Guy Maestri Unearth Catalogue

GUY MAESTRI

unearth 10 December 2016 - 12 February 2017

GLASSHOUSE PORT MACQUARIE REGIONAL GALLERY

Guy Maestri, studio shot, marrickville, 2016

Printed on recycled paper

GUY MAESTRI

unearth 10 December 2016 - 12 February 2017

Guy Maestri, Relic (ear), 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 16 x 16 x 42cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Broken Hill, 2014, oil on linen, 61 x 51cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Introduction It is with great pleasure that the Glasshouse Regional Gallery presents

beauty of our native flora and fauna. The lush and richly painted

Unearth, a survey exhibition of recent work by Guy Maestri. The

depictions of found deceased animals draw attention to the tragic plight

exhibition continues the Glasshouse Regional Gallery’s commitment to

of our fauna, raising troubling moral questions and paying homage to

presenting quality artistic experiences for our community and supporting

its beauty.

contemporary Australian artists.

Accompanying the landscape and still life works is a series of enigmatic

Unearth is a mesmerising exhibition that draws together a selection of

self-portrait sculptures. In these works Maestri has constructed and

recent still life, landscape and sculptural works. Maestri is well known

deconstructed his likeness and immortalised it in bronze. Through this

for his dynamic en plein air paintings that capture the complexities

process Maestri is investigating and discovering the depths of the

of the Australian landscape. In this exhibition Maestri investigates

personal, exploring challenge, reflection and rejuvenation.

the juxtaposition of the harshness and raw beauty of the Australian landscape with our industrial heritage. His works evoke a sensory connection one can almost smell the heady scent of eucalyptus, earth and rust in the air.

I would like to sincerely thank Guy Maestri for sharing these marvellous works. It has been a pleasure to work with Guy through the development of this exhibition. I would like to especially thank Gavin Wilson for his poetic essay that provides a context for the exhibition. I would like to

In the still life works presented in Unearth, Maestri explores the conflict

thank the staff from Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane for their wonderful

between the human impact on the environment and the magnificent

assistance which has made this project possible.

Niomi Sands Curator

Glasshouse Regional Gallery

unearth

GUY MAESTRI Originally from Mudgee in the NSW Central West, Guy Maestri (b. 1974)

By the time Guy Maestri had left high school, he was on his way to a

spent most of his formative years in the ranges west of Wauchope, along

life-long investigation of the world as he saw it. Maestri’s early training as

the Pappinbarra Valley. The area was named by the original inhabitants,

an apprentice boat builder focused his abilities in an exacting trade. His

as a place of ‘clear running water’. In the early 1980s, it was a community

inordinate skills as a draftsman enabled him to explore form and structure

of dairy farmers, cattle producers, timber getters and newcomers to

within a strict format. In the construction of a boat, key elements are

the land. The sub-tropical terrain rose gradually from the fertile flood

held together in a taut assembly that can just as easily collapse when

plains of the Hastings River to the ancient elevated rainforests at the

placed under extreme duress. The experience would later emerge in his

upper reaches of the catchment, places such as Mount Boss in the

exploration and poignant treatment of damaged landscapes along with

Werrikimbe National Park. It was here, rare stands of Antarctic Beech,

the destruction of wildlife on the fringes of developed regions. Shortly

Nothofagus moorei with tops covered in epiphytic orchids and ferns

after, Maestri shifted his attention to full-time study at the National Art

were felled for the mills. The young Guy Maestri would glimpse these

School in Darlinghurst, Sydney. In 2004, he graduated with the skills,

fallen giants on the bus back home from Beechwood Primary School

dedication and talent to eventually shape an ongoing body of work

as the timber-jinkers veered perilously heading for the local mill. The

recognised for its sensibility and substance. The scope and quality of

sight of these ancient trees freshly reduced to a stack of logs sparked

Maestri’s mature work placed the artist at the forefront of his generation.

the nascent artist’s curiosity. What was happening to the habitat of the

A passionate engagement with the landscape that goes back to his

forests that housed these endangered species? The artist grew up in

childhood underpins the artist’s achievement. Translating into paint,

a household that asked these questions, and, like many at the time,

what he sees and feels has given rise to a sequence of arresting images

were dismayed at the destruction of rare habitats and ecosystems that

that address our interaction with the land and its resources, along with

were seen as collateral damage in the need to fuel a rampant timber

the fragile ecosystems that too often fall victim to development. It’s an

industry. In the wake of demonstrations on a local and national scale,

uneasy relationship that has persisted since the pioneering days of

unsustainable timber practices were modified or eradicated. An ever

European settlement and continues to define the Australian experience.

growing environmental movement had succeeded in the protection of what was left of the sub-tropical rainforests in NSW.

