Scalene Exhibition Catalogue

SCALENE Group exhibition featuring recent paintings by emerging artists Maximilian Daniels, Caleb Reid, and Nik Uzunovski

SCALENE | GROUP EXHIBITION Opening Night: Thursday 10 March 2016, 6-8pm 10-24 March 2016, Tue-Sat 10am-5pm 76 Paddington St Paddington NSW 2021 Part of Art Month Sydney & Paddington Art At Night RSVP 02 9660 7799 or rsvp@piermarq.com.au Piermarq is proud to present to you the catalogue of the group exhibition Scalene, opening on 10 March 2016.

A scalene triangle is a triangle of unequal parts – different length sides and different angles all which resolve the form. This exhibition explores the work of three unique and exciting young artists who all challenge form through their own means of abstraction, featuring new works by Maximilian Daniels, Caleb Reid, and Nik Uzunovski.

It will not only be the opening show of Piermarq’s new gallery space but will also be part of Art Month Sydney and Paddington Art At Night.

So join us on March 10 from 6-8pm during a night of great art in Paddington.

PIERMARQ GALLERY AND ART ADVISORY Piermarq exhibits Australian Contemporary and Aboriginal Art and presents a calendar of shows of represented artists throughout the year.

After near four years down on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour at Pyrmont, Piermarq is excited to have moved to the inner heart of the Sydney art market scene: Scalene marks Piermarq’s opening exhibition in the historical art precinct of Paddington.

Visit us and discover Australian remarkable artworks, up close and personal in our exclusive gallery space and art advisory offices. Whether you’re new to the market or a seasoned collector, get tailored advice to match your interests, budget, goals and personal taste.

Justin Callanan and Rob Russell Piermarq Directors

MAXIMILIAN DANIELS (b. 1991) Maximilian Daniels is a young emerging artist of extraordinary talents across the spectrum of both portraiture and abstraction, standing at the forefront of a promising career. He has joined his artistic training at the College of Fine Arts (COFA) at the University of NSW in Sydney where he ďŹ nalised a double degree, one being his Bachelor of Arts in painting and drawing.

Daniels believes intuition and expression to be intrinsically linked to his art making practice.

For him this idea drives a process of observational abstraction, where examination of a stimulus allows a relationship to develop between gesture, form and subject. Working from naval models of ships his eye deconstructs the object drawing shapes and structures that translate to an image often divorced from its true physical form. The attributes of this process allow his work an air of spontaneity, energy and movement where his passion for painting as a physical action or release is conveyed strongly to his audience. Playing with the distinction between representational abstraction and pure abstraction, he is able to compile a diverse body of work from a single stimulus.

Drawing and smaller studies are also important to forming and understanding of the subject in order to deconstruct it. The primary intention of life drawing and observation is to express a subject as accurately as possible. The drawings and studies depart from the original intention of traditional observational drawing towards personal impression, investiArtist Maximilian Daniels photographed by Philip Weiss Tornes.

gating ways in which a subject can be represented divorced of its true physical form. This depiction examines observation on a personal level and actively explores how gesture can be used in order to express a subject in a novel and interesting way.

Daniels recognises and explores cubist ideas of deconstructing form, using flattened areas of colour, shapes and line to delineate the subject. These principles are loosely incorporated within the works and development of the image is a cumulative, metamorphic process. Using the process of observation, Daniels is able to form his own impression, expression and intuitive image in relation to the model. The works acknowledge Neo-Expressionist Julian Schnabel’s statement, “Painting can proceed from one’s inspiration and can be complete and successful in the sense that it is materialised” (Julian Schnabel, 1983: 94).

Of particular importance to his current body of work is the thought experiment The Ship of Theseus. Commonly known as the Theseus’ paradox, the experiment questions whether an object could have all of its structural elements replaced and remain fundamentally the same object. The experiment, first documented by the philosopher Plutarch, is important in further understanding the motive for Daniels’ process of abstraction and the motif within the works.

Further, the act of model making replicates ideas of deconstruction and reconstruction important in Daniels’ work. Crafted by his grandfather, the meticulous models embody a process of careful discipline which he aims to understand and investigate through breaking up and deconstructing the object. The process is also used as a method of capturing the model’s symbolic importance in representing his grandfather as a prominent figure during his upbringing, and to his family as a whole. Through his ties to the model Daniels develops a narrative between the history of the object and his relationship to it.

Photo by Philip Weiss Tornes.

