Image above: Christine Wrest-Smith Jars of glass 2023 oil on linen 76.5 x 76.5 cm
Congratulations to Sue Anderson, Dale Cox, Rodney Forbes, Rick Matear and Christine Wrest-Smith who have been selected as Finalists for the Maritime Art Prize 2023.
The Mission to Seafarers Maritime Art Prize is back for it’s 21st year, and invited artists to respond to the theme of The Relationship of Humanity to the Sea. Hosted at the heritage-listed Mission building in Docklands, Melbourne has gained international recognition as a prestigious competition and boasts a $25,000 prize pool.
Congratulations to Dale Cox who received the Runner-Up Award for his painting Take your medicine.
Dale Cox Take your medicine 2023 acrylic on gold enamel on board framed 73 x 123 cm
Maritime Art Prize 2023
717 Flinders Street
Docklands Victoria 3008
Exhibition Open:
Friday 20 – Thursday 26 October
12pm – 8pm Daily
Exhibition Opening Night:
Thursday 19 October, 6pm
Image above: Rodney Forbes Return of the Moth Man 2021 oil on canvas 46 x 35 cm.
Rodney Forbes is showing a series of his works in the solo exhibition Signs & Wonders at Glenn Green Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“Rodney Forbes lives in Gippsland, the greenest part of Australia. It’s a place of primeval forests dominated by the majestic mountain ash tree, the largest flowering plant in the world, and home to koalas and lyrebirds.
“He grew up in the historic seaport of Williamstown, training as an electronics technician on ships, which left him with an enduring love of the sea. As a young man, he traveled overland from Australia via Kathmandu to Europe and his later research work in storytelling has led to visits to Sioux and Navajo communities as well as collaborative work with Australian Indigenous artists, academics and storytellers.
“Forbes’ paintings combine full-bore colour, intriguing spatial manipulations, humour, and insightful observation of everyday life. They employ surreal juxtapositions which invite the viewer to attach their own stories and to reexamine their own sense of wonder. His works reward those who live with them, unfolding new layers of meaning over time.
“His work is held in the collection of the Australian National Gallery, Canberra, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank, Regional Galleries and numerous private collections in Australia and internationally. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at Federation University Australia and was previously the Director of Gippsland Centre for Art and Design and Switchback Gallery at Monash University. His work has been the subject of two major curated survey exhibitions and he has been the recipient of an Australia Council Arts and Crafts Board New Work Grant. He was the winner of the 2020 Australian Maritime Art Award.”
To read more about and view a selection of works by Rodney Forbes, click here.
Rodney Forbes: Signs & Wonders
Glenn Green Galleries
136 Tesuque Village Rd, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87506 US
27 July – 31 October 2022
Rodney Forbes The war that never went away 2022 oil on canvas 35 x 71 cm.
Rodney Forbes Night of the chook thief 2021 oil on canvas 50.5 x 50.5 cm.
Rodney Forbes Camouflage 2021 oil on canvas 30.5 x 61 cm.
Rodney Forbes Girl in a Tree With Lighthouse 2022 oil on canvas 40.5 x 40.5 cm.
Rodney Forbes Able Seaman John Henry Jarrett, RAN 2022 oil on canvas, text panel 30 x 60 cm
Congratulations to Rodney Forbes and Christine Wrest-Smith, who have been selected as a finalists in the 2022 Gallipoli Art Prize.
The Gallipoli Art Prize is an annual acquisitive award administered by the Gallipoli Memorial Club. The Art Prize is awarded to the artist who best depicts the spirit of the Club’s creed: “there exists an obligation for all to preserve the special qualities of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship which were personified by the heroes of the Gallipoli Campaign and bequeathed to all humanity as a foundation of perpetual peace and universal freedom.”
The winner of the $20,000 art prize will be announced on 20 April.
All works will then be on exhibition at Cleland Bond Store, 33 Playfair Street, The Rocks, NSW from 21 April – 8 May 2022.
For more information, and to view all 2022 finalists, click here.
Rodney Forbes
‘John Henry (‘Jack’) Jarrett joined up at the outbreak of World War 2, aged 18. His ship, HMAS Perth fought with honours in the Mediterranean and the Far East before going down fighting, beside USS Houston, against a huge Japanese invasion fleet off Java.
Interned at Changi prison, Singapore, then brutally enslaved for years on the Thai-Burma ‘Death Railway’, he was transferred by ship, running the gauntlet of US submarine attacks, to Fukuoka, Japan. There he survived further slavery in a coal mine and intensive US bombing. At length freed, he was trans shipped through the radio-active ruins of Nagasaki to Melbourne, where he recuperated and was demobbed, aged 25.
The loyalty, respect, love of country, courage, comradeship and sacrifice of the Thai-Burma Railway prisoners of war is legendary. Jack exemplified them as the unassuming and courteous man I remember for his sense of humour and generosity. He overcame massive trauma to live a useful and full life and to me, he was a model for the best a man could be.’ – Rodney Forbes, 2022
Christine Wrest-Smith
Christine Wrest-Smith The Messenger 2022 oil on linen 112 x 112 cm
‘The Purple poppy was introduced some years ago, to signify the contribution of animals great and small during the Great wars.
It is a symbol of remembrance of the animals that number in their millions, whose sacrifices and deeds played such an important part during the conflicts. 16 million animals alone were used in WW1.
Horses, Camels, Donkeys and Mules were used in transport and carrying supplies as well as Medivac for the wounded. Dogs were trained for search and rescue, and used as ammunition guards and scouts for land mines. Cats and Dogs were used in trenches and on ships to protect food stores from vermin, Mice and Canaries for detecting poison gas.
A range of animals were present as pets and mascots, for much needed morale of their human comrades. The unconditional loyalty of a pet must have been an enormous comfort during the dreadful hardships of war.
Pigeons were imperative for communication during the war, as messengers. It is for this reason that I chose the pigeon in the form of a harbinger of peace as the subject of this work.’ – Christine Wrest-Smith, 2022