Members event – Artist talk with Robert Boynes

Please join us for an artist talk with lifetime member of the Drill Hall Gallery and celebrated local artist, Robert Boynes.

Please meet us at Beaver Galleries for a viewing of his solo exhibition – Robert Boynes Silver Thread. 

Highly regarded Canberra artist Robert Boynes is a consummate master of both technique and observation.  His works are derived from intimate moments, urban streetscapes or global events but always with emphasis on the human condition and the anonymity of much contemporary social interaction.  The title, ‘Silver Thread’, suggests the balance of weight and delicacy between the works.  As Robert says, “I have given myself permission to revisit earlier themes and tropes, which I feel are unfinished or bear more extension.  These are first hand experiences that I have explored, which are still present in my life.  These issues are always abstract in their origin – disquiet, fear, love, etc.  They find form through sourcing an image or a physical material gesture that helps me realise a work”.  Robert uses multiple processes to create his work.  He likens his camera to an artist’s sketchbook, allowing him to capture moments of interest in real time for later use in the studio.  This raw imagery is manipulated using silk screen techniques and hand painting where colour is integral to his practice.  Robert often combines various panels that allow him to explore the contrasts of light, shadow, shape and colour within his compositions.  He is a master at constructing works of atmosphere and emotion, at times, intimate and soft, sometimes frenetic and potent.  These paintings stay with us as flashes of memory, like rapid bursts of light that resonate after the eyes are closed. 

Born in Adelaide, Robert studied at the South Australian School of Art in the early 1960s and began teaching in 1964. He was Head of Painting at the Canberra School of Art for 27 years and is currently Adjunct Associate Professor at the ANU School of Art. Robert has an extensive exhibition history and has had over 60 solo shows across Australia, the UK and USA. In 2017, the Drill Hall Gallery at the Australian National University held an extensive survey show of his work displaying the expanse of his practice. In 2018, Robert was awarded, Canberra Visual Artist of the Year and in 2012 he received the Capital Arts Patrons’ Organisation (CAPO) Fellowship award. His work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia as well as all Australian State Galleries, Parliament House, Artbank, Canberra Museum and Gallery and ACT Legislative Assembly.

Exhibition runs from 11 August – 26 August 2023

Image: Robert Boynes, Times remembered, diptych, acrylic on board, 51 x 81cm. David Patterson