D I C K W AT K I N S
D I C K W AT K I N S B L A C K A N D W H I T E PA I N T I N G S
D I C K W AT K I N S GO DOWN MOSES, 2016 acrylic on canvas 183 x 137 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S I N A M O R ATA , 2 0 1 1 acrylic on canvas 183 x 183 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S 12TH ST DRAG, 2013 acrylic on canvas 153 x 213 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S T H U S S P O K E Z A R AT H U R S T R A , 2 0 0 4 acrylic on canvas 182.5 x 182.5 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S DIVIDED SELF, 2010 acrylic on canvas 152 x 213 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S S ATA N ’ S H O L I D AY , 2 0 1 3 acrylic on canvas 183 x 167 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S WOZZECK, 2013 acrylic on canvas 183 x 167 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S ZETLAND TRAM, 2006 acrylic on canvas 167.5 x 167.5 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S METRO BLUES, 2009 acrylic on canvas 183 x 183 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S S O P H T PAW N , 2 0 0 6 acrylic on canvas 183 x 152 cm
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D I C K W AT K I N S ISHMAEL, 2013 acrylic on canvas 183 x 183 cm
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H u m a n k i n d ’s f i r s t m a r k - m a k i n g w a s e x e c u t e d w i t h t h e o b v i o u s t o o l o n hand – charcoal. Thus, it comes as little surprise that we have a hereditary and somewhat unconscious response to the unyielding and almost brutal black marks on Dick Watkins’ works. They are rendered with sweeping monochromatic gestures, the sheer physicality of which belies the artists’ age. Now in his mid-80s, Watkins paints with the energy of a man half his age. But with age comes weight, albeit not w i t h o u t w r y h u m o u r. T h e r a t h e r d e m e n t e d d e p i c t i o n o f t h e D e v i l i n S a t a n ’ s Holiday leaves one wondering, what indeed does Beelzebub do when he takes a b r e a k ? A n d , p e r h a p s m o r e p o n d e r o u s l y, d o e s S a t a n i n f a c t e v e r t a k e a h o l i d a y ? Elsewhere, Watkins allows his-passion for German philosophy and music to dominate. His ‘portrait’ of Zarathustra in Thus Spoke Zarathustra is, of course, based on the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None written by t h e G e r m a n p h i l o s o p h e r F r i e d r i c h N i e t z s c h e b e t w e e n 1 8 8 3 a n d 1 8 8 5 . N i e t z s c h e ’s book is far from a light read and features his concept of the Ubermensch – or ‘Super Man’ and the Death of God. And yet Watkins’ painting – seems to sum-up N i e t z s c h e ’s m u s i n g s s t u n n i n g l y w e l l . I n Wo z z e c k Wa t k i n s t a k e s a s h i s m u s e t h e f i r s t o p e ra b y t h e A u s t r i a n c o m p o s e r Alban Berg which was composed between 1914 and 1922 and depicts the lives of s o l d i e r s a n d t h e t o w n s p e o p l e o f a r u ra l G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g t o w n . Wo z z e c k c a r r i e s themes of militarism, social exploitation, and brutal sadism and Watkins’ canvas is suitably brooding. All of these works are essentially abstractions with only a hint of figuration. But they are abstractions brim full of content, of questions of morality and the black and white world of good and evil. This body of work is undeniably powerful. When the seer of American modernism, critic Clement Greenberg, visited Australia in the early 1960s he singled out one artist for especial praise: Dick Watkins. In 1968 when Watkins was featured in the ground-breaking exhibition, T h e F i e l d , t h e t h e n a r t c r i t i c f o r T h e A g e , Pa t r i c k M c C a u g h e y d e c l a r e d t h a t Watkins’ painting promised “a v iew of the future.” Over half-a-century on, Dick Watkins continues to make good on that promise. –
Ashley Crawford
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EXHIBITION OFFSITE AT 9 0 9 A H I G H S T R E E T, A R M A D A L E 1 6 - 2 0 F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 2
With special thanks
D i c k Wa t k i n s Kate Alstergren Shelley Best Ashley Crawford Sophie Foley Adam Sims Simon Strong Compendium Gallery
ISBN 978-0-9925688-7-0 © copyright 2022
SCOTT LIVESEY GALLERIES 610 High Street
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