australia’s most accomplished artists, awarding an acquisitive cash prize of $50,000. The Prize provides Bendigo Art Gallery with the opportunity to survey a breadth of contemporary painting by established and emerging artists from across Australia. Previous winners include Stieg Persson, Dale Frank, Stephen Bush, Jan Nelson, Tim Johnson, Chris Bond, Guan Wei, Margaret Loy Pula, Jahnne Pascoe-White and Kirsty Budge.

During WWII Arthur Guy’s plane crashed in New Guinea while on an Australian Air Force mission delivering supplies to troops. He was 31. His brother Allen created the award in Guy’s honour. 

Five Minutes to Famous exhibition opening

Solo Exhibition: 5 Minutes To Famous

I would be honoured if you could join me to launch my new Melbourne exhibition. Featuring 11 paintings, it is the final Australian exhibition of my series of sculptural works on mirrored aluminium.

Inspired by the most banal social media posts, historical figures break their classical poses to strut for the camera; shining a spotlight on the trend of fabulous nobodies who, for an imagined audience, curate a digital ‘best life’ version of themselves built on a foundation of smoke and mirrors.

Here's a digital catalogue https://heyzine.com/flip-book/446db670c1.html

 When: From 22 September to 7 October, 2023

Opening: Friday, 22 September, 2023, 6-8pm 

Where: Compendium Gallery, 909A High Street, Armadale Victoria

It would be lovely to see you, so I hope you can make it.

Top 100 Artists List

It’s a surprise and delight to discover I have been again included in the Top 100 Artists list of “Who’s Hot and Collectable in Australian Art.”

Compiled by a (mysterious) anonymous group of working artists, commentators, gallerists and collectors, the list contains an amazing group of artists, many of whom I am honoured to know as friends.

That photo from 7 years ago with the truely hideous haircut will, it seems, haunt me forever. But very happy to be included again in such esteemed company.

Museum Exhibition: Painting The Figure Now

It is truly an exceptional and humbling experience to have received such a monumental invitation to showcase my painting, "The Fatal Shore," in the highly acclaimed museum exhibition of the world's most eminent figurative painters: Painting The Figure Now.

This prestigious event is currently taking place at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wisconsin, USA, from the 8th of September until the 28th of October.

Prizes: The Tatiara Art Prize

This painting "La Preca - Jacquemus", one of three from the La Preca triptych, has been selected as a finalist in the Tatiara Art Prize. 

Judging is by Lauren Mustillo, Visual Art Manager at Country Arts SA, Rebecca Evans, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Art Gallery of South Australia and Joshua White, Director of the Hamilton Art Gallery. It's on at the Walkway Gallery and runs from 16 September until 11 November. 

Prizes: The Sunshine Coast Art Prize

My work "La Preca - Louis Vuitton" has been selected as a finalist in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. Out of an extensive pool of submissions from all over the nation, only a prestigious group of 40 exceptional pieces secured their place as finalists, including the works of esteemed luminaries such as Fiona Lowry, Esther Erlich, Dagmar Cryulla, and Michael Simms.

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize exhibition is currently being showcased at the Caloundra Regional Gallery, at 22 Omrah Avenue, Caloundra, QLD 4551.

Art enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike have the opportunity to appreciate and engage with the exceptional offering from the 18th of August until the 15th of October.

Prizes: The Naked and the Nude

"The Clash" has been chosen as one of the outstanding contenders in the prestigious Naked and the Nude Art Prize. The panel, led by the Director of the Newcastle Art Gallery, Lauretta Morton, has selected "The Clash" as a finalist. The artwork can now be seen at the Manning Art Gallery in Taree, NSW 2430. This exhibition, which started on September 2, showcases the brilliance of "The Clash" and the artist's skill in capturing raw emotion and timeless beauty.

Solo Exhibition: Confetti In A Storm

Confetti In A Storm is my first solo Melbourne show in five years. Featuring 19 new paintings, this is significant as it will the final Australian exhibition of the 3 major painting series that have dominated my work for the past 15 years; the Pure series; the Monumental Nobodies series, and the Mirror Electric series.
 