Unearth is evidence of Guy Maestri’s singular attempt to perceive the spirit inherent across the country’s diverse terrains. The project

would be meaningless without the artist attempting to apprehend

Billy Benn, with whom he developed a deep affinity. The canvases

indigenous perceptions of Country. In 2013, he travelled from Darwin

created on the floor of the art centre were the compressed visions

with the indigenous art dealer, Adrian Newstead, and fellow artist,

of Country that was experienced or felt as they were painted on the

Luke Sciberras, along the Tanami track to Yuendumu and Lajamanu.

ground with the horizon hovering in all directions beyond the rectangular

In traversing this terrain, any pre-conceived sense of time and space

format. When hung vertically on a gallery wall, the original sense of

are constantly under review: The one constant for any traveller on the

place becomes dislocated. This form of display is the imperative of an

seemingly endless journey is the horizon line. The landscape tradition

art market that presents such works as aesthetic objects, while the

Maestri sprang from had certain signifiers or pictorial zones, such as

encoded, spiritual dimensions belong to the artist’s Songline.

foreground, middle and distant: A picturesque framework that had

Invested with a deep respect for the notion of Country, Maestri headed

earlier been rearranged by Russell Drysdale in his searing reappraisal of the national landscape, and later dismantled by Fred Williams and John Olsen in a reductive re-assessment of the harsh realities they experienced. The result was a re-invigorated perception of landscape.

Yet, a Western landscape tradition would persist, a form of vernacular modernism that provided the means for imparting genuine deep-felt experiences of place. For instance, Ray Crooke’s luminous encounters with the terrain of northern Australia is testament to a tradition that harks back to the enigmatic, secular visions of Giorgione.

Armed with a formidable arsenal of talent and skills, Maestri chose to lay low in the Tanami, focusing on drawing the minutiae around him, while absorbing the enormity of the physical and cultural reality that engulfed him. The one thing he felt he shared with indigenous artists was the horizon line; yet, it was nowhere to be seen apart from the work of artist,

back to the ruptured, marginal lands around Broken Hill, Hill End and the Hunter Valley in NSW and recently, the farmlands and grazing regions of Hamilton in Victoria. The highly expressive monumental structures that arise from a mining enterprise, or traverse a flood plain, reflect the environmental impact our European footprint has had on the country.

The physical veracity and tonal mastery of Maestri’s landscapes and road kill have a spellbinding effect that tends to linger in the viewer’s imagination.

The recent self-portraits are a form of psychic excavation that arose in a sustained period of self-examination, where Maestri confronted his personal demons and questioned his worth as an artist. While he has an avowed affinity with the visceral self-portraits of Lucien Freud, these sculptures are among Guy Maestri’s finest and most original works to date.

Gavin Wilson Freelance Curator

Guy Maestri, The Mill no.4, 2014, oil on linen, 112 x 132cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Grey's Dam, 2016, oil on linen, 112 x 132cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Wingecarribee Reservoir, 2014, oil on linen, 183 x 225cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Grange Burn Bridge no.2, 2016, oil on linen, 168 x 204cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Master Blaster, 2014, oil on linen, 183 x 225cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, The Mill, 2014, oil on linen, 183 x 225cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Feed, 2016, oil on linen, 167 x 204cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Rasp Mine Head Frame, 2014, oil on linen, 81 x 71cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Rasp Mine Head Frame no.2, 2014, oil on linen, 82 x 72cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Black Gold No.5, 2015, oil on linen, 61 x 51cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Wreck no.11, 2015, oil on linen, 56 x 66cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Landscape Painting no.7, 2015, oil on linen, 61 x 71cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Feral no.17, 2015, oil on linen, 56 x 66cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Landscape Painting no.9, 2015, oil on linen, 56 x 66cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Thrown, 2015, oil on linen, 112 x 97cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Landscape Painting no.8, 2015, oil on linen, 61 x 71cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Desert Rose 2014, oil on linen, 61 x 51cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Feral no.8, 2015, oil on linen, 51 x 61cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Dingo (killer), 2015, bronze, 28 x 30 x 25cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Feral no.12, 2015, oil on linen, 56 x 66cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Relic (white skin red ear), 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 48 x 16 x 16cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Xerox, 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 45 x 16 x 16cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Relic (Yellow ears), 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 17 x 17 x 50cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Relic, 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 40 x 17 x 17cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Guy Maestri, Xerox no.II, 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 17 x 17 x 56cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Biography GUY MAESTRI Lives and works in Sydney, NSW Winning the Archibald Prize as Guy Maestri did in 2009 would be a defining moment in most artist’s careers, but he is quick to cite physical immersion in the landscape as revolutionary to his painting practice. It’s easy to gloss over the history of plein-air as a European tradition, born of gentle grasses and mild sunlight.

