Australian (b. 1957)
Romeo and Juliet (2007)
Hand-drawn lithograph
29.5cm by 29cm
Edition of 40
Signed and dated ‘Clinch ’07’ lower right
Provenance:
Robert Clinch, Melbourne
Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above
Collections:
Town Hall Gallery, The City of Boroondara (ed. 4/40)
Exhibited:
‘Urban Myths and Legends‘, Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne, 2007 (another example)
‘Black & White‘, Hill-Smith Gallery, Adelaide, 2008 (another example)
‘Solitary Perspectives‘, Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton, 2009 (another example)
‘Lithographs, Drawings & Egg Tempera‘, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney, 2009 (another example)
‘Themes & Variations‘, Manningham Gallery, City of Manningham, 2010 (another example)
‘Real Life: Stories from the Inner Suburbs‘, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell, 2011 (another example)
‘Robert Clinch‘, Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane, 2011 (another example)
‘Parallel Lines; Recent work by Robert Clinch and Peter Serwan‘, Riddoch Gallery, Mt Gambier, 2011 (another example)
‘Robert Clinch: Fanfare for the common man‘, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat; Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong, 2013 (another example)
‘Robert Clinch: Sounds of Silence‘, The National Museum in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland, 2014 (another example)
Literature:
David Thomas, Julie Collett, ‘Robert Clinch: Fanfare for the common man’, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, 2013, (illustrated p. 61).
Marion Piper, ‘Marker: 10 Years of the Town Hall Gallery Collection‘, The Town Hall Gallery, Melbourne, 2013, (illustrated p.41).
‘Romeo and Juliet‘, the world’s most celebrated story of young star-crossed lovers. Previously played by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Clinch has instead cast a pair of Adidas and Mizuno running shoes. Baz Luhrmann may have modernised the Shakespearean tale, setting it in the 20th century, but Clinch has taken it a step further. Reminiscent of Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of the Shakespearean play, Clinch has employed a modern urban setting. A pair of shoes dangle from a telephone line, imagery often found in the lower socio-economic corners of cities and often related to the drug trade and gang territories. As so often seen in Clinch’s works, the artist plays with our preconceptions and while often tongue-in-cheek, reveals beauty and depth where we least expect it.