Brian Dunlop’s work Malatesta.By Shaun Inguanzo
RENOWNED Australian artist Brian Dunlop says he is mistakenly referred to as a ‘realistic’ artist.
The Port Fairy-based painter, who turns 70 next year, has painted portraits of public figures including Queen Elizabeth II and has won a prestigious Archibald Prize.
He will today (Thursday) launch his Structures of Light exhibition at the Walker Street Gallery, a hand-picked selection of his artistic obsession with the qualities of light in paintings.
But while onlookers marvel at Mr Dunlop’s quality, and ability to make them question whether it is a photo or painting, he says ‘realistic’ is a term he would never use to describe his work.
“Some people call it realism, but it is what I call magic,” he said.
“I don’t like to use the term realism, I am scared to use it, because what is real is not necessarily what you can see.”
Mr Dunlop said he was fascinated by light and its translation into art, so much so that he installed a bay window in his Port Fairy home to watch the effect of the moving sunlight.
“I hope that with my sort of work people can see that the normal world can be quite magical,” he said. “Often through the light I can paint what people might see as ordinary objects, but hopefully extract something extraordinary out of it.”
Mr Dunlop said he was interested to see how successful the Dandenong exhibit was.
“I drove to Melbourne from Sydney in 1980 and thought I would go through Dandenong because I had heard about the Dandenong Ranges,” he said. “But in Dandenong, I got quite a shock and haven’t been back since.”
And while Dandenong may not be used to high-profile art exhibits, residents should realise that Mr Dunlop’s will be one of the finest to ever grace the city. The price of his paintings on display – which are highly sought after – will range from $3000 to $65,000.
That doesn’t mean they will be available to buy, with art fans first having to apply to purchase the artwork.
The exhibition finishes on 24 April and viewing times will be 11am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and 11am to 3pm on Saturdays.
