LEONARD, issue 29, June 2014

Issue TWeNTYNINe/ JUNE 2014 MELBOURNE / SYDNEY

Celebrating 5 years of

new auCtion thinking

SYDNEY

By Appointment

39 Queen Street,

Woollahra, New South Wales 2025

Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 2 9362 9045

Fax: +61 (0) 3 9826 4544

MELBOURNE

Primary Salerooms

333 Malvern Road,

South Yarra, Victoria 3141

Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 3 9826 4333

Fax: +61 (0) 3 9826 4544

CONNECT WITH US

Leonard is published 10 times a year by Leonard Joel. If you have any questions regarding Leonard please contact 03 9826 4333

CoverJohn AlbrechtManaging Director & National Head of CollectionsLeonard Joel Melbourne333 Malvern RoadSouth Yarra VIC 3141

leonardjoel.com.au

EvENT PaRTNER

twitter.com/Leonardjoel1919

pinterest/leonardjoel

Facebook.com/Leonardjoel

M A R G A R E T R I V E R

Leonard Joel Specialists

PhotographyRick Merrie

DesignerMaria Rossi

NATIONAL HeAD OF cOLLecTIONs

John albrecht, Managing Director

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5619

Email [email protected]

cLAssIc FurNITure & ObjecTs

sINgLe OWNer cOLLecTIONs

Guy Cairnduff, Head of Classic Furniture & Objects

& Head of The Specialist Collector

Phone +61 (0) 3 8825 5611


MODerN DesIgN & cOLLecTAbLes

Giles Moon, Head of Modern Design

Phone + 61(0) 3 8825 5635


jeWeLLerY & Pre–OWNeD LuxurY

John D’agata, National Head of Jewellery

& Sydney Office

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5605


VINTAge INTerIOrs AucTION

anna Grassham, Furniture & Interiors Manager

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5614


VINTAge INTerIOrs AucTION

Chiara Curcio, Objects & Books

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5604


VALuATIONs AND DIgITAL MeDIA

Monique Le Grand

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5620


AccOuNTs

Susan Saunders, Head of Finance & Administration

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5603


ArT

Sophie Ullin, Head of Art

Phone + 61 (0) 3 8825 5609


AsIAN WOrKs OF ArT

Liza Hallam, Specialist Asian Works of Art

Phone +61 (0) 3 8825 5626


sYDNeY rePreseNTATIVe

Robert Williams, Sydney

Phone + 61 (0) 2 9362 9045


MAY WE INTRODUCE OURSELVESWhether you have a single item, a focused

collection or a complete house contents Leonard Joel has a team of specialists that

can help you identify, value and market your property with a genuine focus on very tailored

and personalised selling solutions. Robert Williams of our Sydney office, a specialist

valuer in his own right, can also arrange meetings with our specialists either at our

rooms in Woollahra or your home or office.

FOreWOrD

This month I celebrate, as both Managing

Director and Proprietor, 5 years at the helm

of Leonard Joel and I want to sincerely

thank every buyer and seller that has dealt

with us over this time for their custom and

support as we moved Leonard Joel from the

traditional auction house it once was to the

grand contemporary one it now is.

This year, our 95th year of operation, marks

many milestones in the company’s redirection

and complete reinvigoration. To begin with,

our commitment to enhancing every client’s

experience at Leonard Joel remains as strong

today as it did when this promise was made

by my team and I 5 years ago. New culture,

new categories, new auction formats and

new technology have been the hallmark of

our new auction thinking.

Once upon a time auction houses dictated

tastes and the way things should be sold.

No longer! Today, a visit to Leonard Joel on

a Wednesday (whether in person or online),

will reveal a world of fresh auction and

selling themes for both the buyer and the

seller - themes that reflect new tastes and

contemporary buying habits. Photography,

contemporary art, street art, collectable

luxury items, modern design, petit thematic

auctions and selling events are all ways in

which Leonard Joel has expanded its auction

offering for you the collector, the decorator

or the lover of beautiful things.

