The Radical Familiar - Still Life & Interiors Catalogue

Eytan Messiah, Neutral spine position (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 28 x 43cm

THE RADICAL FAMILIAR Anna May Henry, Jordy Kerwick, Eytan Messiah, Shanti Shea-An & Thomas John Whelan 16 -26 May 2018

THE RADICAL FAMILIAR Preview Catalogue

Exhibition Dates: 16 – 26 May 2018 Opening: Wednesday 16 May 2018, 6 – 8pm Tues-Sat 10am-5pm 76 Paddington St Paddington NSW 2021 02 9660 7799 The Radical Familiar reinvigorates the traditions of still life and interior portrait with a fresh, dreamy and intimate collection of works by five contemporary artists: Anna May Henry, Jordy Kerwick, Eytan Messiah, Shanti Shea-An & Thomas John Whelan.

Drawing on traditions rich with history and symbolism, each artist interprets the conventional approaches to still life and interiors in alluring and innovative ways.

There is something familiar and inviting about the works in The Radical Familiar, but also uncertain. They satisfy the audiences need for home, belonging and comfort, but also challenge their expectations of a recognisable world. From the abstracted, flattened areas in Shea-An’s interiors to Messiah’s “simulated indoor spaces” – it is unclear whether they have drawn from a living moment or a distant dream.

The Radical Familiar opens on Wednesday 16 May, 6 – 8pm and continues until Saturday 26 May 2018.

Shanti Shea-An, Sporadic ritual (a window or a picture) (2018), oil on canvas, 90 x 80cm

JORDY KERWICK Jordy Kerwick (b. 1982) is an Australian artist who has captured the attention of art dealers, collectors & curators across the world. In the last 2 years, Jordy Kerwick has exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Connecticut, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Cologne, Hamburg, Brisbane and his hometown of Melbourne.

Piermarq is excited to feature Kerwick's still life work in The Radical Familiar, to be followed by his first Sydney solo show in November 2018, presenting his abstract works.

At first glance one can easily understand why his paintings are in such hot demand. His intuitive and enticingly tactile mark making and bold use of colour create an emotion and vibrancy. Whether his intimate, angulated still life paintings or his abstract expressions of raw oil on expansive canvas, his work seeks a place in the viewers heart, he is a seriously talented painter first and foremost.

Projecting him onto the global stage, Jordy considers Instagram as the key driver to his early success. In two short years he has grown a substantial following – and it’s growing daily. From the phone in his pocket, Jordy presents his view of the world in painting to where people's attention is - in the palm of their hand. Distributing images of his work and showing his process daily, Jordy has won the attention and hearts of collectors globally, fast tracking his representation with international dealers and galleries, propelling Kerwick's early career beyond that of artists with longer exhibiting histories.

In the next 12 months, he also has exhibitions slated for New York, Paris and Copenhagen. As Kerwick's career continues to skyrocket, it is safe to say that he is an artist to collect! ______ Raw. Worn. Beaten, but loved. Life, stripped bare. Amid the chaos of family life lies a feeling of safety and comfort that I try to replicate in my work. Drawing on my collection of imagery of cultural markings and people, places and things, I like to explore beauty in its most organic and real state; stripping back the layers to reveal a subject in its most truthful state. – Jordy Kerwick

Jordy Kerwick Hurricane Rachael (2018), (framed) Acrylic, enamel and charcoal on canvas 120 x 100cm $4800

Jordy Kerwick Black beauty (2018), (framed) Oil, enamel, charcoal and acrylic on Italian linen 70 x 60cm $2900

Jordy Kerwick Johnny #1 (2018), (framed) Acrylic, enamel and charcoal on canvas 60 x 50cm $2400

Jordy Kerwick Nostalgia ’82 (2018), (framed) Oil, enamel, charcoal and acrylic on canvas 60 x 50cm $2400

Jordy Kerwick Wolf like me (and you) (2018), (framed) Oil, enamel, charcoal and acrylic on canvas 60 x 50cm $2400

