Download - Ham Darroch - The Shape of Things
The Shape of Things Hamilton Darroch
08 February till 28 March 2014
Hamilton DarrocH - tHe SHape of tHingS the recent work of Hamilton Darroch with its forceful colour and dramatic lines
could be referred to as conceptual abstraction. the large (over a metre tall) and
smaller-scale gouaches combined with his re-configured found objects exchange
the modernist ideal of pure form for a different ideal. that is, the much less idea-
listic experience of the real world, with its built and natural environments, bodies,
detritus, politics and pop culture.
Darroch’s wonderfully vernacular works negotiate the territory between repre-
sentation and abstraction. equally, the work is imbued with the philosophy that
colour is fundamental to the way we experience the world both biologically and
culturally. the warm brush strokes of his yellow stripe series, late Winter and
late Spring, resists the obvious interpretation of a hardedge style, and speak of
a subtle eye. in these works the picture plane is deep, the harmony of yellows
create shadows, and therefore a kind of plasticity is formed almost entirely from
hue and tone. What does this energetic yellow signal? as viewers it is entirely
open to suggestion and will evince individual reactions based on our own me-
mories, intuition and emotional response. Yet, it comes as a revelation, but not a
surprise to learn from the artist that these bright shapes with their soaring yellow
are inspired by the fleeting beauty of the Cootamundra Wattle. Like much of
Darroch’s work the australian bush and his immediate surrounds are a constant
source of reference.
in moonboy (after nolan), the artist has employed yellow again. this time taking
the iconic Moonboy motif of Sidney Nolan, which conflates both the figure of a
young man’s head and the moon. Darroch has applied his version of the image to
an old spade mounted to the wall. nolan’s urge to paint the australian landscape
is central to his place as one of australia’s most renowned artists. this notion of
mythology, time and space is central to Darroch’s appropriation of the yellow
circle. the rust eating at the metal of the spade continues the metaphor.
in recent years Darroch has spent time in the UK and europe working as an assistant
to the famed British artist Bridget riley. certainly, his in-depth engagement with
one of the leading abstract painters of her generation has influenced Darroch. But so
has his curiosity and research into the specificity of place and by taking inspiration
from the everyday. the sculptural installation the conversation is created from more
found objects. In this case, the work consists of a cast bell weight and a Victorian-era
gum brush salvaged from the river thames. the weight, painted a splendid blue
seems to evoke the sky or the void—a paradox of weight and weightlessness.
In its extreme simplicity, like the best of Darroch’s work, he has conveyed a sense
of the eternal and the discarded.
Katie Dyer
Curator, National Art School
Study 1 / Study 2
H 27cm x W 14.5cm
pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013
Study 1 and Study.2.
initial forays into colour theory relating to memory and the everyday. in these
works i’m considering possibilities to make the colours appear 2-dimensional
or to sit up.
Paint applied to raw timber creates a floating feeling for the colour. The surface
creates a strong ground and using objects adds another layer.
fold study
H 27cm x W 14.5cm
pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013
glass
H 32.5cm x W 36cm | 19cm between hooks
pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013 (Diptych)
after goethe
H 29cm x W 40cm | 24cm between hooks
pencil and gouache on table tennis bats. 2013 (Diptych)
After Goethe
after goethe is informed by the colour studies of goethe i saw in Berlin and
frankfurt. i sourced the bats in Berlin and they offered me a beautiful ground
for the colour studies.
the dark rings in the composition are in fact a deep green, which activates/
strengthens or lessons the intensity of the colour wheels.
Stuttgart
H 31cm x W 48cm | See install note.
casein on trowels. 2013
australian collections, to my knowledge, sadly have no piet mondrian paintings.
mondrian’s paintings stunned our modernist painters, like nolan, Boyd and to
an extent Williams because the paint is really applied thickly and textured.
oa recent install for Bridget riley i spent time at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,
which has brilliant mondrians.
The trowels I collected while I was in Stuttgart and the studies fit for me as me-
mories of the work and place. i love the patina of the trowels, their (worked)
everyday feel. important works recorded in the everyday.
H 38cm x W 270cm | 1-3
pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013
H 38cm x W 270cm | 4-6
pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013
Swag
H 250cm x W 250cm
oil on canvas. 2013
The star colour wheel painted on this work explores the multiple meanings of
the word swag.
a swag is not only a travellers bed but an ornamental arrangement or festoon of
flowers or fruit presented in grandiose colours.