And crucially, we recognise at Leonard Joel

that the centuries old process of buying at

auction – view, bid, collect – can for many be

far too time-consuming in a very busy world.

Auctions are fun, viewings are fun but do we

really need to visit an auction house three

times for one transaction? Well, only if you

want to!

For those who don’t have that sort of time we

now boast the most advanced digital platform

of all the Australian auctioneers that enables

buyers to bid on every lot, at every auction

and in real-time. Not only is this a wonderful

convenience for buyers it also ensures sellers

receive a global exposure and marketing for

their collections, great and small.

In this edition of LEONARD, our 29th, we

look back on the exquisite, the unusual,

the bold, the playful, the extravagant, the

important and the historical items and

collections that have found their way to

Leonard Joel in the last five years.

NEW AUCTION THINKING

JOHN aLBRECHT

MaNaGING DIRECTOR & NaTIONaL HEaD OF COLLECTIONS

1 JUNELEONARD

cONTeNTs

JunE contEnts

CaLENDaR 3

NEWS 4

THE EXQUISITE 6

FINE JEWELLERY 7

THE IMPORTaNT 8

FINE aRT 9

THE BOLD 10

THE UNUSUaL 12

CLaSSIC FURNITURE, OBJECTS &

COLLECTaBLES 13

THE PLaYFUL 14

COLLECTaBLES 15

THE EXTRavaGaNT 16

PRE-OWNED LUXURY 17

THE HISTORICaL 18

MODERN DESIGN 19

MURRaY WaLKER 20

vaULT 21

Leonard Joel is a proud supporter of Arts Project Australia

FROM SINGLE ITEMS TO COLLECTIONSIf you have a single item or collection you

wish to sell, the Leonard Joel team of spe-

cialists can guide you through the entire val-

uation and auction process. We can provide

you with experts across all collecting fields,

no less than thirteen categories of auction to

select from and the most expansive calendar

of catalogue auctions in Australia. Leon-

ard Joel specialists conduct insurance and

market valuations for the entire spectrum

of clients - private collectors, corporations,

museums, fiduciaries and government enti-

ties are advised by our valuers and special-

ists on a daily basis.

TaILORED TRUST aND ESTaTE SERvICESLeonard Joel has a long and distinguished

history of assisting both trust companies and

executors with the dispersal of important

collections. We provide fiduciaries (lawyers,

trust officers, accountants and executors)

with a complete suite of services to manage

accurately and successfully the dispersal

of large and small estates. Our services are

specially designed to aid in the appraisal

and dispersal of fine art, antiques, jewel-

lery, objet d’art, collectables, books & manu-

scripts and general household contents.

THINKING OF sELLING?

Our specialists are now sourcing single items and collections for the following categories:

aUSTRaLIaN aND INTERNaTIONaL aRT

FINE JEWELLERY aND WRISTWaTCHES

PRE-OWNED LUXURY

CLaSSIC OBJECTS aND FURNITURE

MODERN DESIGN

SINGLE OWNER COLLECTIONS

COLLECTaBLE TOYS aND SPORTING MEMORaBILIa

MILITaRIa

BOOKS aND MaNUSCRIPTS

WHERE CaN I FIND LEONaRD?

If you have enjoyed Leonard and would

like to stay up to date with our auctions

and events you can collect a copy from our

South Yarra and Woollahra offi ces at the

start of every month. But don’t delay as

copies run out quickly!

TRADITIONAL, PERSIAN & CONTEMPORARY RUG SALE

AucTIONTHursDAY

21 juLY AT 2PM

2JUNE leonarD

Forthcoming Auctions

cALeNDAr

Auctions and viewing times are subject to change.

