▶ JAMES GUPPY PAINTING DEMONSTRATION

Last night, James Guppy gave a fantastic life painting demonstration for Art Month Sydney. The two hour demo featured both lighting and painting techniques with a live model. Throughout the evening, attendees were encouraged to ask questions and the intimate setting gave a glimpse into his working practice. A big thank you goes out to James and be sure to catch his current exhibition Anima Rising on view until the 24th of March.

▶ WILL COLES + JAMES GUPPY, OPENING 6 MARCH

New work by WILL COLES and JAMES GUPPY will be on view starting the 6th of March. Please join us for a drink with the Artists to celebrate the launch of their solo exhibitions on Saturday 10 March from 4-6pm. In conjunction with ART MONTH SYDNEY, the Gallery is also presenting several free events, listed below.

Left: James Guppy, 'The Miscreants Burden' 2012, acrylic on linen, 137 x 92cm
Right: Will Coles, 'Britney' 2012, resin with iron dust, edition of 1, 23 x 33 x 19.5cm

▶ Join us for a glimpse into the surreal world of James Guppy as he demonstrates life drawing, Thursday 8 March 7-9pm
Spaces are limited so please RSVP to the Gallery, info@brendamaygallery.com.au

▶ Art at Night, Drinks with Will Coles, Friday 9 March 6-8pm
RSVP required, info@brendamaygallery.com.au

▶ Will Coles Artist Talk, Saturday 10 March 2-2:30pm
No RSVP required, all welcome

▶ James Guppy Artist Talk, Saturday 10 March 2:30-3pm
No RSVP required, all welcome

▶JAMES GUPPY EXHIBITION AN ART MONTH HIGHLIGHT ON TIME OUT WEBSITE

▶ ART MONTH 2012

Brenda May Gallery will be participating in Art Month Sydney 2012 with exhibitions by Will Coles and James Guppy. Several free events will be held in conjunction with the opening of the shows.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Art Month events at the Gallery. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.


▶ JAMES GUPPY, Anima Rising, 6 to 24 March 2012

Join us for a glimpse into the surreal world of James Guppy as he demonstrates life drawing during Art Month, Thursday 8 March 7-9pm
Spaces are limited so please RSVP to the Gallery, info@brendamaygallery.com.au 

James Guppy Artist Talk, Saturday 10 March 2:30-3pm
No RSVP required

Left: James Guppy, 'The Miscreants Burden' 2012, acrylic on linen, 137 x 92cm
Right: Will Coles, 'Britney' 2012, resin with iron dust, edition of 1, 23 x 33 x 19.5cm

▶ WILL COLES, Nihilist archaeology, 6 to 24 March 2012

Art at Night, Drinks with Will Coles, Friday 9 March 6-8pm
RSVP required, info@brendamaygallery.com.au

Will Coles Artist Talk, Saturday 10 March 2-2:30pm
No RSVP required

▶ NEW IN THE STOCKROOM: JAMES GUPPY PAINTINGS

Left: James Guppy, 'The Gift' 2011, acrylic on linen, 120 x 61cm
Centre: James Guppy, 'Skua Wings' 2011, acrylic on linen, 61 x 30cm
Right: James Guppy, 'The Suitor' 2011, acrylic on linen, 120 x 61cm

The Gallery has added several new paintings by James Guppy to the stockroom. These works were completed in 2011 and continue themes he introduced with his series of New Work in 2010. The animals that were paired with the figures in his earlier works now merge into one being with animal heads on human bodies and human faces emerging from lizards, birds and horses.

Guppy will be holding his next solo exhibition titled Anima Rising at Brenda May Gallery in March 2012.

▶ JAMES GUPPY ON ABC RADIO NATIONAL

"If the artist James Guppy asks you to pose for him, don't expect an airbrushed, Photoshopped, botoxed version of yourself to appear on the canvas. James freely admits to 'loving wrinkles and all those bits that most people don't want to think about.' But for some women this has only made them even more keen to pose for the painter in his studio at Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. A couple of years ago, James Guppy asked several of his 'middle aged' friends to pose nude for him. The result was the series Fay which drew on the mad works of the Victorian fairy painter Richard Dadd and focused on the opinions of the women in his life who found that as they aged they were being, 'submerged by invisibility and irrelevance.