Vancouver
H 90cm x W 40cm x D 10cm
oil on canvas backpack. 2013
The backpack (like working with colour) is about the journey and possible direc-
tions it can take you on.
It’s a very beautiful object that has lived a physical life evident in the wear on
all its parts.
the colour wheel is weighted cool/heavy, ie more blue-green-purple toned, i
hope this colour speaks about the action of the object.
Sideline
H 60cm x W 230cm x D 25cm
oil on canvas stretcher. 2012
I painted the field of colours on the canvas stretcher in the hope that it would
operate in a number of directions.
the harmony i’ve painted on the surface has a rhythm that can almost be tracked
in its literal application, but metaphorically for me also speaks of memory and
observation.
gang
H 60cm x W 104.5cm x D 27cm
casein on spades on painted yellow shelf. 2013
gang is a poke at the Kelly gang. i collected the spades in cowra nSW and they
came as a group. there is a whimsy and nervous play in the angles/direction they
each individually look in.
i wanted to shift the mundane towards telling a grand tale and i am also interes-
ted in the colour of the yellow plane they are fixed to.
of course they are a nod to Sidney nolan, much like my earlier sculpture moon-
boy (after nolan) 2012.
propellers
H 27cm x W 15.5cm
pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013
propellers animates three primary and secondary colours via introducing greys
and the central grey green triangle.
H 38cm x W 47cm x D 4cm (3cm gap)
pencil and gouache on bats. 2013 (Diptych)
this work is a nod to Jeffrey Smart and his colour planes, taken form the everyday.
the vertical wall planes, with an altered sequence begin to dominate and activate
the composition. they have a weight steadied with the doubling up of the blue.
the oversized bats with their purple circles provide a great ground for the colours.
Star study 1
H 52cm x W 19cm
pencil and gouache on bat. 2013
This work is an extended colour spectrum and the star offers a dynamic visual
form for the colours. the colours modulate away from the centre and there is an
echo in the points of the star from one colour to the next.
colour shapes
H 25cm x W 15cm
pencil and gouache on table tennis bats. 2013
purple Sun. Hilma
H 26.5cm x W 15cm
pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013
Ham DarrocHBorn Sydney 1972
Lives in Canberra, Australia
Email: [email protected]
www.hamdarroch.com
Biography
2006 master of fine art (research) cofa University of nSW
1997 Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours, Canberra School of Art,
australian national University (anU), act
2006- assistant to Bridget riley london United Kingdom
awards & residencies
2010 Bundanon trust residency
2005 NAVA marketing Grant
2002 Australia Council for the Visual Arts, New Work
2000 artsact Development grant
Solo Exhibitions
2013 The Shape of Things, James Dorahy Project Space, Sydney
2012 Everything Nothing Projects, Canberra
2012 goulburn regional art gallery, nSW
2008-2009 ‘load’ and ‘Slow Walk’ performance’s in london, UK
2006 Commuter Project, UNSW, Sydney, Australia
2005 new Works, mori gallery Sydney, australia
Selected Exhibitions
2013 the triangle, ccaS canberra, act
2012 Summer show Karsten Schubert gallery london, UK
2012 come to your senses ,grag, nSW
2011 imitation of life, canberra museum and gallery, australia
2010 Ridinghouse Benefit, Karsten Schubert Gallery London, UK
2010 Something in the air canberra museum and gallery, australia
2007 BloodLines curated by Peter Fay, various galleries NSW, Qld, Vic
2005- Matchbox Projects, Tokyo Japan, Sydney Australia
2004 oK commuter firStDraft gallery, Sydney
collections
Bundanon trust collection
Brazilian embassy
canberra museum and gallery
columbian embassy
private collections australia
private collections United Kingdom
publications
2013 the shape of things, Katie Dyer
2011 imitation of life, canberra museum and gallery, australia
2010 Something in the air,cmag, australia
2007 BloodLines curated by Peter Fay, Glenn Barkley NSW, Qld, Vic
2004 Domain Catalogue, Chris Chapman ANU Temporary public Art Project
2004 24/7 Catalogue, artsACT Urban Services
2004 Urban Visionaries , Peter Hill, Spectrum, SMH, June 12-13
2004 in the fast lane, Spotlight, Sunanda creagh,SmH,
2004 trainspotting Spotlight, Ben cubby, Sydney morning Herald
2003 art monthly australia, December, artnotes nSW
2002 art monthly australia, august artnotes act
08 February till 28 March 2014