The vintage Interiors auction Every ThursdayFurniture & Interiors – 10am Jewellery & Wristwatches – 10.30am Art – 11.30am Books – 12pm Objects & Collectables – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Classic Furniture, Objects & Collectables auction Sunday 1st June 2014 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Beatles & Entertainment Memorabilia auction Thursday 5th June 2014 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Pre-Owned Luxury auction Thursday 5th June 2014 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Fine Jewellery auction Monday 16th June 2014 – 6.30pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Fine art auction Tuesday 17th June 2014 – 6.30pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

The Modern Design auction Thursday 26th June 2014 – 12pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Traditional, Persian & Contemporary Rug auction Thursday 21st July 2014 – 2pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

Specialist Print auction Thursday 7th August 2014 – 11.30pm 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

arts Project auction Monday 6th October 2014 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

aboriginal art & artefacts auction Thursday 16th October 2014 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria

BID LIvE ONLINE

CHaRITYaUCTION

Classic Furniture, Objects & Collectables AuctionSunday 1 June 2014 at 12pm

259A GILT BRONZE AND IVORY FIGURE OF A MEDIEVAL FEMALE LUTE PLAYERLATE 19TH CENTURYmounted on a marble base, 43cm high$6,000 - 8,000

3 JUNEleonarD

NeWs

EnquiriesSophie Ullin | Head of Art (03) 8825 5609 [email protected]

CONTEMPORaRY aRT aUSTRaLIaNa

MICHAEL ZAVROS (born 1974) Springfall White 2006

acrylic on canvas150 x 110cm

Sold $24,400 IBP

LARGE BRONZE SCULPTURE OF AN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER, “LONDON LEAVE”, BY WILLIAM WALLACE ANDERSON, EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Sold $7,930 IBP

On May 19th Leonard Joel offered an important collection of contemporary

art from a single owner. The catalogue marked both a subtle shift in format,

with an emphasis on illustrating more lots at a larger scale, but it also indicated

and represented a conscious shift by Sophie Ullin, Head of Art, to more closely

embrace art of our time. The catalogue front cover, Shaun Gladwell’s Approach

to Mundi Mundi: Silverton Road 2007 achieved the second highest price at

auction for a photograph by the artist and Rex Dupain’s Bondi Sleep set a new

record for the artist. The sale witnessed Tim McMonagle’s The Crack of Dawn,

equalise his auction record and Sally Smart’s Cross Cutting (Fox Sisters Series)

fetched a top 3 price for the artist. A number of other artists also achieved top

10 results including Michael Zavros (illustrated) and Stephen Bush with Dale

Frank not too far behind.

On the 15th May Leonard Joel offered a curated collection of Australiana as

part of its thematic auction calendar. The sale realised in excess of $54,000 (IBP)

and of the 135 lot auction a rare bronze sculpture by William Wallace Anderson

(illustrated) more than tripled its estimate to sell for $7,930 (IBP).

MORE THAN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OF ART AND SCULPTURE CHANGED HANDS AT THIS AUCTION, REAFFIRMING LEONARD JOEL’S COMMITMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL SECONDARY MARkET FOR CONTEMPORARY ART.

4JUNE leonarD

NeWs

EnquiriesGiles MoonHead of Modern Design & Collectables(03) 8825 5635 / 0439 493 038 [email protected]

FEaTHERSTON COLLECTION

aUSTRaLIaN INTERNaTIONaL FURNITURE EXHIBITIONRoyal Exhibit ion Bui lding, Melbourne11 – 13 July 2014

13 - 15 June 2014 - 10am to 5pmHistor ic Como House Bal l roomCorner of Wil l iams Rd & Lechlade Ave South Yarra

The City of Melbourne will transform into

the lifestyle capital of Australia this July

as the inaugural Australian International

Furniture Exhibition comes to town.

Reminiscent of the international furniture

salons this world class event will showcase

the very best of Australian furniture design

and manufacturing trends – Then. Now.

Next.

Comprising of three distinct elements, the

Exhibition will feature a series of showcase

rooms comprising of modern Australian

furnishings, the Modern Icons Gallery and

a show stopping precinct filled with 2014

Australian Furniture Industry Awards

nominated pieces.

The Modern Icons Gallery, a collection

of furniture pieces from Australia’s most

renowned furniture brands, will highlight

the undeniable beauty and value of

Australian design and manufacturing that is

internationally recognised.

