Murray White Room presents a combination of acclaimed landscape painter Tony Clark’s latest Chinoiserie landscapes – new and revisited paintings alongside loaned historical work that together mark his progression and recurrent 30 year journey as a practicing and exhibiting artist, both in Australia and overseas.
Despite the transition from his initial and widely recognised ‘atmospheric landscape paintings’ to his more recent Chinoiserie exploration, Murry White reveals that, ‘Tony Clark’s distinct visual subject matter over 30 years does maintain an eloquent continuity, once the viewer is ‘in the know’, so to speak.’
Inspired by Andrea Mantegna’s painting, The Introduction of the Cult of Cybele at Rome (1505-06) in the National Portrait Gallery, London and the concept of creating the illusion of a sculptural relief, Clark began to explore the potential of colour to produce a sense of atmosphere. He affirms, ‘The Chinoiserie works were a break-out for me because I wasn’t tied to the atmospheric paintings. I discovered that the colour itself could provide the atmosphere but not in this glazed, illusionistic way.’
Tony Clark, Chinoiserie landscape, 1988, oil on canvas board, 50.8 x 25.4cm. Courtesy the artist and Murray White Room, Melbourne
Depicting Chinese pagodas, trees and other elements from oriental landscapes, for Clark the Chinoiserie works are more than a means to creating the appearance of a relief, but rather understanding Australia in relation to Asia through the decorative arts. Chinoiserie as a practice dates back to the 18th century and represents an act of translation by European designers and craftsman as a result of trade, and it is this history that informs his paintings in a pop art kind of way.
Clark explains, ‘When I started doing these it seemed as if people were waking up for the first time to Australia’s socio- cultural identity and its relationship with Asia. I didn’t have an agenda and it wasn’t a political choice but I had a lot of sympathy with a renewed interest in classicism that was in the air at that time, and the Chinoiserie works fitted in with the ancient Greek and Roman references I was also interested in.’
Finally, those who are familiar with the artist’s oeuvre will appreciate Clark’s refinement of earlier unfinished pieces that have been revisited with fresh eyes.
Murray White Room
Until 29 March, 2018
Melbourne
