The team at WOW x WOW invited to be a guest writer and have my work featured on their site. It a great honour to be featured alongside so many of the great names in the contemporary art scene - who are defining the new visual language and how the future will see the present, one picture at a time. http://wowxwow.com/guest-blog/matthew-quick-gb
Subjects covered include: Influences and triggers, Shelly's Ozymandias, universal themes, the old masters and more
Interview by Alex McCulloch on The Arts Show. The full interview can be streamed here: http://www.alexmccullochart.com.au/tag/matthew-quick/
Topic covered include: Influences, Cancer, painting techniques and some of the stories behind the paintings such as slavery, Julius Caesar and more
The Upper Playground has a story at http://www.upperplayground.com/blogs/news-upperplayground/8220-moments-of-clarity-8221-by-matthew-quick
The painting The View From Above was selected from over 1400 paintings as a finalist in this year's Stanthorpe Art Prize. It will be on display at the Stanthorpe Regional Gallery, Queensland, from May 26 to July 17.
Opening 6pm Thursday November 12 at Nanda/Hobbs Contemporary,
Level 1, 66 King Street Sydney
This handsome hard-cover, full-colour monograph covers the past 10 years of Matthew's work. Written by Dr Shireen Huda of the Art Gallery Of New South Wales, it's 144 pages long and includes over 180 paintings.
The book launch and exhibition opens at 6pm, Thursday November 12, 2015
Nanda/Hobbs Contemporary
Level 1, 66 King Street Sydney.
Matthew Quick has no time to waste. Asked about Based On A True Story – the Melbourne artist's coming Sydney exhibition that doubles as the launch for his self-published book of the same name – he responds with a brief, potted history. "I'm on my sixth career," he explains, citing illustration, graphic design, writing (his 1991 book Of Gods & Everyday Monsters was short-listed for the Australian/Vogel's Literary Award), university lecturing, and art directing/copywriting. By his mid-30s, he had lived in Australia, the UK, Malaysia and Portugal, and was running his own successful design firm.
Read MoreReal Australians Say Welcome
This portrait of provocative artist Abdul Abdulla has been selected as semi-finalist in the $150,000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2015.
I'm absolutely thrilled to be elected for the second consecutive year as a finalist in the Kilgour Art Prize. This $50,000 annual prize for figurative and portrait painting awards is assessed by two independent judges and Sarah Johnson, Curator Newcastle Art Gallery.
The exhibition is on show at the Newcastle Art Gallery from 8 November through to 25 January 2016.
Occasionally iconography exists that is so prevalent, so much a part of the zeitgeist, it is difficult to maintain perspective on how ridiculous it really is.
Think of Santa, so obese he’s not in any shape to climb down chimneys, let alone make it around the world in a single night. At least not without having a stroke, anyway. And what of the Playboy Bunny? Inspired by the staff uniform at Bunny’s Tavern, itself named after the proprietor Bernard “Bunny” Fitzsimmons, the ultimate showgirl was unveiled in 1960 and somehow the ears, tail, collar and cuffs transcended their own preposterousness to become a global icon.
Imagine if Fitzsimmons had been nicknamed, say, Chook?
Very pleased to be a finalist in this year's EMSLA, for the 6th consecutive year. As with each year, I'm surrounded by such august company: Louise Feneley, Robert Fenton, Julie Keating, the jaw dropping Angus McDonald (as he is officially known), Julian Meagher, Deb Mostert and Craig Waddell - and many more.
The show is on at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, and begins Friday 6 November 2015
About the painting: You would think that being a fraudster, forger and occultist during the height of the Inquisition would be enough to earn the ire of the Pope.
One of the great grifters, Giuseppe Balsamo wove tales of buried treasure, sold fake “Egyptian” amulets, forged documents, pimped his wife, and despite no having qualifications successfully passed himself off as a physician - to none other than Benjamin Franklin during his Paris sojourn. But none of these were the reason Balsamo (now self styled as Count Alessandro di Cagliostro) was arrested and imprisoned in the infamous Castel Sant’Angelo.
Balsamo’s great crime was being a Freemason. In the 18th century Freemasonry offered an alternative network to that of the church. Like any good business leader, the Pope determined to limit the competition by cracking down. Balsamo he died in prison, demonstrating the hefty price that accompanies some club memberships.
