Gary Solomon
"Being in nature, for me, always reconnects me to my self and my art."
About
"I am an intuitive artist and for me art is a spiritual expression of who I am and what I truly care about.
My work references the childlike spontaneity of the Cobra group and a diverse eclecticism ranging from child and tribal art to abstract expressionism and the work of Picasso. In my art I use raw and simple line and an economy of means within a multi layered textural surface.
Often layers of paint are applied and scraped away to reveal the textural effect desired.
My sculptures are often constructed from found objects: wood and metal and natural elements, and they often have a figurative, tribal and playful quality to them."
Biography
Gary Solomon grew up in a home surrounded by Australian Art. This early exposure to contemporary Australian Art was vital for Gary as it was not till mid-life that a passion for art was reignited.
In 1992 Gary co-ordinated and curated a large scale exhibition in Ballarat and forged some important friendships with other contemporary artists. From that time onwards he commenced painting with a passion. He was mentored and encouraged by fellow artists, who saw a raw talent and huge potential in his early abstract paintings, and he started attending community classes in drawing and painting.
In 1998, after several successful solo and group exhibitions, Gary commenced a Diploma of Visual Arts at Box Hill institute. Here, in a stimulating, creative environment and with excellent tuition Gary's style evolved from abstract to figurative. The figures were both tribal and childlike and highly expressive. He also created figurative sculptures constructed from found objects, wood and metal.
From the very beginning Gary has been an intuitive abstract artist. For him art is a spiritual expression of who he truly is and what he deeply values. He firmly believes that creativity is innate in everyone and has a long history of teaching art to both children and adults. He taught art classes for the unemployed of the western suburbs with Mission Australia until 2006 and since then has been teaching art for people who have experienced mental illness with Arts Access.
In 2008 Gary completed a diploma of Transpersonal art therapy. A rich vein of creative growth flowed from this personal exploration.
Over the past few years Gary has worked as both an abstract artist and a figurative artist in Melbourne and has continued to create many new paintings and sculptures.