Jordy Kerwick Hybrid Inca lily (2018), (framed) Oil, enamel, charcoal and acrylic on board 60 x 50cm $2400

SHANTI SHEA-AN Shanti Shea-An (B.1993) graduated from the Australian National University School of Art and Design in 2016 with first class Honours where she studied painting. Since graduating, her work has centred around a range of pictorial and metaphorical concerns within the practice of painting, including the tension between figuration and abstraction, personal versus public space as well as the role of flatness within representation. Her work often looks to interior spaces, still life arrangements and portraiture as a way of considering these questions and how they can be used to interrogate not only her individual experience of the world but, more widely, cultural perceptions surrounding intimacy, interiority and narrative within images.

From the studio of Shanti Shea-An

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (a window or a picture) (2018) Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm $1100

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (magic number) (2018) Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm $1100

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (sitting in) (2018) Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm $1100

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (love letter from a friend) (2018) Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm $1100

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (open/closed) (2018) Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm $1100

Shanti Shea-An Sporadic ritual (still life for Morandi) (2017-8) Oil on linen 31 x 30cm $500

EYTAN MESSIAH Eytan Messiah (b. 1989) on his art practice; “My art practice has generally seemed to loiter around the same material and aesthetic compulsions; relatively impatient mark-making, clumsily trying to echo some sort of meticulously crafted object. I’ve never strayed too far from painting, printmaking and hand-built ceramics. This collection of paintings converges at an exploration of the simulated indoor space. A stage set of sorts with props instead of furniture or maybe something like the feeling of walking into a display home. The objects in the rooms are interchangeable and dreamy and nothing is fixed.”

From the studio of Eytan Messiah

Eytan Messiah Gadjo dream II (2018) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 56 x 76cm $1850

Eytan Messiah After the almond blossoms (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 28 x 43cm $950

Eytan Messiah Neutral spine position (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 28 x 43cm $950

Eytan Messiah Waiting for Balzac’s bust (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 28 x 43cm $950

Eytan Messiah Gadjo dream (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 28 x 43cm $950

Eytan Messiah Peacock with statues (2016) Acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil on paper (framed), 28 x 43cm $950

ANNA MAY HENRY Anna May Henry (B. 1995) is a promising recent graduate from the National Art School, Sydney. Henry’s practice centres on still life painting from an observation-based studio practice. Her paintings focus on native Australian flora and reflect her interest in the unique aesthetics, sense of identity and symbolism of the Australian landscape. Her paintings play with mark-making and a diversity of paint application that negotiate the fundamentals of painting.

Work in progress in the studio of Anna May Henry

Anna May Henry Dried leucadendrons (2018) Oil on canvas 96.5 x 76.2cm $2800 SOLD

Anna May Henry Dried banksia on milk crate (2018) Oil on canvas 91.5 x 71cm $2700

THOMAS JOHN WHELAN Thomas John Whelan (b.1991) is a Sydney based artist working primarily in painting and drawing. In 2015, Whelan graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National Art School, Sydney.

At the core of Whelan’s current practice is capturing intimate moments in his Lavender Bay studio. In Whelan’s paintings, the honey glow of summer, the glistening harbour and Wendy Whitely’s garden enter the space by windows and doors left slightly ajar. Through the harmonious dance of rich, warm colours his works joyously reflect the light and tranquility of summer mornings, when the outside world encroaches on the interior stillness.

Work in progress in the studio of Thomas John Whelan

Thomas John Whelan Honey you so sweet (2018) Acrylic on canvas 112 x 112cm $1800

Thomas John Whelan The tale of the acid queens (2018) Acrylic on Arches paper (framed) 76 x 56cm $850

Thomas John Whelan Blue canary (storm sequence) (2018) Acrylic on Arches paper (framed) 76 x 56cm $850

Thomas John Whelan Shadow of Luck (the wizard of darkness) (2018) Acrylic on Arches paper (framed) 76 x 56cm $850

Contact us +61 2 9660 7799 info@piermarq.com.au 76 Paddington St Paddington 2021 NSW