I am very happy to have been selected for the 2015 Fisher's Ghost Art Prize, with my painting Land of the Free. I think this is my 4th time in this prize.
Over the summer, during the interminable February heatwave in my sweltering studio, I repainted a couple of pictures initially made about year earlier. This was one of them. The initial picture was the first time I had tried to capture oxidised bronze, and over the course of the year, I got a whole lot better at it. So the repaint - which was really a whole brand new picture over the top of the old - actually took much longer than the first version. But much, much better. There was a richness to the tones, depth to the object, focal points, depth of field, three dimensionality. And cleaner overall. So getting selected for this means a lot, as it's been quite the journey.
There is a saying: its the journey, not the destination. Well, indeed. But I do wonder where this picture will end up.
I am very pleased to announce that my painting Home of the Brave has been selected as a finalist in the $25,000 Whyalla Art Prize. It will be on display at the Middleback Arts Centre from September 26 to 14 November, along side works from such clever souls as #datsuntran and #tseringhannaford
Although now its freezing out, this picture will always be associated in my mind with last January's blistering heatwave, when I spent many days sweltering in the studio trying to capture the nature of oxidised bronze.
Here's a little bit about the painting: The ebb and flow of Imperial fortunes can be traced by the monuments they leave. Bronze affirmations mythologise successes (and failures) until, in time, these myths come to define the events themselves.
Defence of these myths reach absurd levels in New York, with the apartments now occupying Wall Street’s former financial bastions protected by barriers and armed guards, because the symbolism of the name is more potent than the mundane reality.
Here, the statues advertising the capitalist mantra are barricaded from their disciples; victims of a congregation so enraptured they have long since lost perspective of their original beliefs.
©Matthew Quick 2015
I am very honoured and excited to be selected as a finalist in this year's Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, with my piece Domestic Goddess.
This is a killer prize, with an incredible line up of judges; Dr Alessi, Senior Lecturer Visual Art & Design, Latrobe University; Jennifer Kalionis, director of the Castlemaine Art Gallery; John McDonald, Art Critic and the Sydney Morning Herald; Peter Guy as representative of the Guy family and Julie Millowick, Vice Chair of the Bendigo Art Gallery.
But even better, the finalists each year represents Australia’s finest contemporary artists, and has included in the past a jaw dropping line up of talent, including Sam Leach, John Beard, Tony Lloyd, Kate Shaw, Juan Ford, Aida Tomescu, Ivan Durrant, Chris Bond, Yvette Coppersmith, Julia Ciccarone, Kate Bergin, Louise Hearman, Gareth Sansom and Jan Nelson.
Absolutely thrilled to be selected from 850 entries nationwide as a finalist for the prestigious 2015 Mosman Art Prize. And even better to be hanging alongside such illustrious alumni as Marcus Callum, Maz Dixon Artist, Ben Smith, Peter Smets, Robert Malherbe, Jasper Knight, Anh Do and Rodney Pople.
The magazine Neon has been published since June 23, 2003 monthly in Hamburg publishing house Gruner. Sibling of the venerable Stern (Publishing speak calls it a "line extension," the core target group are people between 20 and 35 years with a high level of education and above-average income. Until 2006 the magazine was subtitled "We were supposed to grow up" and covers topics from the Sociology, Politics, Fashion, Relationships and sexuality, Travel, Career and popular culture. So, pretty much everything really.
New York Alternative Hip Hop group Oxymorrons are using Status Update for their forthcoming album, Complex But Basic.
The work The View from Above has been selected as one of the 40 finalists in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. The Two Dimensional category is one of numerous awards and categories within the Sunshine Coast Art Prize 10th anniversary celebration, with over $125,000 in cash prizes available for artists.
The exhibition is hosted by the Caloundra Regional Gallery, 22 Omrah Avenue, Caloundra QLD, and opens Thursday 20 August, the official launch and winner announced is Friday 4 September and it closes Sunday 11 October
The work The Emperor's New Clothes has been selected as finalist in the The Nillumbik Art Prize. On display in the Barn Gallery in the spectacular and historic Montsalvat artist's colony, the prize celebrates artists and works from the Nillumbik region and recognises contemporary works of excellence.
Exhibition opening: Thursday 4 June, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
And the show runs 4 June – 2 August 2015
