Brendan Huntley
| Untitled 2014 Oil on linen 162 x 182 cm
Figuratively Speaking, Brendan Huntley's exhibition of new paintings and sculptures could equally be titled "the body show". Moving between clay and canvas, he has ramped up the scale of all his works to signal a starling move from the face to body.
The sculptures are free spirited and sexy. Brendan Huntley's wicked humour is evident. So too is his direct and expressive homage to women. His female forms have an almost primal energy and his ‘breast pots’ continue an ancient tradition, seen in many cultures, where the breast is a sign of life. Altogether, Huntley's dashing, seemingly reckless use of clay, terracotta and raku shows him pushing into new territory.
The sculptures have inspired the large paintings. Their "palpable presence" in voluptuous forms and curved shapes are "carved" in paint and show him tackling paint in the same way he handles clay.
Brendan Huntley is one of the most singular young artists to have emerged in Australia in the last decade. His work was included in
Primavera 2013, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art;
Dark Heart at the Art Gallery of South Australia in 2014;
Melbourne Now at the National Gallery of Victoria; and
Future Primitive curated by Linda Michael at the Heide Museum of Modern Art.
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[email protected]Press release courtesy Tolarno Galleries.