Linda Marrinon receives the $50,000 Don Macfarlane Prize, an annual gift awarded to an established Australian artist in recognition of their unwavering, agenda-setting arts practice and contribution to Australian art.
A key figure in Australian art since the 1980s, Melbourne-based artist Linda Marrinon first came to prominence for her idiosyncratic paintings and drawings that reflected the postmodern parody and feminist wit of the time. Recently she has created a compelling body of figurative sculpture and busts in terracotta, plaster and bronze, combining 19th century techniques with a contemporary sensibility. Her beguiling sculptures are objects full of irony and humour, drawing on historical figures, theatrical stereotypes and fashion tropes. Echoing classical, 19th century sculptural traditions, Marrinon subverts the genre, reinterpreting this weighty history with amusing, anti-heroic and sometimes cartoon-like simplifications, replete with contemporary reference and relevance.
Linda Marrinon, Don Macfarlane Prize 2018 winner
The Don Macfarlane Prize is named after benefactor Don Macfarlane, a respected Melbourne businessman who throughout his life took immense pleasure in the arts. It was established to redress what he felt were significant gaps in the philanthropic and funding sector for significant senior Australian artists.
Unlike other prizes, there is no application process – the shortlisted artists, and final recipient, are decided by an Advisory Committee comprised of senior members of Australia’s visual arts community who this year were more than thrilled to present the award to Marrinon; ‘Her sculptures show a deep commitment to studio craft and the history of art. She combines this with great humour and wit. Linda deftly positions her work between high and mass culture, art and decoration, good taste and kitsch. Her figurative sculptures are filled with wry observations on human nature. A Linda Marrinon exhibition is a conga line of posers, fashion victims and heroes. Her sculptures are smart, intriguing and over the top. They’re deadly serious but they’ll make you laugh out loud.’
‘For more than three decades, Linda has worked with diligence and determination in pursuit of her vision. She’s not afraid to change direction, relearn her craft, and put years into developing her practice. The force of her work is testament to her steadfast and honest commitment to making art. This award recognises her incredible contribution to Australian art.’
In accepting the prize, Linda Marrinon said; ‘This is an amazing opportunity, and I plan to use it to explore some of the technical issues I have in enlarging my sculptures – which I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. That’s a real thrill for me, which will show in the work in years to come. It will let me do things I wasn’t able to do before.’
Linda Marrinon, Screwball, 1985, oil on linen, 122 x 91.5 x 6.5cm. Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of Loti Smorgon and Victor Smorgon, 1995
