Ten years ago a Larwill work on paper sold for $500 and a large oil for about $4000. Today, works on paper start at $4500 and large oil such as Dead Heading the Aggies (2004, acrylic on linen, 152cmx122cm) sell for about $30,000.
The work of painter and ceramicist David Larwill can be found in any number of important art museum collections, including those of the British Museum, the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery. While there can be no doubt that kudos gravitates to those artists collected by art museums, collectors would do well to note the buying habits of major private investors and the corporate world.
The Holmes à Court Collection, Baillieu Myer Collection and the Australian Football League Collection all contain examples of Lawill’s work. Conservative by nature, private and corporate collectors in many ways tend to mirror public taste.
Larwill came to the attention of the collecting public as one of the founding members of the influential Roar Studios, an artist-run exhibition space established in Melbourne in 1982. Using bold colours- red, orange, yellow and black – Larwill populates his paintings with stylised human figures and animals.
His artworks are sensory rather than intellectual- that is, you feel them rather than think about them. His use of colour and child-like forms give his works extraordinary strength of design and an immediate emotional impact.
With Larwill the artistic experience is direct, your response spontaneous.
Larwill’s visual simplicity and his utter lack of a deep philosophic undercurrent run contrary to the expectations of much postmodern art.
Ten years ago a Larwill work on paper sold for $500 and a large oil for about $4000. Today, works on paper start at $4500 and large oil such as Dead Heading the Aggies (2004, acrylic on linen, 152cmx122cm) sell for about $30,000.