Gordon Hanley, the hottest property in Australian art today, will hold one of his rare exhibitions this weekend.
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Hanley is Australia’s only Living Master of art and his rare metalpoint works are among the most sought art pieces in Australia.
The boutique Morpeth Galleryis the only gallery in Australia that carries his works and it will host the exhibition until Monday, October 6, and again next weekend.
“Gordon hasn’t had an exhibition for some years, so this is pretty rare – and it’s his first exhibition since he was made a Living Master in May,” gallery owner Trevor Richards said.
“We’ll have about 30 pieces on show and it will be a last opportunity for many people to buy a Hanley piece.
“After this he’s exhibiting overseas for the first time, starting in Queenstown, New Zealand, and then on to the United States.
“There’s no doubt that the prices for his works will go up.”
Currently Hanley artworks range from about $2500 to mid-$20,000.
Hanley, who only started doing art professionally at age 37, shot to prominence when the highly prestigious Art Renewal Centre in the US named him a Living Master in the metalpoint genre.
“Metalpoint was used by da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael in the 1500s,” Richards said.
“But when the graphite pencil came in, metalpoint died out for hundreds of years.
“Now Gordon has reinvented it and taken it to a whole new level.
“The quality and detail of his works is quite astonishing.
“He’s up there with John McCartin as the hottest property in Australian art today, no doubt.”
Metalpoint essentially involves a pencil using pure gold and silver – it has to be acquired from a jeweller – which, when drawn over specially prepared paper, comes out in warm shades of grey. It is a very time consuming art form, but brings great depth to the image.
“I’ve spoken to gallery curators overseas and there’s already a buzz about the fact he will be exhibiting over there,” Richards said .
“This is a special occasion for us.”