Practiced in Australia, away from the slip of green coastline, pleinair demands rigor of vast dimensions.

For Maestri, the material and temporal challenges of extended painting sessions in the hard country around Hill End, Wilcannia and Broken Hill has been instrumental in a new understanding of local art histories and ecologies, as well as the atmospheric and elemental qualities of landscape. Beholden to intimacies of place, the artist stakes out a subtle void or stillness in these dry landscapes without surrendering his animated, almost kinetic approach to paint.

Masquerading as a shady retreat, the studio retains its disciplinarian attitude but demands a different kind of focus. Here the void is more theatrical, Maestri’s compositions orchestrated with operatic tempo. Desiccated road-kill (the anti-trophy of inland highways) perform as contemporary Gothic vanitas, shot through with equal measure of beauty and pathos, the eye and the heart facing off.

A graduate of the National Art School, Maestri won the 2014 Kings School Art Prize and the 2013 Premier’s Plein Air Painting Prize.

He is a regular finalist in the Wynne Prize for Landscape at the Art Gallery of NSW and his work is held in several public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, Parliament House and the Art Gallery of NSW collections.

Courtesy of Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane Guy Maestri, Xerox no.IV, 2016, painted bronze and concrete, 57 x 16 x 16cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

List of works LANDSCAPE

STILL LIFE

Black Gold no.4

2015

oil on linen

71 x 61cm

Desert Rose

2014

oil on linen

61 x 51cm

Black Gold no.5

2015

oil on linen

61 x 51cm

Thrown

2015

oil on linen

112 x 97cm

Broken Hill

2014

oil on linen

61 x 51cm

Feral no.12

2015

oil on linen

56 x 66cm

Feed

2016

oil on linen

167 x 204cm

Feral no.17

2015

oil on linen

56 x 66cm

Grange Burn Bridge no.2

2016

oil on linen

168 x 204cm

Feral no.8

2015

oil on linen

51 x 61cm

Grey's Dam

2016

oil on linen

112 x 132cm

Landscape Painting no.7

2015

oil on linen

61 x 71cm

Master Blaster

2014

oil on linen

183 x 225cm

Landscape Painting no.8

2015

oil on linen

61 x 71cm

Rasp Mine Head Frame no.2 2014

oil on linen

82 x 72cm

Landscape Painting no.9

2015

oil on linen

56 x 66cm

Rasp Mine Head Frame

2014

oil on linen

81 x 71cm

Wreck no.11

2015

oil on linen

56 x 56cm

The Mill

2014

oil on linen

183 x 225cm

The Mill no.4

2014

oil on linen

112 x 132cm

Wingecarribee Reservoir

2014

oil on linen

183 x 225cm

SCULPTURE Xerox

2016

painted bronze and concrete

45 x 16 x 16cm

Xerox no.II

2016

painted bronze and concrete

17 x 17 x 56cm

Xerox no.IV

2016

painted bronze and concrete

57 x 16.x 16 cm

Relic

2016

painted bronze and concrete

40 x 17 x 17cm

Relic (ear)

2016

painted bronze and concrete

16 x 16 x 42cm

Relic (white skin red ear)

2016

painted bronze and concrete

48 x 16 x 16cm

Relic (Yellow ears)

2016

painted bronze and concrete

17 x 17 x 50cm

Dingo (killer)

2015

bronze

28 x 30 x 25cm

Guy Maestri, studio shot, marrickville, 2016

All works by Guy Maestri.

All works courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

GLASSHOUSE PORT MACQUARIE REGIONAL GALLERY Niomi Sands: Gallery Curator Bridget Purtill & Anne-Marie McWhirter: Gallery Assistant Marie Taylor: Graphic Design | Chrysalis Printing: Catalogue Printing Niomi Sands, Guy Maestri and Gavin Wilson: Text Copyright Guy Maestri: Image Copyright Š Glasshouse Regional Gallery 2016 ISBN 978-0-9871534-7-0 Cover image: Guy Maestri, Black Gold no.4, oil on linen, 71 x 61cm, courtesy of the Artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane

Unearth: Guy Maestri, 10 December 2016 - 12 February 2017

This publication is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research, study or as otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without permission. Enquiries should be made to Glasshouse Regional Gallery.

The Glasshouse Regional Gallery would like to especially thank Guy Maestri and Gavin Wilson.

Special thanks to the Glasshouse Technical Team and the Glasshouse Marketing, Front of House Teams and Volunteers for all their hard work on installing this exhibition.

The Glasshouse is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.

Printed on recycled paper

Government Sponsors

Founding Sponsors The Glasshouse is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW

Guy Maestri, plein-air shot, in Hamilton VIC 2016

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