Richard Larter 1929-2014
2. Incontingent Spuffle October 2000
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Cat. No. 9 & 11 photo: Mark Ashkanasy Cat. No. 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, & 28 photo: Blank Canvas Co. All images © copyright Richard Larter Estate
3. Riding Free 8 November 2001
Richard Larter 1929-2014
CYCLOIDAL SHIFTS AND OTHER WORKS Opening: 6-8pm Wednesday September 21, 2016 Closing: 5pm Wednesday October 8, 2016
WATTERS GALLERY
109 Riley Street, East Sydney NSW 2010 Tel: (02) 9331 2556 Fax: (02) 9361 6871 www.wattersgallery.com info@wattersgallery.com Hours: 10am–5pm Tues & Sat, 10am–7pm Wed to Fri 4. Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 8 July 1983 FRONT: 1. My Lilies August 1984
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5. Old One 26 & 27 March 2000
6. Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 6 April 1983
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7. Mental Soother February 1974
8. Nell 2 December 2008
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9. untitled (from the magazines I) May 1974
10. Latham 28 September 1994
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11. untitled (from the magazines II) 1974
12. Belconnen Way 3 September 1997
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13. City Haze
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16 February 2009
14. Heavy Rain May May 2002
15. Hot City 12 February 2009
17. Straight Up January 1999
18. Platco 2 24 April 1987 16. Ta Bradley
March 1999
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19. Roughly 9 June 2010
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20. Winter 28 June 2010
21. Cold Day 27 June 2010
I miss Richard (Dicky) Larter. Not just for the great artist and fabulous ratbag that he was, but for the kind of art world that he both created, lived and truly believed in. Richard’s world – a world where art and life are inseparable; where love, passion and sexuality are both declared and celebrated; where one stands firmly by one’s beliefs (such as the freedom of artistic expression) and defends them staunchly, and one in which a sense of fun and constant experimentation are paramount – is the kind of art world I still want to believe in. If it no longer exists we should rally for its return … and, if it’s in threat, we need to fight for its survival. Despite his ‘idiosyncrasies’ – to put it mildly – Richard was always incredibly serious about both his work and accomplishments. From the moment that he gave up teaching in the early 1970s he felt the weight and responsibility of being ‘an artist’ and having to support a large family; painting every day and recording the number of works that he completed across a year – proudly fulfilling a numerical target that was only meaningful and known to him. What is fascinating however, is the fact that this ‘workaday’ approach never resulted in staid paintings; in an output that was either expected or ‘known’, or tellingly, that would appeal and automatically sell. The paintings in this exhibition – just a small indication of a varied and prodigious output – convey the sense of experimentation central to Richard’s practice (and he would have hated that word, for he sure wasn’t ‘practising’!). We see in them a respect for and command of figuration and abstraction, both in isolation and combination. And, equally, a love of materials, and of ‘the craft’. As anyone who has ever looked at the back of a Larter painting can attest, the long list of materials (including, of course in later years, his much loved Jo Sonja iridescents; otherwise known as ‘sparkly larkly’), read, on the one hand like a dutiful shopping list, and on the other like a checklist of attributes written about a lover. For me, most of all, the jittering, exuberant and beautiful surfaces of these works are joyful. And for that I will be eternally grateful. Thank you Dicky.
Kelly Gellatly Director, Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne 22. Garden October 1986
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24. Summer Heat 2007
23. Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 7 April 1983
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25. My Lilies Reprise 2 September 1988
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26. Spring Lines October 1986
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27. Present 10 June 2010
List of Works 1. My Lilies August 1984 acrylic on canvas 132 x 173cm 2. Incontingent Spuffle
October 2000 acrylic on canvas 128 x 86cm
3. Riding Free 8 November 2001 acrylic & glitter on canvas 121 x 85cm 4. Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 8 July 1983 acrylic on canvas 178 x 136cm 5. Old One 26 & 27 March 2000 acrylic on canvas 121 x 84cm 6.
Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 6 April 1983 acrylic on canvas 169 x 157cm
7. Mental Soother February 1974 acrylic on canvas 134 x 93cm 8.
Nell 2
December 2008 Arizona 250 GT scan, acrylic & glitter on canvas 181 x 119cm
9. untitled (from the magazines I) May 1974 acrylic on canvas 121.5 x 97cm 10. Latham 28 September 1994 acrylic on canvas 180 x 104cm 11. untitled (from the magazines II) 1974 acrylic on canvas 124.5 x 96.5cm 12. Belconnen Way 3 September 1997 acrylic on canvas 180 x 104cm 13. City Haze 16 February 2009 acrylic on canvas 120 x 90cm 14. Heavy Rain May May 2002 acrylic on canvas 122 x 89cm 15. Hot City 12 February 2009 acrylic on canvas 121 x 89cm 16. Ta Bradley March 1999 acrylic, gels & glitter on canvas 128 x 32.5cm 17. Straight Up January 1999 acrylic, Tulip iridescent paint on canvas 66.5 x 42.5cm 18. Platco 2 24 April 1987 acrylic on canvas 112.5 x 177cm 19. Roughly 9 June 2010 acrylic on canvas 120 x 87cm 20. Winter 28 June 2010 acrylic on canvas 120 x 87cm 21. Cold Day 27 June 2010 acrylic on canvas 120 x 89cm 22. Garden October 1986 acrylic on canvas 177 x 112.5cm 23. Slips and Slides with Cycloidal Shifts 7 April 1983 acrylic on canvas 169 x 158cm 24. Summer Heat 2007 acrylic on canvas 121 x 90.5cm 25. My Lilies Reprise 2 September 1988 acrylic on canvas 157.5 x 175.5cm 26. Spring Lines October 1986 acrylic on canvas 112 x 176cm 27. Present 10 June 2010 acrylic on canvas 119 x 87cm 28. Epicycloidal Sliding Shift 2 May 1983 acrylic on canvas 170 x 138cm 28. Epicycloidal Sliding Shift 2 May 1983
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