Jeanavive McGregor visited James Guppy's studio for a cup of tea with the artist and his muses. Some of them had done modelling for artists but not for years, others had never taken off their clothes for art before."

Listen to the interview here.

▶ PRESS: JAMES GUPPY, ROBERT BOYNES & AL MUNRO IN HABITUS

James Guppy, Robert Boynes and Al Munro are featured in the current issue of habitus magazine. The article focuses on the juxtaposition of classic design and contemporary art.


The works by James Guppy and Robert Boynes are pictured in the 'Botanical and human' section of the article, whilst Al Munro's work is on the 'Geometric and abstract' page.










Reproduced in: habitus, Issue 13 2011, pp. 40-42

.............................................................

Top: James Guppy, 'The Struggle',acrylic on linen. 137 x 91cm

Centre: Robert Boynes, 'Next Exit', acrylic on canvas, timber - diptych, 120 x 164cm 

Bottom: Al Munro, 'Small Blue-Black Mineral Crystal', screen print and glitter flocking on Stonehenge paper- unique (framed), 112 x 76cm

▶ NEW IN THE STOCKROOM: JAMES GUPPY 'RED POPPY'

The 2005 painting 'Red Poppy' by James Guppy has never been publicly exhibited. Upon completion, the work entered into a private collection and is only being released for sale now, a full six years later. The 91.5cm square canvas is hung on the diagonal making it a 128.5cm square painting. The diagonal canvas was a personal challenge for Guppy as it is difficult to resolve a composition in that shape. Guppy began creating the diagonal works in the early 90's and the diamond shape was first incorporated into his peeping box series.

James Guppy, 'Red Poppy' 2005, acrylic on linen, 128.5 x 128.5cm

▶ JAMES GUPPY: 'STEP RIGHT UP! THE CIRCUS IN AUSTRALIAN ART'

Left: James Guppy,'Joy Riding with the Last Steering Committee' 2007, acrylic on linen, 91.5 x 137cm
Right: James Guppy, 'Rising to the Bait' 2007, acrylic on linen, 40 x 30cm

Three paintings by James Guppy, recently exhibited in the touring show 'Step Right Up! The Circus in Australian Art', are now available to view at the Gallery. The paintings, completed in 2007 while Guppy was an Artist in Residence at Albury Regional Gallery, feature groups of figures participating in coordinated acrobatics on the beach. In 'Joy Riding with the Last Steering Committee', the four figures are pictured on the edge of the sea with Joy balanced tranquilly upon her partner's feet regardless of the threatening waves.

Select pages from the exhibition catalogue 'Step Right Up! The Circus in Australian Art'

▶ ARTIST PROFILE: JAMES GUPPY

Brenda May Gallery is proud to present the first Artist Profile about James Guppy from our series of twelve films featuring each of the represented artists.

The centrepiece of the Profile is an enlightening interview with Guppy detailing his inspiration, artistic development and process. Filmed in the Gallery among the dark and enigmatic paintings from his December 2010 exhibition, Guppy highlights the local lore and legends of his native home in Northern England that influenced the series. With his preparatory photographs fading into an image of the finished painting, the planning and foresight by the artist is fully realised. Guppy is a storyteller and each painting contains part of a narrative that is threaded among the canvases.

The series is produced and directed by Simon Baré and the interview is conducted by Jeanavive McGregor.

Left: Preparatory photograph by James Guppy for 'Sycorax'
Right: James Guppy, 'Sycorax' (detail) 2010, acrylic and varnish on linen, 90 x 180cm

▶ NEW IN THE STOCKROOM: JAMES GUPPY, 'TENSION'

James Guppy, 'Tension' 1995, acrylic on marine plywood, 29.7 x 90cm

Whilst it could be seen simply as a beautiful painting of a flower, the delicate petals pierced with gold rings and strung tightly across the work could also be seen as a highly sexualised abstraction of female genitalia. Referencing the piercing culture of adolescents, Guppy blends the obvious with the obscure in the 1995 painting 'Tension'. On closer inspection, the darkly patterned background delicately applied in rich green tones, reveals a series of repeated 'grotesque' figures that meld and blend to become a version of erotic wallpaper. The painting is from the Gynaeceum series of works referencing internal organs as flowers. 'Tension' is an exceptional example of Guppy's mid-1990s work with a carefully varnished finish that highlights his precise application of paint and attention to detail.