At Home with Richard Lewer

At home with Richard Lewer: Melbourne

Richard Lewer in the studio with his new work The Batavia. Photo credit: Andrew Curtis

Q / WHAT IS THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF YOUR HOUSE?

A/ Our house is an old brick and timber truss and floor warehouse which was originally the stables for the Northcote Bakery across the road. It then became part of the Tasmanian Timber Bending Works where the old trade of steam bending was used to make buggy canopies, wheels, gothic windows, furniture and boats etc. It was converted before we arrived so fortunately we’ve really only had to repaint internally and so have been able to focus our efforts on building the studio and garden.

Q / WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED OBJECT WITHIN YOUR HOME?

A/ Apart from my wife and the cats and coffee machine, I would have to say my art collection which is filled with so many gifts and swaps made with friends and peers.

Q / WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO READ?

A/ I tend to read upstairs on the couch as the living area has great light and is usually sunny and warm in the afternoons. Recently though I’ve been listening to audio books for the first time, I really like that I can listen at home and in transit walking outside. I’ve just listened to The Batavia by Peter Fitzsimons, which has inspired a whole new body of work. Q / AND WHAT ARE YOU STREAMING?

A/ I’ve just started the Jeffrey Epstein doco – jaw dropping.

Q / ARE YOU A GOOD COOK? LOTS OF KITCHEN GADGETS?

A/ I am not a good cook at all. I get distracted and start putting all sorts of ingredients and condiments into my dinners - not in a good way - so when I have to cook I have a very small repertoire and stick to it. My go to is roast chicken. Classic.

Q / DO YOU SOMETIMES WISH YOUR STUDIO WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE?

A/ For a long time I moved studios every couple of years so when I finally got the opportunity to design and build my own I wanted it to be somewhere that I could make work for a very long time.

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Alana Kushnir is a lawyer with a deep passion for the arts. A long-time Sullivan+Strumpf collaborator, her new online series Art Law Express is an Instagram Live Q&A for artists, gallerists, collectors, curators and art lovers.

Q / DO YOU FEEL THE LAW COVERS THE RIGHTS OF COLLECTORS AND ARTISTS EQUALLY?

A/ Depending on what they have created, artists can have copyrights and moral rights – these can be very powerful ways of protecting their creations and ensuring that they are dealt with in a manner that is respectful of the artist’s wishes – if the artist understands how they can be used to your benefit.

Whereas, a collector or buyer of an artwork work does not automatically receive copyright in the work. Nor can moral rights be transferred. So, to a degree, a buyer’s rights to what they do with the work are restricted. At the same time, depending on the nature and value of the purchase, collectors may have rights under consumer law – certain standards of purchase must be met.

Contracts are a really useful tool for balancing the rights of collectors and artists – if they are written by someone who understands the legal implications of the content i.e. a lawyer. So the means are there – i.e. the legal support structure – but it is how the law is used, misused or often not used, that tends to tip the balance in favour of either the collector or the artist. Q / WHAT’S THE MOST RECURRING ISSUE YOU’VE EXPERIENCED AS A LAW PROFESSIONAL IN THE ART WORLD?

A/ The two most common areas that come up in my legal practice are contract and copyright law. However when these issues do come up, unfortunately, there is no one size fits all approach. Legal issues are a good example of when Google searching for an answer is generally not the way to go. Each work of art and each art-related set of circumstances is so unique and personal to those involved that the legal issues shift depending on what and who is involved. Aside from my deep passion for art in all forms, this is why I find working in this area of law so fascinating – each time the unique facts affect my approach to how to deal with a matter.

Art is such a unique thing unto itself that getting standard legal advice from a lawyer who doesn’t understand the specificities of art as a creative practice can be particularly problematic. Would you want your GP to do your brain surgery or rather, would you want a brain surgeon to do it? The same goes for art. You would want to get advice from a lawyer who understands the eccentricities of the art industry and who appreciates that different priorities may apply.

Q / TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOUR NEW INITIATIVE, ART LAW EXPRESS?

A/ If the art industry and the legal profession have something in common, it’s that they are both slow to adapt to new technologies and new features offered by social media platforms. Art Law Express is a simple concept that bucks this long-standing trend – it’s a weekly Q&A session with me using Instagram Live. I’ll be answering questions received by our audience. Artists, gallerists, collectors, curators, art lovers – everyone and anyone interested in art – is invited to send us their questions and learn a little more about art and law. With Art Law Express I want to create greater awareness of the multitude of ways the law interacts with art daily. I hope our audience feels more inquisitive, perhaps even a little more confident, when it comes to addressing legal issues concerning art.