bert flugelman

BERT FLUGELMAN

CONTEMPORY ARTIST

FOUR FAST FACTS...

#1He is an Australian painter and sculpture most recognised for his large stainless steel public works.

#2He was born in Vienna and migrated to Australia when he was 15 where he worked as a jackaroo before joining the Army.

#3He contracted polio at the age of 29, while travelling overseas. This left him without the use of one arm and most of one leg.

#4Some of his most notable works include Cones, Spheres, The Hargraves Memorial and Tetrapus.

CONES1976-1982, STAINLESS STEEL

SPHERES1977, STAINLESS STEEL

THE HARGRAVE MEMORIAL1988, STAINLESS STEEL

TETRAPUS2007, STAINLESS STEEL

IN HIS OWN WORDS...

WHY HE DOES WHAT HE DOES...

... “I like making things...it has become a habit... that is how I start work on a sculpture, I think that is the way It should be. Three dimensional things make sense to me.”

THE NATURE OF HIS SCULPTURES...

... “They are not random works, but all are related by geometry. My work is produced in a framework of discipline which relates one work to another so that there is a coherence with what has gone before.”

INTERACTION WITH HIS PUBLIC WORKS...

... “What pleases me most is that kids have a great time with them. Families sit on them for photos.”

PEOPLE’S REACTION TO HIS PUBLIC WORKS...

... “Watching them from a shopfront I saw an old lady looking at it, then she took out her hanky and started polishing it and I thought – that’s about as good as it gets.”

CONFIDENCE AS AN ARTIST...

... “I make things because it occurs to me, then hope that other people see what I see and want it.”

FINDING INSPIRATION

... “You have to be an opportunist, whatever you see you grab. But, you have to stay alert all the time, watching very closely, taking advantage of accidental happenings.”

EMILY MCCORMICK

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