Michael Buzacott was born in Sydney in 1950 and studied at the National Art School between 1969 and 1973. After finishing his studies he worked as a lecturer at his alma mater as well as the South Australian School of Art, the Sydney Gallery School and the Mitchell College, Bathurst. Whilst teaching Buzacott continued to hone his practice, with travel and further study in Europe, North Africa and the United States having a great influence on his artistic development. Buzacott’s first solo exhibition was in 1977 at the Contemporary Art Society in Adelaide. Since then he has regularly exhibited at galleries such as Irving Sculpture Gallery and A-‐Space on Cleveland. He has also been included in a number of important group exhibitions in Australia and overseas, such as the 3rd Sculpture Triennial at Heide Park and Art Gallery, Sculptors in Saitama, Japan and the Mildura Sculpture Triennial 1982. In 2011 he was chosen for inclusion in Abstraction, alongside Virginia Coventry, Paul Hopmeier, Roy Jackson, Jan King, Allan Mitelman, John Peart, James Rogers, Aida Tomescu and Paul Selwood who co-‐curated the exhibition with Terence Maloon, then Senior Curator of Special Projects at the AGNSW. Michael Buzacott’s recent 40-‐year Survey Show at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU was curated by Director, Terence Maloon and was met with critical acclaim. As John McDonald, Art Critic for the Sydney Morning Herald wrote of the exhibition “Buzacott...is without doubt one of the outstanding sculptors in this country, with a range that almost nobody can match...” EXHIBITION OPENING: 6–8pm Wednesday 25 November THE EXHIBITION WILL BE OPENED BY MICHAEL SMEE OAM at 7pm EXHIBITION PREVIEW: 11am – 2pm Sunday 22 November EXHIBITION DATES: 25 November – 19 December 2015
Buzacott installing Sydney Summer at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Escape Ladder, 2006, steel, 140 x 54 x 47cm $9500
Buzacott’s recent survey exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Sylvie’s Leap, 2009-2014, steel, 100 x 77 x 28cm $7500 (image courtesy of Keith Lo Bue)
Buzacott’s recent survey exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Europa and the Bull, 2012-2014, steel, 278 x 78 x 16cm $10500
Urban Nude, 2014, steel, 42 x 93 x 82cm $7500 (image courtesy of Keith Lo Bue)
‘Sydney Summer’ 2012 steel, 251 x 339 x 193cm at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Sirens Call, 2015, steel, 245 x 170 x 45cm $16,000
Buzacott’s recent survey exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Family Portrait, 2015, steel, 205 x 173 x 30cm, $19,000
Visitors at Buzacott’s recent survey exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, 2015 (image courtesy of Rob Little)
Flora (Portrait of R.H), 2013, steel, 62 x 33 x 23cm, $7,500
JOHN McDONALD’s REVIEW OF MICHAEL BUZACOTT’S SURVEY AT THE DRILL HALL GALLERY It feels a bit crazy to make a rapid trip to Canberra to see shows I’ve got no chance of reviewing, but that’s what I did last week. The main attraction was Michael Buzacott’s survey at the Drill Hall Gallery (until 1 November), of which I’d heard so many positive reports it seemed worthy of that dreary drive down the highway and back. The exhibition was important because there are almost no proper surveys devoted to Australian sculptors in our public galleries, and precious few retrospectives of mid-career artists - the National Gallery of Victoria and the Queensland Art Gallery being exceptions to the rule. Since taking on the directorship of the Drill Hall Gallery at the Australian National University, Terence Maloon has held a succession of brilliant – and much-needed - exhibitions. It makes me wish the Drill Hall was located somewhere in Sydney, or even that Sydney venues might take these shows after they closed in Canberra. Buzacott is a loner who has spent much of his career out of the spotlight, but he is without doubt one of the outstanding sculptors in this country, with a range that almost nobody can match except maybe Paul Hopmeier. The very first work one sees upon entering the gallery is the monumental Sydney Summer (2012). This sculpture is crying out to be bought by a public institution and shown alongside one of those classic John Olsen paintings of Sydney. I know no curator will ever listen to a word of advice from Yours Truly, but it seems such an obvious connection I can’t resist pointing it out. Get out of your offices and take a look!