Sadly, these themes that have so captivated me for these past few years must inevitably come to a conclusion. I can’t say that I will never revisit these series again if inspiration strikes, but certainly for the time being this will be my last showing. 
 

When: From 16 August to 10 September, 2022
Where: Metro Gallery, 1214 High Street Armadale VIC 3143

It would be great to see you, so I hope you can make it to the show.

ART WORTH $150,000 IS 100% DEDUCTIBLE!

As restrictions ease and offices become populated again, coming back to a productive work space has never been more important. And the best part is that under the small business tax allowance, purchasing art for your business is 100% tax deductible.

Which business can claim the tax deduction?

Any small to medium-sized businesses with an annual turnover of less than $500 million qualifies.

How much can I claim?

Business owners can claim up to $150,000 for paintings or sculptures. And there is no limit to how many pieces of art you can make this claim for.

Here’s the background: Artwork is normally subject to a very low rate of depreciation (because their useful life is assessed as 100 years). This works out to be around 1% per year - which not very enticing. BUT the great news is, being classified as a depreciating asset qualifies art for the instant asset write-off .

Is there any artwork criteria ?

The artwork must be:

1. Tangible;

2. Capable of being moved;

3. Purchased with the dominant purpose of display in a business premise or home office

4. Not be trading stock

What if you are an employee?

As an employee working from home , you may claim an artwork deduction up to the value of $300 as part of your home office expenditure. Any value greater than $300 must be claimed using the usual decline in value rules.

Other stuff

In the past the criteria required artwork to be displayed in your business premises.

Home-based businesses also qualified, as long the artwork was displayed in the home office. You had to prove you would meet regularly clients at your premises. However, as possibly the only benefit of Covid, these rules were relaxed and artwork no longer needs to be confined to the office area.

For full details, please go the relevant section of the ATO website here

Judith Nielson Collection

Several works from my series, The Mirror Electric, have been acquired for the permanent museum collection of Australian’s most significant art collector and arts patron, Judith Nielson, founder of White Rabbit Gallery and numerous other arts foundations.

The Mirror Electric is a (skewed) look at the body image dysmorphia/objectification phenomenon happening in social media.

They are oil paintings on mirrored aluminium, so the viewer can see themselves in the artwork. The proportions echo an iPhone. With fluorescent backs and designed to sit out from the wall, the ambient light creates a glowing digital-like halo around these detailed satirical works.

Hanging in the collection alongside such artists as Ai Weiwei and Jørn Utzon, the instructions were that these paintings were; “never to be sold.”

The Mirror Electric

My 2020 solo exhibition at Nanda/Hobbs Sydney

Link to the Nanda Hobbs exhibition website

Interview With An Artist Podcast

I’ve been featured on the podcast, Interview with an Artist, hosted by with Wilamina Russo.

Follow the link to get the Podcast

Here are the show notes:

Buckle in. This week's episode is a wide ranging conversation about travel adventures, creativity, and among other things, how the Playboy bunny got its name.

I'm serious! My guest this week is Melbourne based painter Matthew Quick.

What you are going to realise about Matthew is that he loves a good story. Throughout his life of traveling in his earlier years, Matthew has been under gunpoint by local authorities, gone underground mining in South America with explosives tied to him, and found himself in London in a recession.

The multi award winning and finalist listing artist has lived a life and then some. Matthew's paintings look to comment on the absurdity and complexity of times. His 2022 show at Nanda Hobbs titled the Mirror Electric was a fabulous example. Life like statues painting on to reflective aluminium adorned with some kind of filter you mind find on a smartphone. On first glance you might just think it tongue in cheek. And it is, but there is so much more depth to it.

On today's episode of Interview With An Artist, we talk about:

• How's Matthew's father's financial position growing up impacted his career direction

• How a lecturer Matthew had in his 20s had a life long impact on him,

• Some of the amazing travel stories Matthew has,

• And how he comes up with the many ideas he has for his art.

