Oil and mixed media on board
Signed and dated “Brett Whiteley 88” lower left
246.5 x 207.0 cm
Provenance
Private collection, Perth
Whiteley drew inspiration from the artists and ancient
philosophies of Asia and particularly admired the work of the Japanese
screen
artist Kenzo Okada.
In the autumn of 1988 Whiteley made his first trip to Japan. According to one
of his last interviews (with Alison Brionowski), he “...may have delayed
his trip...as did certain other writers and artists, fearing that the reality
of Japan would not measure up to their romantic idea of it”. However,
in his account to Brionowski of his five weeks there, spent mostly in Tokyo
and Kyoto, he said that he was not surprised at what he had discovered.
It has been suggested that Whiteley’s ‘bird paintings ’were
in fact, self-portraits: “He had always loved them since childhood and
in his last phase of work birds became symbols of both domesticity and freedom.” (Pearce
1995)
Represented
National Gallery of Australia
All Australian State galleries and regional collections throughout Australia
The Tate Gallery, London
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Reference
Pearce, Barry 1995, Brett Whiteley: Art and Life, The Art Gallery of New South
Wales, Sydney, pp.37, 41.
