Artist statement

Dry arid places, flooded deserts, isolation and alienation, the unreachable horizon, a fascination with Australian exploration and literature, these and many other reasons are why I’m compelled to draw and paint the landscape. My work allows me time out in an ever increasing world of visual, political, and screaming personalities . My images are build up with chattered marks across the surface in either oil paint or ink, a slow ponderous build up of repetitious marks allowing a personal meditation.

My work starts with drawings in pen and ink, done in the landscape, small mostly sepia and in sketchbooks. These are then worked up through larger sepia works on paper, before returning to the studio where I develop these images further into oil paintings and large scale works on paper. This process allows me to create a sense of place without a literal interpretation of the landscape.
I strongly believe in the concepts of ‘Content and Technique’, art should always be about more than an image, it needs to have a philosophical base as well as a flawless technical skill.

David Middlebrook

about the artist

The horizon and landscape is the dominant theme in David Middlebrook’s paintings and drawings. He sees the horizon as a metaphor for the unobtainable perfect painting, a form of exploration, man against the landscape, striving for yet never reaching the destination. His work includes oil paintings and sepia drawings of the Australian desert. The works in this exhibition in particular are around Menindee Lakes, Mutawintji, and White Cliffs, all in the far west of NSW.

The central horizon line allows him to explore colour, microcosm and macrocosm, perspective, tone and form within this landscape narrative. Middlebrook’s work starts with minimalist drawings done in the landscape, getting a sense of form and knowledge of local geography. This then expands into sepia works that explore the minimalism of the landscape with the addition of marks suggesting foliage, watercourses, dry ridges and other natural forms. The larger of these works are done in the studio, which allows even more of a distillation and essence of place. The oil paintings then work parallel to these drawings. Colour is intuitive and Middlebrook is lucky to have a memory that allows him to recall accurate nuances of a particular environment. There are striking aesthetic differences between the paintings and drawings, yet both come about through an obsessive practice and a unique approach. His work is quiet, with meditative qualities, suggesting more of a response to, rather than a depiction of place.

Middlebrook was awarded a PhD (University of Newcastle) for his research and body of work in Australian landscape painting and art history in 2006. His career spans 25 years, with over 30 solo exhibitions and works in numerous public and private collections. Middlebrook’s recent exhibitions include ‘Art from Australia’, Seoul, South Korea and Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Art Atrium. He is currently working on an exhibition for Art Central, Hong Kong International Art Fair in March 2017.

Photo: Ryan Fitzgerald

BIOGRAPHY

1967  Born Gloucester, New South Wales
1990  Bachelor of Arts/Visual Arts, University of Newcastle
2006  PhD, Exploring the Horizon, a Journey with Voss and Ada, University of Newcastle
2007 – 2015   Sessional Lecturer in Painting, Drawing and Art History, University of Newcastle
2010  Moved to Medlow Bath, Blue Mountains

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017  Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba. Art Atrium, Sydney
2016  Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba
2015  Blue Mountains Regional Art Gallery, Katoomba. Art Atrium, Sydney. Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba
2011  Rex-Livingston Art Dealer. Cudgegong Galleries, Gulgong
2010  Rex-Livingston Art Dealer
2009  Rex-Livingston Art Dealer
2008  Cudgegong Galleries, Gulgong. John Miller Galleries, Newcastle
2007  Gallery G, Brisbane
2006  Moree Plains Gallery
2006  Back to Back Gallery, Newcastle. Stella Downer Fine Art, Sydney
2005  University of Newcastle
2004  John Miller Galleries, Newcastle. Stella Downer Fine Art, Sydney
2003  Arts Promotion Queensland, Brisbane.
2002   Stella Downer Fine Art, Sydney. von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
2001   Lake Russell Gallery, Coffs Harbour
2000  von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1999  Survey Exhibition, Maitland City Art Gallery. Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane. von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1998  Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
1997  King Street Galleries Newtown Sydney. von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1996  Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
1995  Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery. von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1994  Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
1993  von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1991  Newcastle Region Art Gallery. von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2018  Transcendence, Art Atrium on Crown Street; Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba
2017  The 7th Beijing International Art Biennale, China; Art Atrium, Sydney: Recent Acquisitions, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Tattersall’s Bendigo Bank Art Prize, Brisbane; Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba.
2016  Art Atrium at Walsh Bay, Sydney Packsaddle, New England Regional. Art Gallery; Tattersalls Art Prize, Brisbane
2015  Korean Cultural Centre, Sydney; Sydney Contemporary Art Fair,Sydney; Art from Australia, Gail Museum, Seoul, Korea; Packsaddle Exhibition, New England Regional Gallery; University of Newcastle
2014   Art Atrium, Sydney; Packsaddle Exhibition, New England Regional Gallery; Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba; Art Equity, Sydney
2013  Geographic Responses to Landscape, University of Newcastle
2013  Paddington Art Prize, Mary Place Gallery, Sydney
2002 – 2015   Tattersall’s Bendigo Bank Art Prize, Brisbane (Winner 2002)
2012  Artsite Gallery, Sydney
2009  Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
2008 – 2011  Rex-Livingston Art Dealer, Sydney
2007  Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery
2007  John Miller Galleries, Newcastle.
2006  Gallery G, Brisbane
2005   Arts Promotion Queensland; Beaver Galleries, Canberra; Broken Hill City Art Gallery
2002 – 2008  Taylor Galleries, Summer Hill
2002 – 2004  Stella Downer Fine Art, Sydney; Beaver Galleries, Canberra; John Miller Galleries, Newcastle; Newcastle Region Art Gallery
2000 – 2004  Art Galleries Schubert, Gold Coast
1997 – 2002  Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane
1997 – 1999  King Street Gallery, Sydney
1995 – 1996  Solander Gallery, Canberra
1994 – 1996  Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
1990 – 2003  von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1989 – 2004  Delmar Gallery, Sydney

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Broken Hill City Art Gallery; Newcastle Region Art Gallery; Maitland City Art Gallery; Muswellbrook City Art Gallery; Moree Plains Gallery; Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery; Tattersalls Club, Brisbane; Forster/Tuncurry Regional Council; University of Newcastle, School of Fine Art; News Corporation, Sydney; William Bowmore Collection; Museum of the Senses, Sendai Japan; Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill; John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle; Newcastle Permanent Building Society; Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, University of Newcastle; Crisp and Associates, Sydney; Price Waterhouse Coopers, Canberra.

LOST BEAR GALLERY

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