Brad Munro

The 5th Stage of Alchemy

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Brad Munro

Emerging artist Brad Munro’s seductive paintings entice us into his world of colour, mood and sensibility. He paints about desire- transcending cultural conditioning. Works present the balance between yin and yang, between tension and harmony.

In technique Munro is a master of abstraction and colour theory. Applying pure hue from the colour wheel directly to the picture plane, the results are extraordinary journeys which hold the viewer spellbound. The sheer thickness of applied paint is testament to Munro’s enormous energy and the physicality or “process” of creating.

“My painting concerns consist with the “rightness” of colour and composition, although my departure point is one of discord. The paintings undergo various stages of order and chaos as I work organically with the “masculine” and “feminine” quality of oil paint. The end result is a simplified vision that has grown from a complicated process, making them highly appealing in today’s society”. Brad Munro 2005

With strong references to the work of Gerhardt Richter, Mark Rothco and mid century American abstraction, Munro’s work also recalls the great impressionists John Turner and Claude Monet.

Born in Sydney in 1962, Munro holds a Bachelor of Arts from the National Art School (2000).

He has held sell-out solo exhibitions since 1997 and has been included in numerous group shows, notably at Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Mosman Art Prize Mosman, Salon des Refuse, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney.

His work is represented in both private and corporate collections including the Arthur Boyd Foundation, Australia; Casula Powerhouse, Casula; Private Collections-London, New York, Sydney, Singapore; Tetsuya Collection; The Minimbah Collection.

The 5th Stage of Alchemy - 27 October- 10 November 2005

In this latest body of work, Brad Munro references the fundamental aspects of painting; colour, line, shape and form. Drawing together several genres which collide on the picture plane, Munro generates great intensity with this hybridism, whilst paying homage to the history of artistic practice.

Throughout his painting career, Munro has journeyed through the stages of alchemy, expressing this with pure colour on canvas. Beginning with “The Darkening of the Form”, when inner beliefs are challenged, the artist started a search for his own truth.

The magnificence of his white paintings signaled “The Lightening of the Form”, and a subsequent analysis of the colour wheel.

By introducing deep red and golden hues, “The Reddening of the Form” and “The Goldening of the Form” produced some of the most beautiful and poignant paintings of his oeuvre- a joy to behold!

Now, in the fifth and final stage, “The Peacock’s Feather”, Munro brings together all previous elements in a celebration of life, returning to form itself as his central theme.

Influenced by Chinese painters, Munro has employed “dragon lines” – calligraphic strokes added at the final stage of painting. These almost invisible structures hold the pictorial composition together, bringing the whole into balance. Employing this technique Munro subtly refers back to the first stage, when the “slaying of the dragon” or challenging of ones beliefs, begins the cycle again.

Brenda Colahan 2005

Born

Sydney 1962

Education

2000 Bachelor of Fine Arts, National Art School, Sydney

1997 Advanced Diploma , National Art School, Sydney

1995 Associate Diploma, Meadowbank TAFE

Solo Exhibitions

2005 "The 5th Stage of Alchemy" Barrack Gallery, Sydney

2005 “Survey show”, Barrack Gallery, Sydney

2003 “Crossing the Line”, Defiance Gallery, Sydney

1998 Zero, First gallery, Sydney