Maximilian Daniels Sail Study #2, 2016 Oil and acrylic on canvas 152 x 152 cm

Maximilian Daniels Rigging & Ratchet, 2016 Oil and pastel on canvas 101.5 x 101.5 cm

Maximilian Daniels Untitled, 2015 Acrylic on canvas 101.5 x 101.5 cm

Maximilian Daniels Gunwhal and Sail, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 121 x 121 cm

Maximilian Daniels Starboard Side Study, 2016 Acrylic on canvas 152 x 152 cm

CALEB REID (b. 1988) Caleb Reid is an emerging and promising Sydneybased artist. Raised in Bronte Beach, he has been surrounded by creative and artistic people for as long as he can remember. Despite having been ranked among the top junior surfers in Australia – competing as a finalist in the 2006 World Junior Championships in Brazil – Reid has had a heavily emotional past; losing his mother during a tragic accident at the age of 12 and having battled with depression during his adolescence. The pressure of popularity and competitiveness in the professional surfing scene was wearing and got him emotionally spiralling downward.

But then he found art. Reid got accepted into the National Art School in Darlinghurst where he has finalised his Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a focus on drawing, painting, and sculpture.

Artist Caleb Reid photographed by Brad Malyon.

Asked about the role art plays in his life, “it changed my whole world and I realised this is the way I want to be for the rest of my life”, making it clear that Reid is highly focused and committed to the arts. “There’s no way I’d rather be for the rest of my life. There’s no other way”, he says.

Stylistically one recognises the artistic influence of internationally renowned artists Brett Whiteley (Australian, 1939-1992) and Francis Bacon (Irish-British, 1909-1992). Reid had the opportunity to closely observe the work of the latter during the major exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney in 2012. Just as Whiteley and Bacon, Reid’s work is characterised by human form and emotional expression.

“Whiteley had an immediate emotional connection to his work and opened the vein of creation without self-judgement. As a result the image vault that he had inside him flowed directly onto the canvas. I pay a lot of attention to my emotional state in order to open up my creativity, open the vein. I try to sit within that moment when your mind isn’t recognising itself and you’re not being critical of your movements, but rather discovery is happening.”

Another influence in Reid’s work can be found in graffiti: “Graffiti treats lettering just like the human form. There needs to be a physicality, weight and thought given to each letter. Graffiti artists spend years studying and perfecting before they lay any kind of creativity over the top of that it, much like a drawer or painter does with the body. I think the best graffiti artists think of it as a formal practice.”

Artist Caleb Reid in his studio.

Caleb Reid Picasso’s Muse I, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 132 x 116 cm

Caleb Reid Picasso’s Muse II, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 132 x 116 cm

Caleb Reid Picasso’s Muse III, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 132 x 116 cm

Caleb Reid Picasso’s Muse IV, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 132 x 116 cm

NIK UZUNOVSKI (b. 1987) “My most recent work investigates how we access memories and the emotional and sensory responses to memories. It is through the visual medium of paint, collage and drawing; using formal elements of line, form, shape and colour, where I articulate my own and shared responses to memories of people, places and experiences. It is how I am able to make sense of something that is often difficult to articulate through sustained thought and conversation; trying to give the feelings memories generate a tangible presence in a visual context. It is through this process that I map out the relationship between a memory; representational and non-representational forms, often fractured in nature, hence why much of the work often takes on an almost topographical appearance. […] Whether they’re negative or positive, memories of people, places, experiences and happenings are deeply engrained within everyone they make us who we are. Memories are precious things; even the bad ones, we learn from them, teach ourselves and teach others.”

Artist Nik Uzunovski in his studio, 2014-2015.

Nik Uzunovski grew up in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, gaining his artistic training at the West Wollongong TAFE art school and the University of Wollongong, where he received his Bachelor of Creative Arts.

In 2014-2015 he has been the Resident Artist at the Wollongong Art Gallery. This residency program – supporting emerging artists since its establishment in 1992 – has provided Uzunovski with time for reflection, research and extensive practice, resulting in his well received Solo Exhibition Between the Shadow and the Soul.

His paintings are bold, vibrant and appealing, and are executed within a stylistic space that may be referred to as abstract expressionism; not surprisingly Willem de Kooning being one of his artistic inspirations.

As set out in his artist statement, Nik Uzunovski’s work is strongly related to memory. The artist’s late grandmother developed dementia and lost almost all of her memories, not remembering who her grandchildren were. Slowly consuming her entire mind, it definitely has had its effect on the artist, exploring the theme and process of mapping memories in his drawings, collages and paintings.

Nik Uzunovski Luminous Mind, Bright Devil, 2016 Oil on canvas 101.5 x 101.5 cm

Nik Uzunovski Fractured Night, 2016 Oil on canvas 101.5 x 101.5 cm

Nik Uzunovski InďŹ nite Sky, 2016 Oil on canvas 101.5 x 101.5 cm

Nik Uzunovski Secret Nights and Permanent Kisses 2014-2015 Oil on board 61 x 43 cm

Nik Uzunovski Wings Open, Fire is Born 2014-2015 Oil on board 61 x 43 cm

Nik Uzunovski Coastal Realm, 2015 Oil on canvas 92 x 122 cm

Nik Uzunovski Recollection Lost, 2015 Oil on canvas 92 x 122 cm

Contact us +61 2 9660 7799 info@piermarq.com.au 76 Paddington St Paddington 2021 NSW