Dale Frank

Last updated

Dale Frank (born 1959) is an Australian contemporary artist best known for his biomorphic abstract paintings. His practice has included found object-sculptures, performance installations, drawings, and paintings with sculptural elements.

Contents

Early life and education

Frank was born in 1959 Singleton, in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. [1]

At the age of 19 he moved overseas to pursue a career as an artist in Europe and the United States. In 1998 he returned to live in Australia permanently.[ citation needed ]

Career and art practice

Frank's artistic explorations in the mid-1970s consisted of abstracted landscapes and assemblages that contained materials such as hardwoods and furniture. Later his performance-based sculptures included: staging an elaborate lighting and sound disco together with a DJ at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, and the Canberra Contemporary Art Centre; and installing eight large professional pool tables and associated paraphernalia of a Pool Hall, at the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane.[ citation needed ]

From 1981 to 1994 Frank created surreal large-scale drawings composed of intense tightly-held lines. These were exhibited in Sydney at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, as part of the 1982 Biennale of Sydney, as well as in New York and Amsterdam.[ citation needed ]

In 1994, as a sculpture installation at the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra, Frank installed speakers that played out across the entry forecourt a continuous repeat of five David Bowie albums. [2]

Around 1995 Frank started using varnish as the sole material of monochromatic paintings. In 2002 he introduced colour and experimented with chemicals. He created abstract paintings in vibrant colours using a distinct technique of layering thick varnish. Although he did not invent this technique, he developed and refined his particular methods to create a personal aesthetic. [3] Australian curator and writer Stuart Koop wrote: "Since 2001 I'd suggest, Frank's paintings don't depict or represent anything. Rather in a scientific sense they illustrate the behaviour of different painting materials, in isolation or in combination with others". [4]

The titles of his paintings are phrases invented or overheard that "read like short stories", [3] Sam Jinks and Elizabeth Newman wrote in 2015: "The works' titles remind us of Frank's creative intercession in these chemical exchanges: snippets from life conversations, things read, influences at large, big and little ideas that might suggest a subject, but perhaps better reflect the life of the artist in parallel - forming a montage whose doubtful inherent logic might still truly reflect the chaotic complexity of influence". [4]

Australian art critic Andrew Frost opined in 2013 that Frank's work is not affected by recent theories or passing fashions; however his works at that time ascribed to the "expanded notion" theory of painting: sculpture as well as performance could be considered in as part of the painting medium. [3]

Frank moved from working on canvas to Perspex, which he said added a new dimension to the work "spatially and conceptually". [5] The reflective nature of Perspex alters the paint quality, and in addition the work becomes a "performance", activated and completed when the viewer stands before it. [6]

In 2014 Frank donated 85 works valued at A$4 million to the National Gallery of Australia, which was the most significant gift by a living artist since Arthur Boyd's gift in 1975. Gallery director Ron Radford described Franks as "one of Australia's most important painters". [7]

Exhibitions

Frank's work has been exhibited widely, both in Australia and internationally. [1]

Solo museum exhibitions include a survey show in 2000 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, Dale Frank: Ecstasy – 20 Years of Painting. [8]

In 2010 Frank participated in the 17th Biennale of Sydney. [1]

He has held numerous exhibitions at commercial galleries including Roslyn Oxley9, Anna Schwartz, Gow Langsford, and Neon Parc. [9] [1]

His work was included in the Venice Biennale, both in the Aperto section in 1984 [8] and in the collateral exhibition Personal Structures in 2013.

In 2015 there was an exhibition of Frank's work at Neon Parc in Melbourne, which included sculptures created with found objects. [1]

In 2022, an Frank's work at the 55th Art Cologne in Cologne, Germany. [1]

A solo exhibition, Showers and Growers, will be mounted at the National Art School Gallery in Sydney. [1]

Recognition

At the age of only 16, Frank was awarded the Red Cross Art Award by John Olsen. [8]

Frank was awarded the 2005 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize from the Bendigo Art Gallery, worth A$50,000. [10] [8]

Publications

Related Research Articles

Rosalie Norah King Gascoigne was a New Zealand-born Australian sculptor and assemblage artist. She showed at the Venice Biennale in 1982, becoming the first female artist to represent Australia there. In 1994, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to the arts.

