In March, Queen St Gallery will host a solo exhibition by established Melbourne-based artist Eolo Paul Bottaro. In this his first solo exhibition in Sydney, a number of recent paintings, drawings, etchings and lithographs will be on display. While Bottaro’s work is widely known for its representation of Melbourne’s urban underbelly and iconic buildings such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Shrine of Remembrance, and the Royal Exhibition Building, this exhibition will mark the commencement of a series of works that introduce Sydney’s various urban environments as the stage for the dramatic figurative narratives the artist creates.
Bottaro’s work consciously blends the past with the present, depicting contemporary people enacting often mythologically inspired scenes. Sometimes he revisions compositions drawn from historical paintings, though here they are introduced into city streets to reflect on modern urban experience. Broadly speaking his powerful oil paintings and works on paper explore intrinsic and often contradictory facets of human nature. Add Bottaro’s attention towards the process and materials of painting – making paints from pure hand-ground pigments, hand-made coloured gessos and his use of gold leaf – and the result is strikingly original and vibrant paintings.
Humanising also exhibits a significant body of works on paper, revealing a passion for printmaking with particular focus on the medium of lithography. Bottaro has translated many of his oil paintings such as Joyride – city jam (featured at Melbourne Art Fair 2012) into the lithographic medium in collaboration with Master Printer, Peter Lancaster.
6 to 31 March, 2013
Queen St Gallery
Sydney
Images:
Eolo Paul Bottaro, Leucophea, 2011, oil, egg tempera and gold leaf on linen, 190 x 183cm
Eolo Paul Bottaro, Joyride – city jam, 2012, shellac based ink on paper, 26 x 34.5cm
Courtesy the artist and Queen St Gallery, Sydney