Curated by the Australian Furniture

Association’s Scott Lewis and presented

in conjunction with Leonard Joel Auction

House, the showcase spans over 100 years

and features important key pieces from

Federation until present day. The lineage

of Australian design and manufacturing

will be presented with influential works

from Aristoc Industries, Tessa, Parker and

Featherston interiors including a prototype

Mark 1 Talking Chair. Featured designers

include classics such as Meadmore,

Lowen, Rosando Brothers through to

contemporaries like Charles Wilson and

Adam Goodrum.

The Modern Icons Gallery is a must see for

lovers of beautifully designed and crafted

furniture with an eye for and passion for

the works of past masters and the narrative

of our nation’s design and manufacturing

heritage.

Purchase your EARLY BIRD TICKETS

for the Australian International Furniture

Exhibition at

www.australianfurniture.org.au

Don’t miss this spectacle of Australian

furniture for every room in the world!

MOvE OvER MILaN...

HaWKEYE vINTaGE DESIGNER SaLE

GRANT FEATHERSTON (1922-1995)A B210 ARMCHAIR, STAMPED

A Grant Featherston Expo 67 Mark II Talking Chair $12,000-15,000

EnquiriesMedia Alison Waters The Waters Group(03) 9820 1723 alison@the watersgroup.com.au

FRIDAY 13, SATURDAY 14, SUNDAY 15, JUNE 2014 - 10am to 5pm

HISTORIC COMO HOUSE BALLROOMCnr of Williams Rd & Lechlade Ave South Yarra (Tram 8, Stop No 34, Williams Road)

New Vintage Stock$25Accessories$10

10% of Sales to National Trust

Media Alison Waters The Waters Group Phone 9820 1723

email: [email protected]

Melways ref 58 G2







Melways ref 58 G2







Melways ref 58 G2

Leonard Joel is proud

to announce that it has

secured for sale 10 lots of

Featherston furniture from a

private Melbourne collection.

These pieces will be offered

in the Modern Design Sale

Thursday 26 June.

AucTIONTHursDAY

26 juNe AT 12PM

5 JUNEleonarD

THe exQuIsITe

AN ART NOUVEAU STERLING SILVER AND SILVER GILT COFFEE POT MOUNTED WITH BAROQUE PEARLS AND JADEMAkER’S MARk TIFFANY & CO, CIRCA 1900

Sold $15,800 IBP

THE ExQUISITE

LINDSAY BERNARD HALL (1859-1935)Andante circa 1887-1888oil on canvassigned ‘B. Hall’ lower left 30.5 x 69cm

Sold $18,910 IBP

AN IMPRESSIVE YELLOW DIAMOND RING

Sold $91,500 IBP

THIS ExTRAORDINARILY RARE AN-TIQUE NATURAL PEARL SOLD FOR AN AUSTRALIAN AUCTION RECORD.

Sold $146,000 (IBP)

6JUNE leonarD

FINe jeWeLLerY

FINEJEWELLERYPREVIEW

59AN ART DECO NATURAL PEARL AND DIAMOND NECkLACE$4,000-6,000

152A FANCY INTENSE YELLOW DIAMOND RING$60,000-70,000

113AN IMPRESSIVE SOLITAIRE DIAMOND RING$50,000-60,000

116A FRENCH SNUFF BOx BY CHRISTIAN PETSCHLER$8,000-12,000

The Fine Jewellery auctionMonday 16 June 2014, 6.30pm

Preview in Sydney39 Queen Street, WoollahraFriday 6 June 10am-4pmSaturday 7 June 10am-4pmSunday 8 June 10am-4pm

Preview in MelbourneWednesday 11 June 2013 9am - 8pm Thursday 12 June 2013 10am - 4pm Friday 13 June 2013 10am - 4pm Saturday 14 June 2013 10am - 5pm Sunday 15 June 2013 10am - 5pm

EnquiriesJohn D’AgataHead of Jewellery(03) 8825 5605 / 0408 355 339 [email protected]

7 JUNEleonarD

THe IMPOrTANT

THE HIGHLY IMPORTANT GALLIPOLI D.S.O. GROUP OF SIx AND DIARY OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT RANkINE 14 BN. A.I.F.

