Gary Christian
On the Edge of a Beautiful World
Oct 20 - Nov 12, 2023
Opening Reception: Oct 21, 2-4pm
Exhibition views by Ashley Mackevicius
Gary Christian
b. 1954
Lives and works in NSW, Australia
Gary Christian, a distinguished sculptor and painter with twenty years experience, has had 17 solo exhibitions—in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart. Sculptural works of note include: ’Figures in the Landscape’’ (2012), for Mount Annan Botanic Gardens; ‘The Atomic Family’ (2012), for The University of Western Sydney; ‘Furnace’ (2012), for the Corrimal Cokeworks Hundred Year Centenary; and a 50 meter high sculptural façade designed in collaboration with architects, Fitzpatrick and Partners, for 33 Bligh Street, Sydney (2012). In 2009 The Travellers, a five-piece laser cut sculpture, won the Santos Sculpture Award. That same year Christian installed a wall sculpture, commissioned by Multiplex, at No 1 Shelley Street, Darling Harbour. Christian’s work has been hung in prestigious awards and exhibitions, such as the Archibald Prize, and he has undertaken numerous sculpture commissions.
Each body of work reveals Christian’s continuing interest in the transformative power of art and it’s connection to time. His art raises questions about our past, present and future, about our journey through life, and our connection to and disconnection from the natural world.
Gary Christian is of a generation of diverse Australian sculptors who emerged in the mid 1980’s. All shared a fascination with creating work that pushed the boundaries of classical art and the formal qualities of sculpture. Christian gets his impulses from the natural world and the patterns, rhythm and tone of the natural world shape the images he creates. His recent work— laser cut stainless still or aluminum, with mirrored or patina surfaces—evokes the imaginary as a site of exchange between the natural world, the cultural environment and the intellect. While earlier work brought together finely perforated steel and carved wood, to create pictorial objects, that both described the landscape, and felt like part of it.
Gary Christian, Dancing at the Edge 3, 2023, Chromed and galvanised steel + cor ten base, 274 x 104 x 58 cm
Gary Christian, Dancing at the Edge 4, 2023, galvanised and rusted steel + cor ten base 235 x 120 x 45 cm
Gary Christian, Sailing to the Sirens, 2023, Chromed, powder coated and galvanised steel, 168 x 151 x 60 cm
Gary Christian, Precarious 5, 2023, chromed and powder coated steel + cor ten base, 190 x 45 x 45 cm
Gary Christian, Precarious 6, 2023, powder coated and galvanised steel + cor ten base, 219 x 45 x 45 cm
Gary Christian, In the balance 2, 2023, bronze egg and powder coated steel, 56 x 28 x 16cm
Gary Christian, In the balance 1, 2023, bronze egg and oiled steel, 69 x 30 x 23cm
Gary Christian, Precarious Small, 2023, chromed and oiled steel, 96 x 18 x 17cm
Gary Christian, On the Pink Salt Lake, midday too bright to see, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 190 x 140cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake, Deep Time, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 190 x 140cm
Gary Christian, At the edge of wonder on the Pink Salt Lake, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 170 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Windswept Salt Lake, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 150 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Earth Water Salt, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 150 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Pink Salt Lake, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 150 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Rising Water on the Salt Lake, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 150 x 140cm
Gary Christian, Edge of the Salt Lake, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 130 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Pink Salt Lake, Earth and Salt, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 130 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Pink Salt Lake, Muddy Edge, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 130 x 130cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #1, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #2, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #3, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #4, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #5, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #6, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 70 x 70cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #7, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 85 x 85cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #8, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 90 x 90cm
Gary Christian, Dry Bone Lake #9, 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 90 x 90cm
Gary Christian, Contemplation on the Pink Salt Lake 2023, Acrylic paint with sand and calcite, pencil and pastel on canvas, 90 x 90cm
Gary Christian, Pink Salt Lake - Reflection (paper) 2023, Acrylic paint and pencil and pastel on Washi paper stretched on Shoji paper, 99 x 120cm
Gary Christian, Journey on the Pink Salt Lake (paper) 2023, Acrylic paint and pencil and pastel on Washi paper stretched on Shoji paper, 99 x 122cm