YOURS TO KEEP! AUSTRALIA’S REGIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR FINALIST MAY 2016
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PERC TUCKER REGIONAL GALLERY TOWNSVILLE CITY
PINNACLES GALLERY RIVERWAY ARTS CENTRE
Image above: Tessa MCONIE Untitled [detail] 2016, 150 x 200 cm, Oil on canvas
Image above: Brett CANET-GIBSON The Life of Riley [detail] 2014, 90 x 60 cm, Digital photographic print
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Cnr. Denham and Flinders Streets Townsville QLD 4810 Mon - Fri: 10am - 5pm Sat - Sun: 10am - 2pm
Pinnacles Gallery Riverway Arts Centre 20 Village Boulevard Townsville QLD 4817 Tues - Sun: 10am - 5pm
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(07) 4727 9011 ptrg@townsville.qld.gov.au www.townsville.qld.gov.au @TCC_PercTucker PercTuckerTCC
DUOMagazine May 2016
(07) 4773 8871 pinnacles@townsville.qld.gov.au www.townsville.qld.gov.au @TCC_Pinnacles PinnaclesTCC
DUOArts+Events
Peeking Through Windows Townsville’s sustained interest in portraiture is reflective of the genre’s enduring popularity around the world. A portrait provides us with not only a physical likeness, but also a window into the sitter’s life, into their mind and their soul. The voyeur in each of us delights at the opportunity to peek through these windows time and again. Indeed, as an indulgent glimpse into the lives of others, portraits pre-date the (somewhat unfortunate) rise of reality television in the early 2000s, and our current obsession with social media. More significant than simply predating these mediums, portraits continue to provide us with more considered and compelling insights into the lives of others. Since 2007, the voyeur in each of us has been afforded the chance to go peeking through many windows at The Percivals, Townsville’s biennial portrait prize. Beginning as a $3,000 prize exhibition at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, an overwhelming response saw the exhibition return in 2008, and become a biennial event from this point forward. Since this time, the show has delighted many, and also courted its share of controversy, as seems the norm for any portrait prize of note. In 2016, two major exhibitions underpin The Percivals; the Glencore Percival Portrait Painting Prize at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, and for the second time, the DUOMagazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize at Pinnacles Gallery. The windows we can peek through when visiting these two exhibitions are many and varied. In the Glencore Percival Portrait Painting Prize, over 90 works by artists from every corner of the country depict politicians, actors, athletes, artists, musicians, activists,
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teachers, environmentalists, family, and friends. These works evoke every emotion imaginable, from Mark Tweedie’s brooding Things tend to go wrong with me, to Jan Hynes’ humorous Balancing with Head on the Ground. More than 60 finalists have been selected for the DUOMagazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, with the calibre of entries again strong after a stunning debut in 2014. The exhibition takes us on a visual journey through every phase of life, from Danny Tucker’s confronting and beautiful work Felix’s Birth, to parenthood so honestly captured in Sam Scoufos’ work Portrait of a Greek Man and Son; the years of hard work depicted in Rosana Kersh’s Big Kahuna, to the latter years as seen in Stephen Dupont’s Senora Habana Veija: Portrait of an Old Woman. Artists working in both the painting and photographic mediums have also chosen as their subjects notable and topical figures, such as George Fetting’s Lee Lin Chin, Alexander McKenzie’s Matt Corby, or Sean Hutton’s depiction of Robert James Lee ‘Bob’ Hawke, while our curiosity about those living in our own community is also satisfied through additional acquisitive Townsville 150th Anniversary Awards in each exhibition. Only finalists residing in the Townsville local government area who have captured a portrait of a local sitter are eligible for these Awards, a fitting celebration in the year Townsville officially marks 150 years since being declared a municipality. As with every Percivals, I’m sure the Townsville community will be captivated not only by the quality of works on display, but also the opportunity to take a little peek into the lives of others.
Stephen DUPONT Senora Habana Veija: Portrait of an Old Woman 2015 67 x 100 cm Giclee pigment ink on rag paper
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“More significant than simply pre-dating these mediums, portraits continue to provide us with more considered and compelling insights into the lives of others.�
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Danny TUCKER Felix’s Birth 2015 65 x 90 cm Photographic print
Mark TWEEDIE Things tend to go wrong with me 2015 122 x 84 cm Oil on canvas
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DUOArts+Events Sam SCOUFOS Portrait of a Greek Man and Son 2015 120 x 80 cm Giclee print
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George FETTING Lee Lin Chin 2016 120 x 80 cm Archival pigment print on cotton rag
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Rosana KERSH Big Kahuna 2016 120 x 80 cm Photographic print
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Sean HUTTON Robert James Lee ‘Bob’ Hawke 2016 89 x 89 cm Oil on linen
Alexander McKENZIE Matt Corby 2015 197 x 153 cm Oil on linen
Jan HYNES Balancing with Head on the Ground and Feet in the Clouds 2016 150 x 100 cm Oil on canvas
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