1988 Melbourne
Self-portrait in studio, 1988, is one of the first of Terry Batt’s large paintings. It is reminiscent of American Pop artist Robert Indiana, whose work Batt admired, and other contemporary American artists including Boston pattern painters John McNamara (b.1950) and Roger Kizik (b.1945). Their works feature ‘exuberant collisions of form’ and alternated between representational imagery and abstract art.
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The ‘big paintings’ started by Batt dividing some of his existing works into sections and reassembling them to make larger composite works. The collage-like process of cutting and sewing disparate elements to make one cohesive piece informs the content of the painting – there’s a musical cacophony of twisting lines, shapes and objects that reference Surrealism, Oceanic art and popular culture.
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Self-portrait in studio, 1988
oil and wax on canvas
178 x 254 cm
Private Collection
oil and wax on canvas
178 x 254 cm
Private Collection
Batt’s investment in technique (the presence of scissors and other tools of the trade) and materiality (the use of a wax medium to bulk out the paint) are important features of his art. The pair of over-sized scissors is an ongoing conversation that focuses on the personal life of the artist and his professional career. Batt pictures a Philip Guston-like portrait of himself in the left-hand side, his head contains mechanical wheels or cogs that signify mental anguish and/or turmoil.
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The big paintings formed the centrepiece of Terry Batt’s first three solo shows at Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, from 1986-89. One of the works, Behind the Bones, 1985, was acquired for the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia. The artist was praised by the NGA Director James Mollison as ‘One of the better colourists going around’.
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