ROBERT CLINCH

Contemplation

Opening Event: Thursday 4 June 6-8pm

Robert Clinch is one of Melbourne’s most accomplished contemporary artists. Clinch has been exhibiting his work across Australia’s finest galleries in both an institutional and commercial setting since the 1980s. Clinch has previously worked in gouache, dry brush, watercolour, lithography, and the ancient technique of egg tempera. 

The artist’s meticulous attention to detail in landscape and portraiture has seen him excel in both fields. Although perhaps best known for the realism of his capriccio landscapes, Clinch has a strong affinity for portraiture, and his depiction of fellow artist Sir William Dargie was named a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1998. In the Gallery’s landscape category, Clinch has been a finalist in the Wynne Prize an astonishing 11 times, taking home the Trustees’ Watercolour Prize in 1989 and 1993. Clinch’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; and The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

When confronted by one of Clinch’s works, the viewer feels as if they are seeing something familiar, but the images are often figments of the artist’s imagination. Captured in a photo-realistic level of detail, the artist completes detailed plein-air sketches, before composing images in his mind.

In 2004, Clinch made the decision to explore a new medium – lithography. This was a prudent move by the artist that enabled him to utilise his drawing talents in a medium that was far less time consuming than others he favoured. Clinch’s lithographs are hand drawn onto aluminium plates and printed in low edition runs generally between 25 and 50. Clinch was instantly taken by the medium and viewed it as an effective way for him to increase his output and thereby reach a new audience of collectors.

The exhibition, ‘Contemplation’, provides a survey of Clinch’s lithography practice between 2005-2011 in which the artist created his greatest number of prints. Clinch’s subject matter and artwork titles often serve as references to art history, mythology, historical events, and popular culture, and tackle themes of industrialisation, urbanisation, and loneliness. In each composition there is life evident, but not present. Clinch’s works give the impression of someone who has just left a room; we can see the imprint they left on the sofa, a forgotten shoe peeking from behind a closed door, but the human form is never seen.

In the suite of 8 lithographs ‘Black & White’ Clinch employs chess pieces to convey his message. ‘Troy’ and ‘David’, refer to the treachery of the Trojan horse from Greek myth and the Biblical figure, David’s victory over Goliath. From the victorious king, Muhammad Ali standing over his fallen foe in ‘Ali’ to the more philosophically charged warning that all empires must fall in ‘Empire’, Clinch unveils a seemingly unending list of roles for the chess pieces to be cast in. Clinch’s lithographs serve as testimony that the artist can capture his audience with monochromatic works completed on a humble scale. 

Although formally handled and executed with unmatched proficiency, this body of work reveals the witty and playful side of the artist, often using subversive imagery. ‘Tic-Tac-Toe’ and ‘Solitaire’ illustrate decrepit industrialised buildings that imitate the two games. In these works, Clinch humorously juxtaposes the derelict setting with a game loved by children.

‘Contemplation’ brings together the most complete exhibition of Robert Clinch’s lithography in over 10 years.