Optical Illusions
06 September 2004
Daniel Mafé’s atmospheric and optical paintings will create a strong emotional charge when they are unveiled at new Brisbane gallery, Jan Manton Art at South Brisbane.
In what is Mafé’s first commercial gallery showing in three years, First Love: Recent Work by Daniel Mafé features 14 new abstract geometric paintings, which the artist describes as “quietening and immersive, the colours subtle, yet luminous”.
The paintings continue the artist’s ongoing interest in geometric forms, with the circle dominating the canvases, in a spectrum of colours from blues to oranges. The introspective ‘paintings within paintings’ invite the viewer to spend time exploring their surface, examining how the geometric layers, shapes and shadows both emerge and recede.
“The images flux and as a whole the painting unfolds slowly over time,” says Mafé. “My aim is to create a finer awareness in the viewer of their perceiving processes – to make tangible the link between body and mind.”
Since returning to Australia from London in 1989, Daniel Mafé has cemented his place as one of Australia’s finest mid-career artists, exhibiting regularly in solo and group exhibitions. He had established a strong reputation for his work in Europe in the 1980s, completing postgraduate studies in Painting at London’s Royal Academy in 1986 – the same year he was awarded the prestigious Europe Prize for Painting.
Lecturer in Visual Art at QUT, parallels have been made with his predecessor William Robinson – supporting the younger generation of painters while committed to painting and to his unique artistic vision.
The exhibition is being held at a newcomer on the Brisbane art scene, Jan Manton Art. Jan Manton has a long association with the visual arts, and since 1991 she has been involved with the QUT Art Museum, firstly as a member of the art acquisition committee and then as chair of a fund raising campaign for the building of a dedicated space within the University to house the important art collection amassed by the University over many years.
More recently, she has been appointed as the Vice President of Flying Arts Queensland, an organisation dedicated to providing opportunities in the field of visual arts to remote and rural artists and their communities. Jan is also a member of the Caboolture Shire Council Art Acquisition Advisory Panel, a new and exciting initiative of the Council’s to provide a strong and vibrant visual arts component within Caboolture Shire.
Manton is also the Queensland representative for Deutscher-Menzies Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers, so is also able to assist with any enquiry regarding buying, selling and valuing of art for the secondary market.
More Information
First Love: Recent Work by Daniel Mafé
10 September – 16 October
Jan Manton Art, 12 Fish Lane, South Brisbane
Details: (07) 3844 0043
Website: http://www.janmantonart.com/
