Guy Warren
memories & dreams
A Studio Visit
A visit to the studio of Guy Warren is always an event for me. One never knows what they will find in any artists studio, but my recent trip to Guy Warren?s was quite extraordinary indeed. I always hope that artists will surprise me, provide me with challenges whether emotional or intellectual. However this is not always the case; it depends on the period. Often works are not particularly different to what one is expecting although sometimes the departure can be so radical as to almost shock, as was the case with Annandale artist Kevin Malloy last year. Over the many decades he has spent as a practising artist, Guy Warren has a certainly developed a distinctive style. However his new paintings, while not a shock, certainly took me by surprise. Warren is not afraid of change, and while I have maintained since writing in a catalogue for an Annandale show as far back as 1997 that his late period works are his best, it is refreshing to see that his oeuvre is continuing to rapidly expand and evolve.
The new paintings to which I refer are particularly notable for their openness in form. Often inspired by the rainforest around his retreat in Jaberoo on the NSW south coast the subject matter of figures in the landscape have not changed, but their density - a hallmark of the last decade of work - has given way to open forms more reminiscent of his drawings and watercolours. It is a gradual process and not all the paintings in the exhibition share this new quality (some are more clearly linked to earlier work) but they are all affected by this new direction. The open space, fore-grounded figures and mysterious landscape elements give the paintings a stripped down look, bare of any superficial information as though the artist wants to present us, and perhaps himself, with the bare bones of his inner world. Paradoxically, this unveiling also serves to shroud the paintings in mystery and enigma: he exposes more by declaring his emotions and veiling his intentions simultaneously.
The newest paintings, with their robust and even rough images, appear somewhat stark in comparison to the earlier work and take some acclimatization. However, the stylistic container is still intact and they offer us a marvellous variation on themes pursued over a lifetime without undermining previous or transitional work. It is thrilling to see an artist with over half a century of exhibition experience continue to push the envelope on a daily basis, working harder and longer than many a good artist half his age, and providing us with ongoing inspiration in our own lives. In life as in art there is going forward or backward but no standing still. We are all - by our very nature - in flux. In the case of Guy Warren, the results are a great pleasure to behold.
- Bill Gregory, Sydney July 2006
A visit to the studio of Guy Warren is always an event for me. One never knows what they will find in any artists studio, but my recent trip to Guy Warren?s was quite extraordinary indeed. I always hope that artists will surprise me, provide me with challenges whether emotional or intellectual. However this is not always the case; it depends on the period. Often works are not particularly different to what one is expecting although sometimes the departure can be so radical as to almost shock, as was the case with Annandale artist Kevin Malloy last year. Over the many decades he has spent as a practising artist, Guy Warren has a certainly developed a distinctive style. However his new paintings, while not a shock, certainly took me by surprise. Warren is not afraid of change, and while I have maintained since writing in a catalogue for an Annandale show as far back as 1997 that his late period works are his best, it is refreshing to see that his oeuvre is continuing to rapidly expand and evolve.
The new paintings to which I refer are particularly notable for their openness in form. Often inspired by the rainforest around his retreat in Jaberoo on the NSW south coast the subject matter of figures in the landscape have not changed, but their density - a hallmark of the last decade of work - has given way to open forms more reminiscent of his drawings and watercolours. It is a gradual process and not all the paintings in the exhibition share this new quality (some are more clearly linked to earlier work) but they are all affected by this new direction. The open space, fore-grounded figures and mysterious landscape elements give the paintings a stripped down look, bare of any superficial information as though the artist wants to present us, and perhaps himself, with the bare bones of his inner world. Paradoxically, this unveiling also serves to shroud the paintings in mystery and enigma: he exposes more by declaring his emotions and veiling his intentions simultaneously.
The newest paintings, with their robust and even rough images, appear somewhat stark in comparison to the earlier work and take some acclimatization. However, the stylistic container is still intact and they offer us a marvellous variation on themes pursued over a lifetime without undermining previous or transitional work. It is thrilling to see an artist with over half a century of exhibition experience continue to push the envelope on a daily basis, working harder and longer than many a good artist half his age, and providing us with ongoing inspiration in our own lives. In life as in art there is going forward or backward but no standing still. We are all - by our very nature - in flux. In the case of Guy Warren, the results are a great pleasure to behold.
- Bill Gregory, Sydney July 2006