City Studio
447 Morphett St
ADELAIDE SA 5000
Postal Address
PO Box 10454,
ADELAIDE SA 5001
T: 61 8 8353 0000
E: info@lifeflow.com.au
W: lifeflow.com.au
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Artist with attitude
Garry Duncan - www.garryduncanlimited.com.au
This is a copy of a speech delivered by Dr Graham Williams for the opening of a retrospective exhibition profiling Garry Duncan's work over the previous 25 years.
I came to know Garry through our mutual concern for the mallee. When I was a kid the only thing anyone knew about the mallee was that that’s where charcoal and firewood came from.
However, after returning from Paris and travelling through Europe I was teaching at the Conservatorium and met a Riverland farmer who loved singing. He offered an old pioneer house that he had on his property for our Centre’s use. I went to look at and was left in a state of in shock. I had never seen the mallee, and this semi-arid environment was definitely not like France.
However, I grew to love it – mallee is the oldest living species of tree in the world, unique to Australia – and came to understand the feeling our indigenous brothers and sisters have for this ancient, peaceful, gentle and yet harsh land. After a few years the Centre bought the cottage and the scrub block which came with it, which we put it on heritage.
The neighbouring farmer, born and bred in the Riverland, said he loved it too, and expressed his love, as was common, by chopping down everything he could, shooting everything that moved, and ploughing the land into oblivion. But we got on well, funnily enough, and quite liked each other. I found that he called me the Professor and that this was how the locals knew me.
I discovered Garry’s painting through postcards in the local shop and experienced the tingle I always get when I meet art or music which is brilliant. What amazed me was that some of his paintings had definite similarities to Tibetan meditation art. I found out that he owned a heritage block not far from ours and lived fairly close by. So I rang.
I gave my name, but he had no idea who I was. So after describing where I was staying it dawned on him who I was: “Oh, you’re the Professor, I know all about you. How the fuck are you mate? Grab a couple of six packs and come over”. And so our friendship began. Drinks in the studio turned into bottles of wine and this turned into dinner with his wife Lou, his companion and business partner without whom, he admits quite freely, he would have definitely blown himself up. I staggered home, wobbling my way down the dirt road, and this became a pattern which was repeated each time I went out to the Riverland.
He’s in your face, direct, passionate and knows he’s a genius. Which is very refreshing after the false modesty of so many classical musicians. And he is a genius. He’s captured perfectly the colours, vibrancy and feel of the Riverland and the mallee. Through his art I have learned how to see this ancient, timeless land.
Detail from "Crystal"
And he defends it passionately – and, unlike what most people assume about someone who is so passionate, he is absolutely accurate with his facts. For every true artist teaches society how to see – how to see our environment and our culture. We’re only just starting to really see Australia and especially South Australia because, for so long, we have tried to turn it into a copy of England.
Thank God it’s impossible to do that with the mallee.
What also amazed me about Garry’s work is that this rough diamond from the back streets of Melbourne who is self taught, has incorporated many of the styles and developments of 20th century art in his work. You can see cubism, impressionism and realism – the tradition of Australian landscape and cartoons. The sharp, beady eyes of his animals, always on one side of the head, follow you around the room (like the Mona Lisa!) and look just like his eyes. From a distance his landscapes look almost like photographs, however the closer you get, the more abstract they become, breaking up into blocks of colour and small rectangles. Their brilliance, vibrancy and energy are palpable.
In France they have a tradition of calling their great artists monstres sacrés – sacred monsters. Well, Garry is one of our own sacred monsters, and we treasure him. He and Lou are dear friends of mine. I congratulate Country Arts SA and Rob Johnston for putting on this retrospective. I hope you all thoroughly enjoy it.
Dr Graham Williams
Director
Graham Williams at the Lifeflow
Kurlana Mallee Sanctuary
Find out more about Garry Duncan at www.garryduncanlimited.com.au