The Conversation columnist Prudence Gibson said in her 2014 Archibald review that some describe the Archibald prize as the “cold sore of the Sydney art world calendar.” But is it?The prize was established by Jules Francois Archibald, founder of The Bulletin. Archibald was passionate about the arts and was moved to establish the prize after commissioning a portrait of Henry Lawson. The goal was to promote portraiture in Australia. Perhaps inspired by Henry Lawson, the rules state it should be awarded to the best portrait “preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Australia in art, letters, science or politics.”
Now in its 94th year, the Archibald prize remains a highlight on the calendar of the Arts Gallery Of New South Wales. Between 2008 and 2013 the exhibition attracted on average 137,291 visitors each year. This attendance was only beaten by 3 blockbuster exhibitions, Monet and the Impressionists, The First Emperor: China’s entombed warriors and Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso.
The exhibition is a record of Sydney (and Australian) culture – prominent personalities, changing art styles, and exposure of new artists. Anne Ryan, this year’s curator says “The thing that gets audiences coming back is they get something from it. The prize is a snapshot of the year. It is a year in our culture – who our artists are wanting to paint and how do they want to paint them.”
This year, over 850 entries were received with 43 finalists. The finalists are dispersed over 4 rooms, each room with its own mood and theme. The first room is smallish (around 7 by 7 metres) with only one doorway in and one out. The lighting is bright with the paintings generally of a medium size. This room is a gentle introduction to the show, the mood is contemporary but conservative – most subjects are recognisable, and the painting styles while varied, are accessible.
Through the doorway the second room has works which are much more challenging. The artists in this room tend to be younger and pushing the boundaries of portraiture. The room is grouped together by the peculiarity of the works – either by theme – such as Delivered by artist Sophia Hewson with her highly sexualised self-portrait or medium – for example Thirteen Noahs by Paul Ryan which has 13 different portraits of the actor Noah Taylor. This work is particularly interesting as it uses oil paint over a variety of materials including ping pong bats, old tapestries and junk-shop paintings to create multiple portraits of Taylor, reflecting his work as an actor. The combined work is large at 237 x 282 cm and dominates the room.
Each painting focuses on the head only, but explores the different roles that Taylor plays as an actor by elongating the face, and changing the direction of the gaze. Even so, the portraits are remarkably similar, with the real variety in the background of each found piece for example, a garden, a dog, a river landscape.
The third and central room has a lighter and more straightforward mood and is somewhat of a relief after the previous room. It is a bright airy space filled with many of the bigger works. Standing further back into the centre of the room provides the best view of these large pieces. Moving closer (as in all rooms) the wall-texts provide valuable background on both artist and subject and are a must read to get the most out of the exhibition.
This room has a forthright theme, with the subjects from artist Jenny Kee to activist/designer Ollie Henderson gazing directly out at the viewer. Many of the works integrate bright colours and this also contributes to the feeling of lightness of mood.
There is of course always an exception. The winning portrait, Judo house pt 6 (the white bird) by Nigel Milsom is a dark, mystical and imposing portrait of Sydney barrister Charles Waterstreet. The painting is large (232 x 190cms) and the mainly monochrome appearance is also arresting within the brightness of the room.
The subject stands in the centre third of the painting, he is staring slightly down at the viewer and his head, neck and enormous hands become the focal point, a triangle of brightness within the darkness. This composition gives balance as well as emphasising the downward gaze of the subject to the viewer. The face is fractured, painted with thin straight criss-crossing lines and sharp variation of tone. It makes Waterstreet look imposing and unpleasant.
In life, Waterstreet is considered to be a vibrant personality. Consequently it was a surprise that the inspiration of the ABC TV show Rake would be painted in such an imposing and lugubrious style. The relationship between Milsom and Waterstreet explains the approach. Milsom while experiencing a low point in life was arrested for armed robbery. Waterstreet, whose parents knew Milsom’s parents, was the barrister who represented Milsom in the subsequent trial. In various interviews Milsom talks about Waterstreet’s other-worldly hands reaching out to say “I am here to help you.” The painting is heavily autobiographical to the artist, it is about the way the artist saw Waterstreet at a highly vulnerable and anxious time in his own life.
Milsom talks about getting to know Waterstreet since that time and his growing understanding that he is a very complex person. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s short story The Metamorphosis about a man who morphs into an insect, the artist gave Waterstreet a splintered face and large insect-like hands. The artist says the hands “… are large because he does grapple with things, so they are kind of metaphor for what he is grappling with all the time. The weirdness of them, is about the weirdness of him. His hands become as important as his fractured looking face.”
The portrait is a complex portrayal of the relationship and lives of two complicated individuals and is a must-see in person to experience the size, presence and meaning.
The fourth and last room is smaller and darker than the others with a sombre feel. The works have been grouped by darker palette, such as Leslie Rice’s Hill End bacchanal (portrait of Luke Sciberras), a large painting on black velvet, or by darker themes such as end of life. Peter Churcher’s painting of his mother Betty Churcher, The Last Portrait is an example of the latter. Despite using lighter tones it is a deeply emotional work and was painted while she was ill, shortly before she died. John Beard’s portrait Bill, even brighter in colour, is painted in remembrance of artist, curator and educator William Wright, a close friend of Beard. It is one of highlights of the room by combining the celebration of colour with the sombre theme of death.
The work, while not imposing does have presence with a size of 168 x 137cms. The painting initially draws the viewer’s attention with an overlay of 3 vertical stripes of bold primary colours – yellow, red and blue. Behind these washes of colour is a slightly blurred black and white head and shoulders portrait of a subject looking through the colour directly at the viewer.
The painting is poignant as there is a sense of detachment between subject and viewer, created by the colour wash which reflects the distance of death. Beard typically paints in black and white but in honour of Wright says he added “an artist’s tricolour flag” to celebrate him as an artist and colourist. The effect was gained by mixing oil and wax in the black and white portrait. The colours, probably applied with a squeegee, are spread unevenly over the wax, creating interest and suggesting a bright and varied life.
The Archibald is always as diverse as the city it is shown in. Anne Ryan, curator, says “In the exhibition we’ve got everything from the loud and declarative right through to the poignant, the subtle, the quiet and the sombre. And that is probably reflective of life and that is what the Archibald is all about. The Archibald is about people, it is about us, it is about the whole of life and the whole of our experience.”
A cold sore it might be in the eyes of some critics but it is not going to go away as long as it continues to fuel the imagination of tens of thousands of Australians each year.
This year, like every year, don’t miss it. The exhibition closes on Sunday September 27.