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Gary Solomon
Painter, Sculptor

Gary Solomon grew up in a home surrounded by Australian Art. This early exposure to contemporary Australian Art was vital for Gary as it was not till mid-life that a passion for art was reignited.

In 1992 Gary co-ordinated and curated a large scale exhibition in Ballarat and forged some important friendships with other contemporary artists. From that time onwards he commenced painting with a passion. He was mentored and encouraged by fellow artists,  who saw a raw talent and huge potential in his early abstract paintings, and he started attending community classes in drawing and painting . 

In 1998, after several successful solo and group exhibitions, Gary commenced a Diploma of Visual Arts at Box Hill institute. Here, in a stimulating, creative environment and with excellent tuition Gary's style evolved from abstract to figurative. The figures were both tribal and childlike and highly expressive. He also created figurative sculptures constructed from found objects, wood and metal.

From the very beginning Gary has been an intuitive artist. For him art  is a spiritual expression of who he truly is and what he deeply values. He  firmly believes that creativity is innate in everyone and has a long history of teaching art to both children and adults. He taught art classes for the unemployed of the western suburbs with Mission Australia until 2006 and since then has been teaching art for people who have experienced mental illness with Arts Access.

In 2008 Gary completed a diploma of Transpersonal art therapy. A rich vein of creative growth flowed from this personal exploration. 

Over the past few years Gary has worked both figuratively and abstract and has continued to create many new paintings and sculptures.



Inspiration

I love tribal art and children's art. I love the directness,honesty and power of this art. I love Pablo Picasso's work and admire his tremendous output in just about every medium imaginable and his boldness and originality.

I take my inspiration from the Cobra and Roar art movements both groups drawing on an open child like spontaneity. I am also inspired by abstract expressionism and many other artists such as Tapies, Chagall,Miro, Klee, Rauschenberg, Fairweather and Tuckson to name but a few.

I've gained a lot of inspiration over the years from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. I have strongly related to its emphasis on the inner child and journalling.


Process

My process when making a piece of art is firstly to prepare the space. I like to work,unlike most artists, in a clean, ordered and beautiful space. So I periodically clean up my studio and it feels like I am letting go of a whole lot of old, stale energy. I like to keep a journal and to record dreams and thoughts and ideas. I find that this writing is very helpful for me and very affirming. It often reminds me that I am an artist and that what I do is very important.

Writing is a vital part of my creative process. I also find that gardening and cleaning help me to get into a receptive mood to paint. Interestingly I find that doing the morning quick crossword helps me to start thinking laterally and creatively. I also find that a routine of yoga, gym and daily walks all help with the creative process. Soon there comes a time when I enter my studio and pull out a new canvas and simply make a start. I put some paint down often using some water to help the paint flow and help me to loosen up.

The painting process is an instinctive one and after a while I will step back and take a look at where the painting is at. The more painting I do the more deeply immersed I get into the painting process. I paint quickly and energetically and there comes a time when I clean up and leave the studio and close the studio door. Often I have a feeling of how the painting has been going. I know when I have been tentative and when I have been free and spontaneous. Often when I start a painting I like to see it through. This means that I will keep going back to the painting. Sometimes I will turn the painting upside down or sideways just to see it differently.

Sometimes in my process I reach a low point where I really can't see where I am going anymore with this painting. It feels like I have drifted off from the safety of the shore. I know also that when I reach this point I can also, paradoxically, be very close to a resolution. Because I have entered unknown territory I am prepared to take risks. i am prepared to risk losing the painting, which I have carefully nurtured along over the past few days or weeks or even years, in order to find it again. Quite suddenly and often totally unexpectedly I make a breakthrough and then painting feels natural and I feel relieved and happy and grateful for coming through.

I believe in enjoying the process of painting and in painting freely and spontaneously. I find that if I am too intellectual I often get a tight painting.

I find that each painting seems to have its own energy and that some seem to get resolved very easily whereas others seem to always be works in progress.

I like to work in my studio each day and I find that this helps me to enter the painting process quite naturally. I like to work for short periods and then walk away from the painting. I seem to be able to see the work more clearly when I return to the studio and have a clearer idea of where to proceed.

Curriculum vitae

I am an intuitive artist and for me art is a spiritual expression of who I am and what I truly care about.  My work references the childlike spontaneity of the Cobra group and a diverse eclecticism ranging from child and tribal art to abstract expressionism and the work of Picasso. In my art I use raw and simple line and an economy of means within a multi layered textural surface. Often layers of paint are applied and scraped away to reveal the textural effect desired.

My sculptures are often constructed from found objects wood and metal and natural elements and they often have a figurative, tribal and playful quality to them.


Education


2001                        Diploma of Visual Arts, Major in Sculpture, Box Hill Institute

2008                        Diploma of Transpersonal Art Therapy, Phoenix Institute



Exhibitions

2013                        Currently represented by Nexus Modern Art

2011                        For Africa Solo Exhibition

2011                        Yarra Sculpture Gallery Solo Exhibition

2010                        Decoy Café Gallery

2009                        Gallery 112 To Life Solo Exhibition

2008                        Leo Baeck Gallery Solo Exhibition

2006                        Gallery 112 ‘Spirit’ Solo Exhibition

2004 - 2010             Represented by Gallery 112

2003 - 2004             Represented by Dickerson Gallery

2003                        Dickerson Gallery Solo Exhibition

2003                        Jewish Museum Access Gallery Solo Exhibition

2002                       Lyttleton Gallery Group Exhibition

2001                       Artist’s Garden Group Exhibitions

1999 - 2000            Indigo Gallery Group Exhibition

1998                       Ferguson Street Provisions   Solo Exhibition

1997                       Kingston Arts Centre   Solo Exhibition

1996                       Malvern Fire Station Print Workshop  Solo Exhibition

1995                       Mornington regional Art gallery Solo exhibition

1994                       Gallery Cafe, Windsor  Solo Exhibition

1993                       Ballarat Creative Artists’ Gallery – self curated large scale group exhibition