Sold $36,600 IBP

THE IMPORTANT

A FINE LLOYD’S PATRIOTIC FUND SWORD OF 50 POUND VALUE TO LIEUTENANT CHARLES MENZIES OF H.M.S. MINERVA / 1806*

Sold $91,500 IBP

HIGHLY IMPORTANT GROUP OF MEDALS AWARDED TO WW1 FLYING ACE AND QANTAS CO-FOUNDER LT. PAUL JOSEPH MCGINNESS

Sold $252,000 IBP

8JUNE leonarD

FINe ArT

The Fine art auctionTuesday 17 June 2014, 6.30pm

PreviewWednesday 11 June 2014 9am - 8pm Thursday 12 June 2014 10am - 4pm Friday 13 June 2014 10am - 4pm Saturday 14 June 2014 10am - 5pm Sunday 15 June 2014 10am - 5pm

EnquiriesSophie UllinHead of Art(03) 8825 5609 / 0413 912 307 [email protected]

FINE ART

64CHARLES BLACkMAN (born 1928)Blue Blossomoil on board, 49 x 74cm$28,000-32,000© reproduced with the permission of VISCOPY Ltd

18ALBERT TUCkER (1914-1999)Parrot, Bush Sceneoil on board, 51 x 71.5cm$22,000-26,000©reproduced with the permission of Barbara Tucker

93JASON BENJAMIN (born 1971)There’s So Much to Find (Il Cucco, Sicily) 2004-2005oil on canvas, 183 x 245cm $24,000-34,000

9 JUNEleonarD

THe bOLD

GRANT FEATHERSON(1922-1995)A B230H CONTOUR CHAIR, DESIGNED 1953

Sold $10,370 IBP

10JUNE leonarD

THe bOLD

POUL HENNINGSEN (1894-1967)AN ARTICHOkE LIGHT, DESIGNED 1958 manufactured by Louis Poulsen, Denmark, c.1990

Sold $13,200 IBP

Set of 26 collaborative panels ‘Freeze Muthastika’ 2004

acrylic and enamel on coreflute panels 184 x 122cm (largest approx)

2.7 high x 15.8m wide total

Sold $68,320 IBP

11 JUNEleonarD

THe uNusuAL

THE UNUSUAL

BORIS LOVET-LORSkI (1894-1973)God UnknownMarble, ebonised wood

Sold $21,960 IBP

A RARE VICTORIAN STERLING SILVER MOUNTED NOVELTY CLARET JUG IN THE FORM OF A WALRUS

Sold $23,180 IBP

12JUNE leonarD

cLAssIc FurNITure, ObjecTs & cOLLecTAbLes

Classic Furniture, Objects & Collectables auctionSunday 1 June 2014, 12pm

PreviewWednesday 28th May 9am-8pmThursday 29th May 10am-4pmFriday 30th May 10am-4pmSaturday 31st May 10am-5pm

EnquiriesGuy CairnduffHead of Classic Furniture & Objects(03) 8825 5611 / 0407 828 [email protected]

Giles MoonHead of Modern Design & Collectables(03) 8825 5635 / 0439 493 [email protected]

CLASSIC FuRNITuRE, ObJEcTs & cOLLEcTAbLEs

THE UNUSUAL

29A GILT BRONZE FIGURATIVE MANTEL CLOCk51cm long$1,500 - 2,600

49A FRENCH PROVINCIAL STYLE WROUGHT IRON BASED PARQUETRY TOP CENTRE TABLE136cm diameter x 73.5cm high$2,000 - 3,000

250A MONUMENTAL SEVRES STYLE GILT METAL MOUNTED PORCELAIN FLOOR VASE AND COVER19TH CENTURY, SIGNED A. COTTINET140cm high$20,000 - 30,000

