Paul Maher

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Over the past 2 years Paul Maher has walked the sandstone ledges of Mount Sugarloaf, drawing its steep terrain and flora. Paul uses the landscape as a vehicle to investigate painting itself. In resolution of the series, the bush forms a platform for another layer of meaning; but no stage coach or floating policeman, no wolverine or primavera appear.
The drawings are the reference point, the opportunity to play and investigate mark-making with paint that relies on the tension between the graphic nature of the drawings and the freedom of paint.
Paul Maher has been exhibiting since the mid 1980’s and has had many group and solo exhibitions in both Newcastle and Sydney. He exhibited in Paris in 1999, with the assistance of the Association Culturelle Franco-Australienne.
Current Series: Book Work
Paul chose to paint on the surface of old cloth covered books that had lost some of their immediacy as a book form but contained a cultural relevance.
The works themselves depict a series of protagonists; the artist, the author, the poet, the foundling, the fallen hero, baby boomer, the King and the Joker.
It is a series of portraits that place the characters into a new context.
Using words, the works attempt to deliver a clear message – a straight dialogue between artist and viewer. The words and books are a reference point; however it is not necessary to have read them. It’s enough for the audience to have an idea of where the book fits into our cultural landscape and shared literary history.