Bill Henson is an Australian contemporary art photographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Piccinini</span> Australian artist (born 1965)

Patricia Piccinini is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. Her works focus on "unexpected consequences", conveying concerns surrounding bio-ethics and help visualize future dystopias. In 2003, Piccinini represented Australia at the 50th Venice Biennale with a hyperrealist sculpture of her distinctive anthropomorphic animals. In 2016 The Art Newspaper named Piccinini with her "grotesque-cum-cute, hyper-real genetics fantasies in silicone" the most popular contemporary artist in the world after a show in Rio de Janeiro attracted over 444,000 visitors. Natasha Bieniek's portrait of Piccinini was a finalist for the 2022 Archibald Prize.

Fiona Margaret Hall, AO is an Australian artistic photographer and sculptor. Hall represented Australia in the 56th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2015. She is known as "one of Australia's most consistently innovative contemporary artists." Many of her works explore the "intersection of environment, politics and exploitation".

Mike Parr is an Australian performance artist and printmaker. Parr's works have been exhibited in Australia and internationally, including in Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

Imants Tillers, is an Australian artist, curator and writer. He lives and works in Cooma, New South Wales.

David Noonan is an Australian artist who lives and works in London.

Del Kathryn Barton is an Australian artist who began drawing at a young age, and studied at UNSW Art & Design at the University of New South Wales. She soon became known for her psychedelic fantasy works which she has shown in solo and group exhibitions across Australia and overseas. In 2008 and 2013 she won the Archibald Prizes for portraiture presented by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2015 her animated film Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose won the Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Sansom</span>

Gareth Sansom is an Australian artist, painter, printmaker and collagist and winner of the 2008 John McCaughey Memorial Prize of $100,000.

Julie Rrap is an Australian contemporary artist who was raised on the Gold Coast in Queensland She was born Julie Parr, and reversed her name to express her sense of opposition. Since the mid-1970's she has worked in photography, painting, sculpture, video and performance. Julie's work expresses her interest in images of the body, especially the female body.

John Kelly is an Australian artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bendigo Art Gallery</span> Art gallery in Victoria, Australia

Bendigo Art Gallery is an Australian art gallery located in Bendigo, Victoria. It is one of the oldest and largest regional art galleries.

James Angus is an Australian artist known for 'his engaging and rigorously crafted sculptures'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronwyn Oliver</span> Australian sculptor (1959–2006)

Bronwyn Joy Oliver was an Australian sculptor whose work primarily consisted of metalwork. Her sculptures are admired for their tactile nature, aesthetics, and technical skills demonstrated in their production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery</span>

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery is an art gallery in Sydney, owned and operated by Roslyn Oxley and her husband Tony Oxley. The gallery has been a longstanding contributor to regional, national and international art fairs, and supporter of a range of mono-disciplinary and interdisciplinary contemporary artists. Artists represented by Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery include Isaac Julien, Yayoi Kusama and representatives for Australia and New Zealand at the Venice Biennale.

Jennifer Watson is an Australian artist known for her paintings that combine text and images.

Nell is an Australian artist working across performance, installation, video, painting and sculpture. In 2013, she won the University of Queensland Self-Portrait Award. In 2017, she was inducted into the Maitland City Hall of Fame in the category of The Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikala Dwyer</span> Australian sculptor (born 1959)

Mikala Dwyer is an Australian artist born in 1959 in Sydney. She is a contemporary sculptor who was shortlisted with fellow artist Justene Williams to represent Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale.

Nyapanyapa Yunupingu was an Australian Yolngu painter and printmaker who lived and worked in the community at Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory. Yunupingu created works of art that drastically diverge from the customs of the Yolngu people and made waves within the art world as a result. Due to this departure from tradition within her oeuvre, Yunupingu's work had varying receptions from within her community and the broader art world.

Sarah Contos is an Australian artist known for her collages and installations. She has been a finalist in a number of art prizes, and was the inaugural recipient of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dale Frank". Neon Parc. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Radford, Lisa; Luscombe, Liang (1 December 2012). "Are we in a cone of silence?: A letter between two artists, who are editors (for now)". un Projects - Dialogue and ideas in contemporary art. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Frost, Andrew (21 August 2013). "Dale Frank, Nobody's Sweetie – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 Jinks, Sam; Newman, Elizabeth (5 May 2015). "Dale Frank". Crackle... & splat!. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Dale Frank at Art Los Angeles Contemporary". Ocula. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Magon, Jane (1992). Dale Frank. NSW, Australia: Craftsmen House.
  7. ↑ Pryor, Sally (15 August 2014). "Artist Dale Frank $4 million donation is National Gallery of Australia's 'most significant gift'". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Angelatos, Veronica (28 August 2019). "When asked how he acquired his fine collection of french empire clocks…, 2005". Deutscher and Hackett. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Dale Frank". Pearl Lam Galleries. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize". Bendigo Art Gallery. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2024.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.