13 JUNEleonarD

THe PLAYFuL

THE PLAYFUL

MR ATOMIC ROBOT MADE BY YONEZAWA, CIRCA 1962

Sold $4,800 IBP

A TRADE BOx OF SIx PRE-WAR DINkY 280/1 DELIVERY VANS

Sold $14,400 IBP

A RARE RENOU MUSICAL AUTOMATON OF LITTLE GIRL WITH PUPPET THEATRE

Sold $6,210 IBP

14JUNE leonarD

cOLLecTAbLes

Beatles & Entertainment Memorabilia auctionThursday 5 June 2014, 12pm

Preview in MelbourneWednesday 31st May 9am-8pmWednesday 4th June 9am-8pm

EnquiriesGiles MoonHead of Modern Design & Collectables(03) 8825 5635 / 0439 493 [email protected]

THE PLAYFUL

cOLLEcTAbLEs

13THE BEATLES DURING PRESS CONFERENCE II$600-800

5THE BEATLES WAVING WHILST DISEMBARkING AT ADELAIDE AIRPORT $600-800

119A WOLVERINE BATTLE SUIT INCLUDING ‘ADAMANTIUM’ CLAWS (ILLUSTRATED ABOVE)WORN BY HUGH JACkMAN IN THE MOVIE ‘x-MEN 2’ $40,000-60,000

The proceeds from this sale of this lot will be donated to the Fight Cancer Foundation.The foundation is a registered charity dedicated to providing care, treatment and support for people with leukaemia and other forms of cancer and funds research into better treatment methods, early detection tests and to find a cure for leukaemia and other cancers.

15 JUNEleonarD

THe exTrAVAgANT

THE ExTRAVAGANT

A COLLECTION OF LOUIS VUITTON

Sold $13,200 IBP

AN OVAL GO LD TRINkET BOx

Sold $9,150 IBP

A FINE QUALITY VICTORIAN STERLING SILVER AND CRYSTAL CENTRE PIECE MAKER’S MARK WALTER AND JOHN BARNARD, LONDON CIRCA 1878

Sold $10,370 IBP

16JUNE leonarD

Pre-OWNeD LuxurY

PRE-OWNED LUXURY

Pre-Owned Luxury auctionThursday 5 June 2014, 12pm

Preview in MelbourneWednesday 4th June 9am-8pm

EnquiriesJohn D’AgataNational Head of Jewellery & Sydney Office(03) 8825 5605 / 0408 355 [email protected]

A TWO PIECE SUIT BY COURRèGES CIRCA 1965

A kELLY POCHETTE BAG$10,000-15,000

10 iconic items from fashion houses Roberta & Courrèges which were a part of socialite Mary Lipshut’s collection are up for auction in our Pre-Owned Luxury Auction 5 June at 12pm.

17 JUNEleonarD

THe HIsTOrIcAL

THE HISTORICAL

THE DAVIS FAMILY PHAR LAP PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM

Sold $91,500 IBP

ROBERT PRENZEL (1866-1941)A RARE CARVED LONG CASE CLOCk, CIRCA 1910REPUTEDLY PART OF THE ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS OF GLENORMISTON, WESTERN DISTRICT, VICTORIATHE MOVEMENT STAMPED F. ZIEGELER, MELBOURNE

Sold $39,040 IBP

A FRENCH PORCELAIN TEAPOT LATE 19TH CENTURY

Sold $15,600 IBP

18JUNE leonarD

MODerN DesIgN

Featherston R160 Armchair and Ottoman$4,000-6,000

MODERN DESIGN

Modern Design auctionThursday 26 June 2014 at 12pm

PreviewSaturday 21 June 2014 10am - 5pm Sunday 22 June 2014 10am - 5pmMonday 23 June 2014 10am - 4pmTuesday 24 June 2014 10am - 4pmWednesday 25 June 2014 9am - 8pm

EnquiriesGiles MoonHead of Modern Design & Collectables(03) 8825 5635 / 0439 493 038 [email protected]

AucTIONTHursDAY

26 juNe AT 12PM

The 26 June sale will feature a blend of both

vintage and contemporary furniture, lighting

and other functional pieces by Australian and

international designers from the 1950s to the

1990s.

