Graeme Drendel
Editorial
Where: Jan Murphy Gallery, 486 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland
Graeme Drendel's lively paintings focus on the human form, not only as a physical being, but as a social one. Subjects within a given frame relate to one another with spontaneous distinction, each affecting the other, yet often maintaining an absurdly unique isolation.
While evoking comparisons to old masters such as Della Francesca and Courbet, Drendel also injects elements of surrealism into his pieces. His characters convene in outdoor settings, engaging in activities with no conceivable purpose, wearing detached facial expressions and assorted outfits. They might play as children, court sexually, or stage modern and seemingly ritualistic conduct. Curtains and tablemats act as backdrops, hinting veiled intrigue.
His paintings are simultaneously humorous and stern. They are real and surreal. They are poignant and nonsensical. Australian culture, environment and iconography imbue his work.
Born in country Victoria, Drendel has exhibited across Australia. He was twice selected as a finalist in the Sulman Prize, and can be found in several public, private and corporate collections domestically and overseas. He graduated from Melbourne State College in 1974 with a Diploma of Teaching Art/Craft.
Image: After the Flood 2009 Graeme Drendel Australia Oil on canvas 122.0 x 122.0 cm
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