David Larwill, one of Australia's most distinctive contemporary artists, populates his canvases with stylised human figures and animals to evoke an extraordinary range of feelings, moods and expressions. Child-like forms and calligraphic markings give the works a naive, almost simplistic quality, while his raw expressionism eschews intellectualism, eliciting responses that are spontaneous, emotional and sensory.
Read MoreLarwill combines a penchant for the tribal, the abstract and the expressionistic, with an extraordinary sense of design and sensitivity to the visceral appeal of colour. The effect is to give his work a primal honesty with which viewers instinctively connect.
Following studies at Prahran College and the Preston Institute of Technology, Ballarat-born Larwill came to prominence through his association with ROAR Studios in Melbourne, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1982. He has since exhibited widely throughout Australia and in London.
His work is represented in numerous public, private and corporate collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery, the British Museum in London, the Esplanade Art Centre in Singapore, Artbank, New Parliament House in Canberra, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, and numerous regional galleries in Australia.