The sale has a strong representation of

mid-century Australian and New Zealand

design including more than a dozen lots of

Grant Featherston furniture from two private

Melbourne collections as well as work by

Schulim Krimper, Dario Zoureff and Douglas

Snelling. Contemporary work by industrial

designer Marc Newson is also featured,

ranging from a red Felt chair ($3,000-4,000)

to an unusual black edition Sci-Fi vase

($1,000-1,500)

International pieces include a rare Borge

Mogensen dining table and chairs

(estimate $4,400-6,400) and a tongue chair

by Verner Panton (estimate $2,200-2,500)

Charles Pollock Executive Chair by knoll (one of a pair)$1,400-1,800

Featherston Town and Country Chair$2,500-4,500

Vintage Verner Panton Tongue Chair$2,200-2,500

19 JUNEleonarD

MurrAY WALKer

WHAT WAS ONCE YOURS IS NOW MINE

Wit and parody transform found objects

into potent images of Australia’s art and

cultural landscape in Murray Walker’s The

Reclaimer.

Entering Murray Walker’s studio can feel

like stumbling upon a wondrous trove of

lost and looted treasure. Pieces of washed

up driftwood, squashed metal cans and bat-

tered saucepan lids are among the countless

canvases, rare books and antique printing

press that pack the enormous yet already-

overflowing space. At first ostensible refuse,

these forgotten goods assume a new guise

under Walker’s discerning eye; a slice of

rusty metal becomes a sole fish on a grill,

while the hollowed trunk of a shapely tree

transforms into Venus de Milo.

Over a career spanning more than fifty years,

Murray Walker has worked variously as a

painter, printmaker, collagist and bricoleur,

addressing themes as diverse as Australian

material culture, folklore, politics, outsider

art and the canon of art history. Not affiliating

himself with any particular stylistic move-

ment, but at times embracing and rejecting

them all, he has been free of commercial

restraint and the bounds of academic tradi-

tion. Even now at age 77, his works convey an

idiosyncratic irreverence, humour and irony

that reflect a rebellious spirit and enduring

youth.

With equal freedom and joie de vivre, Walker

has explored the art of found objects since

the early 1980s. From the auction room, to

rural Victoria and the streets of Melbourne

and Berlin, he retrieves, rescues and plun-

ders materials from everyday life, uncover-

ing unique pictorial qualities in detritus that

others leave behind. Through the eyes of an

anthropologist as well as an artist,1 he wit-

tily reimages his objects through the prism

of Australia’s art and cultural history.

His new exhibition at Chapman & Bailey

Art Space, The Reclaimer, focuses on his

continuing exploration of making art from

the basis of lived experience. As its centre-

piece, Walker has constructed a ‘Museum of

the Lost and Found’, a great pavilion-cum-

sanctum he dreamt up after stumbling upon

discarded wooden pallets previously used

for the transportation of canvas. A repository

for his findings, this idiosyncratic, modern-

day cabinet of curiosities traverses the weird,

naïve, dark and satirical, prompting us to see

even the most inane objects anew.

Whether painted, welded and reshaped,

used as a substitute for the painter’s canvas,

or left without mediation as a Duchampian

readymade, each work in the exhibition is

derived from an act of reclaiming. Varied in

style and tenor – painting and collage are

offset by graffiti, stencil and folk craft tech-

niques – collectively the works highlight

Walker’s humanist sympathy with outsider

art, his method of working instinctually, and

an overarching pursuit of free expression.

Yet their visual incongruity often poses

disconcerting juxtapositions; beautifully

refined works of art are positioned alongside

garish and kitsch objects. As Leslie van der

Sluys aptly noted in 1995, in Walker’s work

there is a “constant, elusive shifting between

high sophistication and apparent ingenuous-

ness, between childlike naivety and often

brilliantly witty parody”.2 Taking delight in

such paradox and satire, Walker challenges

us to revise our own values in art, to see

beauty in the neglected and the mundane,

and to liberate our imaginations from the

creative hold of a conservative past.

