GUY MAESTRI Field Studies
14 May 2009 - 6 June 2009
Guy Maestri is one of Australia's most championed artists and this year was the winner of one of the most prestigious art accolades in Australia, the Archibald Prize. Maestri is known for his unique paintings which employ subliminal renderings of motifs found in nature. Throughout his career the artist has displayed a laboured, genuine affection for the natural world and its ecosystems. His works have a language and symbolism of their own, sometimes resulting in a surreal, dreamlike composition. Rather than present a direct observation of say a leaf or a bird, Maestri allows the imagery to emerge and disappear, capturing the memory or feeling of the thing, rather than a specific version. The results are intuitive and show a playful experimental with line and form.
The subject matter is more than just animals, flora and fauna. It deals with the cycles of nature; erosion, germination, sedimentation by mimicking their effects. The very things depicted remain only as an imprint or a scar on the canvas, submerged in the greater scheme of things. In a sense the artist's practice lies somewhere between representation and abstraction - we may recognize the forms, but they are not as we know them. They have entered a new realm of existence, one imagined and developed by Maestri, and by the fluid handling of the line and painted surface.
The exhibition Field Studies, Maestri's first solo show in Hong Kong, perfectly embodies the sentiment and style of the artist which has become so revered. The new works feature his signature painterly style mixed with graphic line drawing and stenciling. The canvasses have no natural sense of proportion or vanishing point contributing the sense that these are surreal, symbolic compositions.
Significantly, the artist has always emphasized that for his work to succeed it must be able to stand alone as an autonomous expression. The origins and meaning aside, the canvas should have an energy free from representation and 'normal' pictorial judgment. That is, they should invoke a response based on their own unique patterns. Maestri's work certainly succeeds, inviting us to contemplate his conjured compositions and employ a new set of values with which to appreciate them. Ultimately they offer every viewer a unique aesthetic experience.
Born in New South Wales, Maestri is based in Sydney and has shown widely throughout Australia. In March 2009 he was awarded the Archibald Prize for his stirring portrait of Indigenous singer, Geoffrey Gurrumul. In 2007 and 2008 he was a finalist for the Dobell Darwing Prize.
)
