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View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) published June 2006 to accompany the exhibition View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) 1 july - 20 august 2006 publisher maitland regional art gallery 230 high street maitland, nsw australia 2320 ISBN 0-9758369-2-7 paintings photographed by Michel Brouet © artists and maitland regional art gallery This catalogue is copyright apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act. 230 high tel email street (02) artgallery@ maitland 4934 maitland. maitland of nsw 2320 9859 nsw.gov.au city the arts po box fax web placing heart into maitland 220 (02) mrag 2005 - 2007 maitland 4933 .org nsw 2320 1657 .au View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) 1 july - 20 august 2006 maitland regional art gallery the artists archer suzanne fitzjames michael frost joe lohmann emma macleod euan martin claire mckenzie alexander pinson peter robba leo ryrie judith walker john r white judith Maitland Sixth City of the Arts 2005 - 2007 iew of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) is an exhibition which has been developed at Maitland Regional Art Gallery for a Vvariety of reasons. Last year, in the James Gleeson retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, I came across Gleeson’s painting of Delft, with homage to Jan Vermeer. I had seen this painting earlier in a private collection, and felt that Gleeson had not only captured his vision of Delft but also created an amazingly surreal new image of Delft which was a unique painting in its own right and not merely an adjunct to another artist’s creation. On viewing the painting again at the National Gallery and, this time, amidst a large collection of other paintings by Gleeson, I also realised that one painting could express a sense of the whole oeuvre of one artist. This led me to wonder whether a number of paintings of the same image by different artists and gathered together as an exhibition could make a statement about the image, the artists, and their art practices? Last year, as well, there was a revival of interest in Vermeer and his art. This primarily came about because of the novel, Girl With a Pearl Earring, followed relatively quickly by the film with the same title. A small retrospective exhibition of the work of Vermeer in London and several reviews of acclaim also assisted to place the artist in the public view and in my mind’s eye. Finally, it also became evident to me that certain views from the northern bank of the Hunter River at Maitland, where I live, evoke a similar feeling to the one painted by Vermeer at Delft, more than 300 years earlier. Like Delft, which had suffered a calamitous disaster, “the thunderclap”, a major fire which destroyed much of the city prior to its painting by Vermeer, Maitland has also been traumatised by many floods, the last some fifty years ago, again, ruining much of the original city. Out of these thoughts a project emerged. Twelve artists, all committed primarily to figurative elements, were selected and invited to visit Maitland and paint the City as viewed from the riverbank. The artists were encouraged to capture and deploy some of the elements they observed in the Vermeer painting. They were only able to look at a copy of the Vermeer painting of Delft and, with this in mind and viewing the city, they were to paint Maitland. This was not a simple exercise in copying or mimicking another artist’s painting. It was a commission for a group of artists to paint the City of Maitland as seen from the riverbank, employing their individual skills, perspectives and styles to create new paintings that could be hung in a group exhibition. Each artist was given a canvas of the same size as the one employed by Vermeer when he used his camera obscura method. The artists were then invited to Maitland to spend time at the riverbank to craft their paintings either in preparation or in a completed form ready for the exhibition. As the artists are all primarily studio based, asking them to paint, by and large ‘en plein air’, in itself offered a challenge and promised that the final works of art would make for a memorable exhibition. The artists came to Maitland over two weekends, and spent time painting at the riverbank. Members of the public were invited to wander amongst the artists and look at what they were doing. Some of the artists commenced their work rather quickly, while others took their time and began to do early drawings and get a sense of the place. None of the artists complained, and it was a rather wondrous sight to see canvases, oils, acrylics and other artist’s paraphernalia scattered on the riverbank. I am not sure what Vermeer had experienced while he was painting at Delft and whether people were mingling on the riverbank as he was working. Here at Maitland there was a cacophony of people and much liveliness, which