greg hyde - recent works 2008

An exhibition of recent paintings, etchings, and sketches from Japan by well-known artist Greg Hyde was held at the Milk Factory Gallery in June 2008.

If ever an artist were reflected in his artwork, it is Greg Hyde. Paintings, etchings, sketches, and a myriad of other materials are all fair game for any one artwork. Like the artist, each piece is multi-layered, charming, and detailed. The man and his work are brightly coloured and whimsical, but never flamboyant; clever and thoughtful, though never sarcastic; a wry smile playing on everyone's lips. Some of the new work plays with modern understandings of common ideas or sayings: in “There is An Elephant in the Room” the animal isn't so much an elephant as a woolly mammoth, and the room is no longer in a private home, but in the public sphere of a restaurant. “Catwalk” plays with visualising language use: an image of a cat dressed to the nines and ready to walk down a catwalk; “Life on the Verandah” features a cheerful home with not-a-one actually on the verandah; and what is it that makes the elderly gentleman's manners beautiful (“An Old Man with Beautiful Manners”)....age, culture, or something more? Are they beautiful at all? (I know my own grandfather has strong tendencies toward hermitude and curmudgeoness...) The exhibition also included new works Greg had created to cheer himself up and seek a new way of understanding and functioning in a world that induces grumpiness.  In addition to these wonderful paintings there were a series of sketches created in Japan - a country whose culture is at the height of postmodern whimsical glory.

Born in 1950 to Russian/Australian parents, Greg’s style of painting combines his love of the European tradition with an insightful use of the natural features and cultural phenomena of traditional and modern Australia to create a personal iconography. He has illustrated several children’s books, exhibited throughout Australia and exhibited in the Wynne and Archibald Prizes.

The following are some of the range available for sale, for more information contact the Gallery.

Cat Walk

There is an Elephant in the Room

Old Man with Beautiful Manners

Life on the Verandah