Interconnected Exhibition by Beautiful Bizarre

My painting on mirrored aluminium, "All In This Together" is being exhibited at “Interconnected”, an exhibition curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine @beautifulbizarremagazine

The work is showing alongside 70 legends in the Australian contemporary art scene (AND the touring Archibald show) at the New England Regional Art Museum @neramuseum

Beautiful Armidale also came to the party with mild autumnal weather for a weekend that encompassed an opening night with over 200 guests, awesome after party, interesting Artists panel the next morning, and afternoon soirée at Danijela's (co-founder and editor of Beautiful Bizarre) of own home, with endless champagne and even better conversation. It somehow stretched out into the evening and wound down with classic vinyl spinning and fireside conversation. Magical.

To receive the Collectors Preview email the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey on danijela@beautifulbizarre.net

'Interconnected' is on from 13 May - 26 June, 2022, at the New England Regional Art Museum.

106 - 114 Kentucky Street, Armidale NSW 2350. Australia

A commission and a Golden (Fibonacci) Spiral

I recently completed this large commission.

While I did not set out to exactly follow the ratios of the Golden Spiral, I certainly was aware the proportions and visual appeal adhered to the basic principals. ⁠

⁠Now with the picture is finished and delivered, just to see for myself, I tried overlaying the Golden Spiral: the only surprise really was how perfectly the two aligned.

The Moon Shot

I am going to the moon.

It's just amazing to have my artwork included as part of the Peregrine Mission One. This is the first commercial Moon landing and included in the payloads is a time capsule carrying "The Peregrine Collection," to be placed on the lunar surface in perpetuity.

The launch is scheduled for 2021 from Cape Canaveral via a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket. The lander will touch down in the Lacus Mortis region of the Moon.

Upping the ante is the incredible company I shall be amongst; many of the best contemporary artists working around the world right now. Some of them I am lucky to call friends.

Thank you Dr. Samuel Peralta and Didi Menendez for making this happen.

I'm over the moon.

Check out the whole story here: artistsonthemoon.com

Shenzhen Museum Exhibition

On now in Southern China at the IADC Design Museum, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, as part of the dramatically and perhaps appropriately named, Apocalypse Of Art exhibition. 

Check out the unusual and interesting hanging system for these paintings. Don't you love it? And the facade of the museum, like a pice of origami: so special. Lucky to be part of this. 

Organised by Artcloud, and with special thanks to April Li.

Corey Helford Gallery Los Angeles

My painting "And So Began The Revolution" beautifully hung and so dramatic at Corey Helford Gallery for the Fantastical Beasts show, now on in Los Angeles. 

For my audience in the US, which is the majority of you, I urge you to (digitally) swing by the gallery. With the lockdown in place, what better time is there to contemplate filling those empty walls.

This picture celebrates two women whose voices have echoed through time. Five hundred years apart, they are united by their desired to change the way women would be seen and heard in a world curated by men. 

Joan of Arc, visionary, courageous and defiant, led the French army to victory against the British, despite her lack of military training and, significantly, her gender. To protect herself against assault, she dressed as a man. And this would be her undoing. In a show trail, she was accused on 70 counts, including witchcraft and heresy. Bettering her accusers, she was ultimately burned at the stake for the only “crime” they could prove: dressing like a man. 

Born in the age of the corset, Chanel wanted to inspire women to live comfortably and freely in clothes designed to fit the figure rather than an exaggerated silhouette. Rehabilitated from funeral mourning, she made black the ultimate fashion accessory with her ubiquitous Little Black Dress. And while women sometimes wore trousers when working in traditionally male jobs during WWI, Chanel played a huge part in accelerating their popularity as a fashion item. 

That one should be venerated for her revolutionary ideas and the other condemned, it is ironic that both simply wanted what men simply take for granted.

Plastik

Article and interview in the always amazing Plastik magazine

https://www.plastikmagazine.com/insta-art/matthew-quick?rq=Matthew+Q&fbclid=IwAR3_HdGorfYrzH0PEw8FKe7Mf46uwtBc4_2RnBFsfGeVZ4yIwxdBZ5q-P9s

Commission completed

Pure Compassion⁠
Oil on Italian Linen 2020. ⁠
⁠

Currently on a truck somewhere on its way to the new owner, this new commission was bundled onto the last truck out of Melbourne before the pandemic lockdown. ⁠Please turn off the lights on the way out. Kinda ironic, given the subject matter.