Black and Blue
5 May – 20 May, 2010

Greenhill Galleries is delighted to present Black & Blue, a collection of new works by West Australian based artist, PAUL LACEY.

Lacey creates works with evocative imagery, engaging a sense of the surreal through his faultless rendering of light and colour, physicality of the stark and haunting landscapes, and his traditionally theatrical settings. This enchanting series of bright and energetic new works also provokes serious contemplation of the somewhat sinister undertones in many of them.

This exhibition comprises of landscapes, studio portraits and still live interiors, with many of his paintings incorporating other artworks by Lacey himself, as well as those of his partner Susan (also and artist), and other collected works. Black & Blue, the title painting in the show, integrates some of Susan’s papier-mache sculptures. Both artists are inspired by the avant-garde Outsider Art, also know as raw or rough art, which often illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds. Just as Lacey has utilised the works of others within his work, Outsider artists often simply re-contextualize existing "readymade" objects as art.

Mexican folk art and Day of the Dead folk art objects are also of particular interest to Lacey. Contrary to its name, the Latin American Day of the Dead is a celebration of the dead, not a mournful commemoration. It is a happy and colourful celebration of the departed. In some locations the living even dress themselves to resemble the dead.

As ever, this new series of paintings continue to be satirical, surreal and psychological. They are autobiographical portrayals, having a parallel narrative with European literature, in particular Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s acclaimed final novel The Brothers Karamazov, which explores the ethical debates of God, free will and morality.

Lacey is also very influenced by traditional and contemporary blues and roots music, which he often listens to whilst painting (for example Tom Waits).

Paul Lacey’s work is included in the Australian Taxation Office and Artbank collections, as well as numerous private collections in Australia and South East Asia.

---------------------------------------

"This series of paintings ‘Black & Blue’ had me digging deeper into a long standing interest in naive and outsider art...the uncensored eccentricities from the subconscious that have universal themes and expressions that are often direct and unhindered by intellect.

I experienced two significant bereavements early on in this period -the sudden death of my brother Mark (with whom I shared my music background), and a short time later close friend and colleague Ondrej Mares; a Prague born Adelaide Hills sculptor, furniture maker and art collector.

The environment the works have been incubated and produced in can best be described as rural fugliness relieved by art music and books...referred to in titles and the portrait and still-life subjects - in this case sculptures and furniture by Ondrej Mares and Susan’s piñata / calavera sculptures inspired by Mexican Day of the Dead Festival."
Paul Lacey & Susan Crookes, Pantapin WA April 2010

“Fugliness nudges the unlovely into a realm of comic virtue. Once it’s owned up to, it’s something to laugh about, even celebrate”.
Tim Winton in “Small Town” 2009

For more information on Paul Lacey, please consult the "artist" page on this website.