created a memorable experience for both those painting and those watching. I would like to believe that, for all those involved in the exercise of painting at the riverbank, the one off experience was challenging and enjoyable. Perhaps it will never be repeated again, and maybe it was an exercise in creativity. In either case it culminated in this exhibition, View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft), accompanied by this catalogue. This catalogue is both a record and a memento of the exhibition. It records the exhibition and will therefore remain a memento for those who did and those who did not experience the time at the riverbank or indeed view the twelve paintings. Most importantly, the catalogue enables the newly established Maitland Regional Art Gallery to allow the public to enjoy twelve leading contemporary Australian artists. The exhibition and the catalogue provide an opportunity to record, both in paint and in print, Maitland at a time when it is growing, developing and taking a real interest in cultural pursuits and the visual arts in particular. It is a pleasure and an honour to present View of Maitland from the riverbank (with apologies to Jan Vermeer and View of Delft) to Maitland residents and visitors. Joe Eisenberg OAM Cultural Director Maitland City Council June 2006 Suzanne Archer Born Guildford, Surrey, England. Studied Sutton School of Art, England (1962-64). Arrived in Australia 1965. Suzanne Archer’s first solo painting exhibition was at the Clune Galleries, Sydney in 1969. Her most recent solo exhibitions include: ‘Horsepower’, Campbelltown Arts Centre 2005; ‘Horses for Courses’, War Memorial Art Gallery, University of Sydney 2004; ‘Predators & Prey’, BBA Gallery, Sydney 2001; ‘Sculpture & Collage’, Coventry Gallery, Sydney 1999. Recent Group Exhibitions include: ‘Walking the Line’, Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, Sydney 2005; ‘International Contemporary Drawing Art’, touring exhibition to Central Academy of Art Beijing, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and Guangzhou Academy Fine Arts, China 2003; and ‘Distant Noises’, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Faculty Gallery, Melbourne 2003. Awards include: the Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales Trustees’ Watercolour Prize & John and Elizabeth Newham Pring Memorial Prize 1986; Fellowship, Visual Arts and Craft Board, Australia Council 1993. Suzanne Archer has been awarded residencies at the Green Street Studio, New York and the Power Studio, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris 1978-79. She is represented in numerous public collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Australian National Gallery, and the National Gallery of Victoria. Member of the Australian Watercolour Institute since 2000. recent solo exhibitions 2005 Horsepower Campbelltown Arts Centre Sydney 2004 Horses for Courses War Memorial Art Gallery University of Sydney 2002 Small Bronzes and Collages Stephanie Burns Fine Art ACT 2001 Predators & Prey BBA Gallery Sydney 1999 Sculpture & Collage Coventry Gallery Sydney recent group exhibitions 2006 Sulman Prize AGNSW Sydney 2005 Walking the Line Cell Block Theatre National Art School, Sydney 2003 International Contemporary Drawing Art touring exhibition to Central Academy of Art Beijing Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and Guangzhou Academy Fine Arts China 2003 Distant Noises RMIT Faculty Gallery Melbourne 2003 Love Letter to China Ivan Dougherty Gallery Sydney 2000 Common Ground Ivan Dougherty Gallery Sydney Michael Fitzjames Michael Fitzjames is an illustrator for The Sydney Morning Herald. He has previously been published in the Guardian, Nation Review, Living Daylights, Digger, The Age Monthly Review, National Times, Harper’s Bazaar and MJ Magazine. He exhibits his work at the Australian Galleries in Sydney and Melbourne. recent solo exhibitions 2005 Pattern Australian Galleries Sydney Hot Off The Press Australian Galleries Works on Paper Sydney 2004 Here And There Australian Galleries Sydney 2003 Darkness at Noon Australian Galleries Sydney 2000 Mornington Peninsula Paintings Australian Galleries Melbourne recent group exhibitions 2005 End of Year Group Exhibition Australian Galleries Painting and Sculpture Sydney Small Important Works Australian Galleries Sydney 2003 Summer Exhibition Australian Galleries Sydney 2002 Recent Work by Australian Galleries Artists Australian Galleries Sydney Opening Exhibition Australian Galleries Melbourne 2000 Artfair 2000 Melbourne Joe Frost Joe Frost was born in Sydney in 1974. Primarily a landscape painter to date, his work is a summary of the places and sights of his everyday life. Frost works between observation and memory, and his vision is founded equally on the common look of things and their special appeal to his aesthetic sense.

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