‘If you have to ask what naïve art is, you will never know.’ – Viktor Zappner
After listening to the melodic twists of Thelonious Monk in the early 1960s, musician and art lover Viktor Zappner discovered a link between jazz and the work of Henri Rousseau. This appreciation and understanding of naïve art shapes ‘Tasmanian Naivists’ featuring Pat Hull, Ray (Shorty) Keeting, Tut Ludby, Chris Wilson and Bill Yaxley, whose paintings and sculptures create a refreshing, childlike innocence juxtaposed with a propulsive beat of spontaneity.
Bill Yaxley, Monk’s Dream (detail), 2009, painting on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Burnie Regional Art Gallery, Tasmania
Opening of ‘Tasmanian Naivists’ at Burnie Regional Art Gallery, 2018. Photograph: Grant Wells. Courtesy the Burnie Regional Art Gallery
Burnie Regional Art Gallery
Until 29 July 2018
Tasmania
