TONY BISHOP

ToNy Bishop CHARLOTTE HANDY The Green Green Grass of Home heaphy’s 27 November garden - 18 December, 2010 th

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Preview Friday 11th June from 5:30pm Artist will Attend 12th June - 7th July, 2010

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street

(03) 477 7727

info@milfordhouse.co.nz

1. TONY BISHOP, The Green Green Grass of Home (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 905 x 1325 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 802 x 1220 x 5 mm

1. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, The Green Green Grass of Home (2010)

2. TONY BISHOP, The Scourge of Dairy Farming (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 905 x 1325 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 802 x 1223 x 5 mm

2. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, The Scourge of Dairy Farming (2010)

3. TONY BISHOP, Some Bloke Made Me an Offer to Turn This Place over for Dairy Conversion (2010)

acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 900 x 1303 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 802 x 1202 x 5 mm

3. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Some Bloke Made Me an Offer to Turn This Place over for Dairy Conversion (2010)

4. TONY BISHOP, Rural Compass (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 900 x 1291 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 800 x 1200 x 5 mm

4. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Rural Compass (2010)

5. TONY BISHOP, Paddock Racing (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 905 x 1325 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 802 x 1222 x 5 mm

5. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Paddock Racing (2010)

6. TONY BISHOP, Little Boy Lost (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 892 x 1300 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 795 x 1200 x 5 mm

6. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Little Boy Lost (2010)

7. TONY BISHOP, Little German Owl (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 905 x 1325 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 802 x 1222 x 5 mm

7. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Little German Owl (2010)

8. TONY BISHOP, The Heartrending Hills of Home (2010) acrylic on board, f

frame (v x h x d): 1004 x 1603 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 902 x 1500 x 5 mm

9. TONY BISHOP, Long Train Running (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 607 x 5 mm

9. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Long Train Running (2010)

10. TONY BISHOP, Little Town in the Middle of Nowhere (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 608 x 5 mm

10. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Little Town in the Middle of Nowhere (2010)

11. TONY BISHOP, Rod the Rabbiter (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 610 x 5 mm

11. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, Rod the Rabbiter (2010)

12. TONY BISHOP, The First Job I Ever Had (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 608 x 5 mm

12. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, The First Job I Ever Had (2010)

13. TONY BISHOP, One Perfect Day at the Crib (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 607 x 5 mm

13. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, One Perfect Day at the Crib (2010)

14. TONY BISHOP, The Green Green Grass of Home (2010), acrylic on board, frame (v x h x d): 500 x 711 x 60 mm, panel (v x h x d): 398 x 607 x 5 mm

14. DETAIL VIEW TONY BISHOP, The Green Green Grass of Home (2010)

Tony Bishop paints the Southland landscape with an eye as much for what is there as for what is not. He tells stories of social change, environmental risk, cultural expression and builds dialogues of unease.

Nothing is as it first may seem- the stylised, manicured, altered landscape has become a factory of green grass and whilst that may be sweet to look at, it tells a tale of ceaseless change.

Titles encode narratives of consequences - “Some Bloke Made me an Offer …” and “The Scourge of Dairy Farming” present the relentless advance of dairying and reveal the power of money. “Rob the Rabbiter” achieves his living from an endless pest. What is the real price paid for progress and financial reward? Is it that the rural landscape becomes homogenised, mechanised and only a means to an end?

“Little Boy Lost” like a Hemingway short story contrasts the simple beauty of a fluid landscape with the biting tragedy of a death by neglect. In “Rural Compass” Bishop establishes the road sign as a metaphor of choice.

Bishop employs humour, irony, impending event and menace as key narrative devices. He contrasts perfection, order and the places where people exist with how they live – he shows them to be alone, to be nowhere particular and embarked on roundabout journeys. Is the rural circumstance of NZ so dire that paddock racing is all ‘bogan’ culture aspires too?

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1

The Green Green Grass of Home (2010)

3,500

2

The Scourge of Dairy Farming (2010)

3,500

3

Some Bloke Made Me an Offer to Turn This Place over for Dairy Conversion (2010)

3,500

4

Rural Compass (2010)

3,500

5

Paddock Racing (2010)

3,500

6

Little Boy Lost (2010)

3,500

7

Little German Owl (2010)

3,500

8

The Heartrending Hills of Home (2010)

4,500

9

Long Train Running (2010)

1,500

10

Little Town in the Middle of Nowhere (2010)

1,500

11

Rod the Rabbiter (2010)

1,500

12

The First Job I Ever Had (2010)

1,500

13

One Perfect Day at the Crib (2010)

1,500

14

The Green Green Grass of Home (2010)

1,500

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

TONY BISHOP b. 1958, lives Invercargill

The Green Remembered Hills of Home (2007)

"Tony Bishop's artwork uses vibrant, cheerful colours and a deceptively simple childlike style to depict themes of death, murder, hopelessness and poverty. Despite the heavy subject matter Tony’s unique sense of humour comes through strongly. His paintings often have reoccurring images of flames, birds of prey and dogs and always tell a story. Sometimes Tony writes a postscript to go with the painting, with other paintings the stories and the implied emotions are very apparent. There is a strong rural favour to Tony’s work, a reflection of his early experiences." 1 Tony Bishop’s paintings could be categorised as ‘outsider art’ but to do so would be to risk missing how ‘inside’ the NZ rural and social circumstance these works are. Equally, it would be just as easy to clothe his works with another convenient term of being ‘naïve’, the stylistic description used “to describe art works that have been created outside the boundaries of official culture” that “reflect unconventional ideas or concepts and depict elaborate fantasy words” using “vibrant, cheerful colours and a deceptively simple childlike style” 2 but while apt, this too is insufficient because it is but a component, only a part of what is going on in his works and thus incomplete. What may appear simple and stylised at first is in fact nothing of the sort.

Tony Bishop gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam, Auckland in the mid 80s. He has travelled extensively, and when in Sydney completed a Post Graduate Course in illustration. He also attended Clown School. Bishop has acted in several plays, films and television commercials, and now lives in Invercargill.

1. David Clarke, “Southern Gothic – Tony Bishop”, Director, Lakes District Museum and Gallery, 2007 2. Ibid

Tony Bishop 2010 CV P a g e |1

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

TONY BISHOP b. 1958, lives Invercargill EDUCATION 1991-92 1984

Post Graduate Course in Illustration, Rankwick TAFE, Sydney BFA, University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2010 2008 2007

The Green Green Grass of Home, Milford Galleries Dunedin Home Is Where the Art Is, Milford Galleries Dunedin Southern Gothic, Milford Galleries Dunedin Southern Gothic (Touring show), Eastern Southland Gallery Gore and Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2009 2008 1997-99 1984

Southern Landscape, milford galleries queenstown 3B’s- Joanna Braithwaite, Tony Bishop and Graham Bennett Four Performances with John Lyall The Colin Mechanno Set, performance art at various Auckland site specific locations Photography Days At Sea Real Pictures His Majesty’s Arcade Auckland

SELECTED ARTICLES (as attached) 2008 2007

Benson, Nigel, Southern Gothic, Otago Daily Times, Thursday November 20, 2008 Speer, Sophie, Twisted Exhibition to Open, Southland Times, Friday, November 9, 2007

Cat Lady (2008)

Tony Bishop 2010 CV

P a g e |2

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz