journey & mystery exhibition catalogue 1 of 2

7/27/2019 Journey & Mystery Exhibition Catalogue 1 of 2.

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Journey AND Mystery

P I E R S M A X W E L L D U D L E Y - B AT E M A N


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MOUNTAIN IN THE MISTChina


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AUSTRALIAN DESERTAustralia

Carlos Morell, Wei Yijia and Piers Bateman, Threeexceptional artists.

Piers, Carlos and Yijia all explore the same subject intheir art; Nature and Life. However they do this fromtwo completely different points of view.While Piers manages to recreate the wonder ofAustralian nature, with its sun-drenched, wildlyproliferating forest undergrowth and vast desert

landscapes, by seemingly incoherent brushstrokes thatbecome a reality in the observers mind- Carlos andYijia approach the topic with an analytical mind. Theydepict the invisible lifelines, the interwoven networksand cell structures, which continually create new formsof humans, animals and creatures.They both achieve great art by captivating theobserver, drawing them into the painting to discovernew details even after looking at them a hundredtimes. Instead of depicting a frozen moment in time,they create a before and after; abundant with thevibrant life that fills the cosmos around us.It is with much appreciation that the Shanghai Institute

of Visual Arts invited Carlos and Piers, two highlybrilliant Masters from separate regions of the worldthat contribute to the flourishing creativity and artisticlandscape of China by adding their colorful, oftenthoughtful, occasionally speechless and frequently justhappy-making accents to the art scene.I am proud to have such talented artists as Piers,Carlos and Yijia as my friends.

Songjiang, January 2013Professor Rainer Maria Latzke

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MESASTexas USA


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HUANGSHANYellow Mountain, China

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SHIP AT NIGHTChina

EVENING FALLS

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RED LANDSCAPEAustralia

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At the age of nine Bateman moved withhis family to Victoria and grew up in thebohemian art community of Eltham, Victoria.Eltham is well known for its connection withAustralian artists such as David Boyd, Arthur

Boyd, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, NeilDouglas, Matcham Skipper and Clif Pughamong many others. In 1966 Bateman leftAustralia for London where he commencedpainting receiving encouragement fromnotable Australian artists David and ArthurBoyd.On returning to Australia in 1968 Batemanwas offered his first major exhibition at thenewly opened Munster Arms Gallery. Thisexhibition received a warm response from

the Melbourne Herald art critic AllanMcCulloch. The resulting sales enabled theyoung Bateman to buy 30 acres of bush atSt. Andrews on the out skirts of Melbournewhere he built a studio of mud brick. This

bush setting exerted a powerful influenceon his work.In the immediate fol lowing years heoften visi ted the waterfront areas ofWi l l iamstown, Por t Melbourne andMornington, painting and developing afascination for the sea. A painting fromthis time Scallop Boats Mornington waspurchased by the Reserve Bank of Australiafor its permanent collection.

LANDSCAPE WITH YELLOW WATTLE

ABOUT THE ARTIST


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Bateman became noticed by Australianart collectors and was recognised andencouraged by established artists such asVic OConner and in particular who helpedhim establishes connections in the Sydney

art community. An invitation to participatein a survey exhibition of Australian Artat the Cremorne Gallery Sydney anda painting acquired by the CaterpillarFoundation in Chicago further helpedhis growing recognition as an emerginglandscape painter.1988 Bateman was discovered byAndrew Peacock who at the time wasfighting a close election with Prime MinisterBob Hawke. Peacock bought a collection

of his works and later encouraged Batemanto visit the US when Peacock became theAustralian Ambassador in Washington.The Australian Embassy subsequently1998 acquired two paintings, one of them

a bush mural for the conference room.1999 he was invited to be the Australianrepresen ta t i ve a t the In te rna t iona lContemporary Art Fair I, also known asMARB ART in Marbella Spain.

WATER LILIES WITH FISH


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Gong Xue PingHonorary President Shanghai Institute Of Visual Art, Fudan University

In the five years since the founding of Shanghai Institute of visual Art, Fudan University(SIVA), we always stick to the integration of theory and practice and art education. We

have been constantly been adjusting our teaching strategies and renewing our curriculathus enabling our teaching materials and teaching methods to be more suitable for theup to date development in the field of visual arts.We welcome experts and masters from all over the world to integrate into SIVA andto practice their particular art, interacting with both students and teachers giving andreceiving ideas that make art vibrant strong and meaningful.A great artist should be equipped with a great mind. With neither profound thinkingnor solid cultural foundation he can be nothing but a smith of art.Piers Bateman, since being selected to work at SIVA, has shown a great aptitude forhard work and has produced paintings that bear the influence of his native Australiabut have also become sensitive to China in both its landscape and traditional cultureand values.Australia and China are very different countries but share unexpected similarities.

In some ways China like Australia is relatively new country with a long history. BothAustralia and China are large countries with some spectacular landscape from desertsto tropical forest.The landscape has very strong significance in traditional Chinese culture. Some of thespectacular mountain scenery in China has long been revered for its mystical almostmagical quality and has for thousands of years inspired artists and scholars who in turnare highly respected in Chinese culture.Piers Bateman has visited some of these areas in particular Hangshan (the YellowMountain) and has been inspired to make his own interpretation of the spectacularnatural rock of formations cut over millions of years by rivers and waterfalls.I wish Piers success with this exhibition and look forward to his future exhibition here inShanghai.

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T H E S O N G J I A N G A R T M U S E U M

Piers Bateman - Carlos Morell - Wei YijiaCurated by Maurice Amadeus Latzke

HOSTED BY

Shanghai Songjiang New City Construction Development Co. Ltd.www.newcity.net.cn

The Songjiang Art Museumwww.sj-artmuseum.com

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Shanghai Institute of Visual Artwww.siva.edu.cn

Downtown Songjiang

www.downtownsongjiang.com

journey & mystery exhibition catalogue 1 of 2

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