Michael Ramsden
Michael Ramsden (born March 30, 1947 in Sydney , † March 17, 2016 in Tambaroora, New South Wales ) is an Australian painter .
Life
Michael Ramsden was born on March 30, 1947 in Caringbah, a district of the Australian city of Sydney and grew up in nearby Port Hacking Bay (also Sutherland Shire ). Already in his youth he turned to the fine arts and from 1963 attended the "National Art School" in the Darlinghurst district . In 1965 he dropped out of school and in 1967 got the opportunity to exhibit his first works in public.
Together with his first wife, the Australian fashion designer Jenny Kee , Ramsden moved to London in the mid-1960s , from where they both returned in the early 1970s. From Bondi (Sydney) both moved to the nearby Blue Mountains in 1976 .
When Wim Wenders was traveling through Australia in preparation for his 1991 film To the End of the World , he discovered Ramsden by chance. Enthusiastic about his eye for the unmistakable play of light and the spectrum of colors from "Down Under", for the wild, untouched nature of his homeland and the ancient cave paintings of the natives, he made friends with the artist. In 1990 Ramsden accepted his friend's invitation and moved to Berlin, where he first painted in Wim Wenders apartment. He later set up a studio in the eastern part of the newly reunified city .
In 2002 Ramsden returned to his homeland. There he lived and worked together with his wife, the writer Karin Mainwarning , in the small former gold mining town of Tambaroora near Hill End ( Bathurst Region ), where he died on March 17th, 2016. In addition to his widow, he left three children and one granddaughter.
plant
In his works, Michael Ramsden combines the wild, untouched nature of his homeland with elements of the ancient Aboriginal culture. As a source of inspiration for his work, he uses the shapes and motifs of old cultures as well as the traces of decay on the walls and walls of modern large cities, which creates a tension between natural and urban components.
“Nature trapped in walls” is the central theme in many of Michael Ramsden's pictures, which are repeatedly turned into walls on which the artistic act approaches the natural processes of decay. Very fine layers of paint on rough sand become the counterpart for weather influences on house facades. Isolated motifs build a bridge between urban graffiti and cave drawings that are thousands of years old.
The "archaeologist" Ramsden focuses on the processing of things that have already been used and were mostly spurned by their owners. In this way, both the traces and the wear and tear of used objects as well as the overlaps and seams of the fabrics become components of the image.
By using wax in a work phase, the colors, patterns and motifs found in fabrics, blankets and thin carpets stretched on wood can be transformed. The various gestural traces push back the original patterns; only the particularly pronounced can assert themselves.
Ramsden's works from the natures mortes series are also exceptional. Finds such as pods, flowers, pieces of bark that is thousands of years old, animal horns or poultry bones are turned into exhibition pieces in the picture behind glass, a modern interpretation of the classic still life. The French series title “nature morte”, which translates as “dead nature”, can be taken literally in this case. The relationship between image and illustration has shifted like the old proportions: the dead things are no longer lying on the table as if by chance. Instead, the table itself has become a work of art, a picture, in the width of which the object is embedded. In a special way, the small showcases turn into windows out of art and into reality, but also into a glass coffin: “nature trapped in walls”.
Projects
- 1986–87 In 1986 Michael Ramsden and the potter Graham Oldroyd were commissioned by the Parliament House Construction Authority for Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorpe Architects to design a monumental work of art for the New Parliament House in Canberra. This collaborative effort is one of the most significant works of art created in Australia over the past decade.
- 1986 Ceramics and Architecture - a film produced jointly by ABC and the Powerhouse Museum.
Produced and commissioned artwork for Darling Harbor Construction Authority in collaboration with Jenny Kee and Graham Oldroyd.
- 1981 Artistic concept and set design for Flamingo Park Fashion Parade, Jamieson St Nightclub, Sydney.
- 1980 Artistic Concept and Set Design for Flamingo Park Fashion Parade, Sydney Town Hall.
- 1979 Artistic concept and set design for Flamingo Park Fashion Parade, Seymour Center, Sydney.
- 1975 Artistic concept and set design for Flamingo Park Fashion Parade, Bondi Pavilion, Sydney.
Collections
Myers Collection, Phillip Morris Collection, National Gallery of Victoria, Ansett Collection, Artbank, Osaka City Council, Johns Baker Collection, private collections in Australia, England, America, Italy & Germany.
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
- 2008 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney “Western Gothic”
- 2005 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney “Hunter Paintings”
- 2003 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney 'First Glimpse: High Mountain Streams'
- 2001 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
- 1998 Gallery Gunti, Berlin, 'Castaway'
- 1995 Collection of Stöber Kutscher Haus, Berlin, 'Elements'
- 1994 Free Art School, Berlin, 'Essence'
- 1993 BFG Gallery, Berlin, 'Checkpoint Berlin'
- 1992 Television Tower, Alexander Platz, Berlin, 'Vertigo'
- 1989 William Mora Gallery, Melbourne 'A Heretic's Diary: THAILAND' and 'Down But Not Out: TASMANIA'
- 1987 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney, 'Rivers'
- 1986 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane,
- 1985 Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
- 1984 Mori Gallery, Sydney
- 1979 Frank Watters Gallery, Sydney
- 1974 Tolarno Gallery, Melbourne
- 1971 Clytie Jessop Gallery, London
- 1969 Clytie Jessop Gallery, London
Participation in exhibitions
- 2009 Thinking Allowed - The Big Drawing Show (Evan Hughes Gallery Sydney)
- 2007 The Big Drawing Show ”Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
- 1993 Commitments, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
- 1990 Balance, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
- 1986 Contemporary Australian Artists (touring exhibition of the Ansett Collection)
Nieman Marcus Australian Exposition, Dallas Australian Ceramics, Manly Gallery, Sydney
- 1982 Contemporary Australian ceramics, David Reid Gallery
- 1980 SH Irvine Gallery, Sydney
- 1970 Siggie Krauss Gallery, London
- 1967 Clune Gallery, Sydney
Publications
- Art & Australia - Spring 2003
- Jo Litson, The Australian, July 6, 2001
- Courtney Kidd, Sydney Morning Herald, August 1, 2001
- Victoria Hynes, Metro, Sydney Morning Herald, August 3, 2001
- Fashion biography, 1987
- "Landscape Art and the Blue Mountains" by Hugh Spiers. Alternative Publishing Cooperative 1981
- Craftarts - Murals of Neolithic Graffiti
- Art & Australia - Summer 1984
- Art & Australia - Summer 1985
Web link
Footnotes
- ↑ a b Text of the obituary, published on March 21, 2016 in The Sydney Morning Herald . From tributes.smh.com.au, accessed November 27, 2016 ( Copy of associated condolences . From legacy.com, accessed November 27, 2016)
- ↑ a b Kath Fries: Upcoming artists in residence: Karin Mainwaring and Michael Ramsden . In May 2014 from gunyah.blogspot.de, accessed on November 27, 2016
- ↑ Rachel Browne: At home with Jenny Kee . On July 1, 2012 at smh.com.au
- ↑ Rafaela Pandolfini: Wanderlust waratah: Jenny Kee . On February 3, 2014 on assemblepapers.com.au
- ↑ JENNY KEE (1947-). (No longer available online.) Abc.net.au, 2007, archived from the original on February 11, 2007 ; accessed on November 27, 2016 .
- ↑ Claudius Seidl: Hordes of normal consumers . In: Der Spiegel 8/1991. Pp. 222-227. Retrieved on November 27, 2016 from spiegel.de ( PDF ; approx. 480 kB)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ramsden, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 30, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sydney |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th March 2016 |
| Place of death | Tambaroora, Bathurst Region |