Laura Lantieri

May 2014

Chapman & Bailey Art Space, 350 Johnston

Street, Abbotsford

Until 9 June

www.chapmanbailey.com.au

1 His work as a cultural anthropologist includes writing two books, Pioneer Crafts of Early Australia (1978, Mac-millan Publishing), and Making Do: memories of Aus-tralia’s back country people (1982, Penguin Books). He also curated a major exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1979, entitled Colonial Crafts of Victoria: Early Settlement to 1921.

2 Leslie van der Sluys, catalogue text to Anthropaedia: A Survey Exhibition 1983-95, Meridian Gallery, 1995.

MURRaY WaLKER: THE RECLaIMER

20JUNE leonarD

VAuLT

DANIEL BOYD PARADISE LOSTDaniel Boyd’s paintings make manifest an erased history.

By Dan Rule

Simple interwoven patterns mark two of the paintings from Daniel Boyd’s 2013 series New Hebrides. They are stark and unadorned and beautiful in their unfussy way. The only real sense of detail beyond the motifs is in Boyd’s erasure of it – his now well-known treatment of the canvas, in which he affi xes a sea of pointillist glue dots, or “lenses” as he puts it, to the surface and blackens all that remains. Though similar in their looping, interlocked curves, the two patterns are tellingly different; they are part of the same semiotic code, but they speak of distinct things.

The paintings depict sand drawings from Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, the homeland of Boyd’s great grandfather. The 31-year-old cannot decipher their visual language on his own. The information is not something he has been privy to, but rather something he has lost.

As we sit in Boyd’s studio – a 19th century sandstone shed that adjoins his home, high up on a hill in Marrickville – he laughs, quietly, wryly, at his means of decoding. “It was via Google,” he says. “It’s a sand drawing that everyone on Pentecost Island has to know how to do before they can pass to the afterlife – like their passage to the afterlife or to paradise.

“I could have not painted the work and waited until I learnt that design in a legitimate way. But I really wanted to show people that

design and I wanted people to know that it came from Flickr or whatever – some anthropologist’s photograph – and that it might be some kind of variation on a real sand drawing.”

Boyd’s great grandfather, like many of his generation in the Pacifi c, was a victim of Queensland’s sugarcane trade. Between 1863 and 1904, more than 50,000 islanders were lured or captured by ‘traders’ and transported to work in plantations under brutal conditions. At best, islanders were paid 80 per cent less than their European counterparts. At worst, they weren’t paid at all. “Even if the paintings are not the exact design of the drawings, it’s still all part of the history because that’s how I’m engaging with my ancestry,” continues Boyd of the works, gazing out the open studio roller door and onto the street, which is shaded by the canopy of a Moreton Bay fi g. “Because of that slave trade, there’s a disconnection to that cultural inheritance as well.”

The pair of paintings offers a telling insight into the New Hebrides series – which originally showed at Sydney’s Roslyn Oxley9 in April 2013 and works from which showed as part of Future Primitive at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne – and Boyd’s practice more widely. At the crux of his art is an exploration of notions of heritage, erasure and interpretation. But like the artist himself, there’s a quietness – a contemplative infl ection – to his paintings that steers them away from a steadfast or one-dimensional critique. Though rooted in history and politics, they don’t feel that way to the eye.

Read the full article in Issue 6 of Vault Magazine, Out Now

VAULT ISSUE 6 OUT NOW

ERWIN WURM, TALA MADANI, DANIEL BOYD, DAN PERJOVSCHI, WAYNE WHITE, FIXXED, CRAIG & KARL, KENZO & MORE

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Daniel Boyd in hisSydney studio

Photo: Nikki ToMURRaY WaLKER: THE RECLaIMER

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LEONARD, issue 29, June 2014

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Transcript of LEONARD, issue 29, June 2014