Peter Zageris
A renowned figurative and portrait painter, Zageris has been commissioned to paint many luminaries including the right Hon. Bob Hawke. Foremost a portrait artist, Peter Zageris incorporates a range of diverse mediums from sculptures in bronze and terracotta, to landscapes in oils and mixed media.
Dr. Joseph Brown, director of the famed Joseph Brown Gallery, has represented Zageris since the 1970’s. Peter Zageris is represented in various major public and private collections throughout Australia and internationally.
His paintings appear to make a profound statement, and on closer observation 3 dimensional stories appear from the canvas.Zageris recent body of work has been highly anticipated, and is simply titled ‘Interior nudes’. This work is unfolding, and reveals a subtlety and starkness, inviting the viewer to ponder and question.
It is not the painting that attempts to achieve conformance with an object explained Gris, but the object that attempts to coincide with my paintings (2) Gris definitive explanation of his work could well apply to this recent body of work by Peter Zageris.
In my art there will always be an inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism, where idealism is replaced with symbolism; there are no ambiguous shallow spaces or random angles. My art is not defined by turning natural forms into abstract; it is about representation of everyday objects and bringing them into focus. (3) Unlike Gris, whose objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form; Zageris depicts recognizable objects from one viewpoint, and allows the viewer to find their own parable.
Simply stated, juxtaposition means things side-by-side. In art this is usually done with the intention of bringing out a specific quality or creating an effect, particularly when two contrasting or opposing elements are used.
Zageris has an ability to find interesting juxtapositions and incorporate them into his compositions. He depicts images where the figures in the foreground immediately appear to dominate, yet the eye is almost simultaneously drawn to metaphoric inanimate objects that connect the outside world to the present. The juxtaposition gives the viewer a certainty that an apologue unites them, even though the objects are randomly located, and figures placed in the distance appear to be abandoned and isolated.
Joseph Brown donated 154 key works from The Joseph Brown Collection to the National Gallery of Victoria in 2004. His gift included 100 significant paintings and sculptures, and represents the largest and most generous gift of Australian 19th and 20th century artworks ever donated to an Australian gallery or institution. Estimated at over $50 million, Steve Bracks thanked Dr. Brown on behalf of all Victorians for this extraordinary and magnificent gift.
Collections include-
National Gallery of Australia
The ANZ Bank
University of Melbourne
CSIRO
National Library Canberra
Becton Corporation
World Meteorological Organisation Geneva
Morwell Regional Art Gallery
LaTrobe University
The United Collections Geneva
The Holmes a Court Collection Perth
The Myer Family and numerous leading Private Collections in Australia and overseas.
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