Wildlife has been an inspiration to Graeme Townsend for over two decades, and his paintings and drawings reflect his love of the natural world and the visual treasures he finds there. His recent work continues to explore the issues arising in the meeting of man and nature – man’s impact on the environment and how nature has responded to that impact. “My current work depicts how we have harnessed various animals over the years to do our bidding. Other works depict the mythology that we assigned to certain animals. There are references to where we came from such as the primates dreaming of reaching the stars and man’s deep desire to fly, surely a desire we must have had as far back as mankind was able to wonder at the freedom of a bird.” Graeme draws on fantasy and surrealism and takes inspiration from the works of Belgian surrealist, Rene Magritte, and German romantic and allegorical landscape painter, Caspar David Friedrich. A multitude of animals inhabit his landscapes of possibilities – each work a part of a bigger story – like illustrations accompanying a rare book of fables. The fine detail is mesmerising; a pigeon’s wing feather, a water droplet on a leaf, a distant cloud. We are immediately drawn in by the pristine surfaces of the paintings, then compelled to weave the fragments of information into stories for ourselves.
Graeme Townsend was born in Sydney, and studied at both the Julian Ashton School and Alexander Mackie College. Since 1979, Graeme has undertaken painting and photographic expeditions to Borneo, Africa, Asia, America and outback Australia. In 1991, he was a lecturer in acrylic painting at the Julian Ashton school and has had many solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth as well as the USA, Japan and Hong Kong. His work has been hung in the Sulman and Wynne prize exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Studied at Julian Ashton and Alexander Mackie, Dip Art. B.A.
EXHIBITIONS
1973
One man exhibition, Terry Divola Galleries, Sydney
1972
Willoughby Galleries, Sydney.
1974
One man exhibition, Terry Divola Galleries, Sydney
1975
One man exhibition, Terry Divola Galleries, Sydney
1976
One man exhibition, Terry Divola Galleries, Sydney
1978
Exhibited Selected Student Work, Alexander Mackie Mixed exhibition Hogarth Galleries, Sydney. Mixed exhibition The Sydney Gallery, Paddington.
1979
One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney Included in contemporary survey of Australian Artists, Adelaide Festival of Arts.
Painting and photographic expedition, Africa. Lecturer in Acrylic Painting, Drawing & Photography Milperra C.A.E.
1980
One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
1981
One man exhibition, Asian Art Gallery, Hong Kong. Represented Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of N.S.W. Nine murals commissioned by Mr Robert Frost of M.E.P.C for the foyer of the Sydney Stock Exchange. Represented Wynn Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1982
Photographic expedition, Indonesia and Malaysia. One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney. Represented Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1983
Photographic expedition to Kakadu National Park Northern Territory, Australia. Two man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
1984
Photographic expedition to Borneo.
1985
Represented Crispo Galleries, New York. One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney. Represented Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
1986
40 Works on paper, commissioned by Ansett Airlines of Australia for Hayman Island. Commissioned by I.M.G , U.S.A for a major work and print series based on the America's Cup Challenge Perth, W.A Australia.
1987
Mixed exhibition, New Horizons, Cultural Centre Los Angeles U.S.A. Mixed exhibition, Munson Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico U.S.A. Exhibited in the Survey of Australian Contemporary Art Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Exhibited Munson Gallery, Cape Cod Mass.
U.S.A. Survey Tour U.S.A.,England, France, Italy and India.
1988
One man exhibition, Works On Paper. Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney. One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries.
1989
Photographic Survey of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. Kimberley coast and Ord River, Western Australia. Mixed exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney. Exhibited Wyn Schubert Galleries, Q.L.D. Mixed exhibition, Perth Galleries, Perth, W.A.
Mixed exhibition, Dempster Galleries, Melbourne. Photographic Survey Broken Hill districts. Photographic and Painting Survey of Western N.S.W.
1990
One man exhibition, Perth Galleries, Perth, W.A.
1991
Lecturer Acrylic Painting, Julian Ashtons, Sydney.
1992
One man exhibition, Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney Survey exhibition, Contemporary Drawing Julian Ashton, The Rocks Centre, Sydney.
1992
Mixed exhibition, Alliance Francaise, Sydney. Exhibited W.I.R.E.S Museum of Natural History, Sydney.
1993
Mixed exhibition , Greythorn Galleries ,Melbourne; Mixed exhibition, Julian Ashton Alumni. Mixed exhibition, Beaver Galleries, Canberra, A.C.T. Exhibited W.I.R.E.S Museum of Natural History, Sydney.
The Famous Five, Mixed Exhibition, Jill Richards Gallery, Sydney.
1994
Solo exhibition , Sogo Chiba Japan. Exhibited, Toyko Art Fair Japan . Mixed exhibition Greythorn Galleries, Toorak Melbourne. Fourth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne. Mixed exhibition, Shareart Galleries, Toyko Japan.
1995
Solo exhibition Glastra Galleries Sydney , works on paper. Solo exhibition Greythorn Galleries, Toorak, Melbourne. "Palm Beach",
Mixed Exhibition Barry Stern Galleries Sydney.
1996
"Works on Paper", Mixed Exhibition Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
1997
"Vatulele", Solo exhibition Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
1998
"Twenty five small paintings", Solo exhibition Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
2000
“Shoreline @ Tribe”, Solo exhibition Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney.
2001
Solo exhibition, Port Jackson Fine Art, Laguna, California.
2002
Solo exhibition, Port Jackson Fine Art, Laguna, California.
2003
Solo exhibition, Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney.
2004
“Painted word”, Solo exhibition, Beaver Gallery, ACT.
Melbourne Art Fair, Beaver Gallery, ACT.
2005
“The Magic rabbit & other recent works”, Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney.
Mixed exhibitions at Denise Roberge Gallery, Palm Desert, California; William Merrill Gallery, Laguna, California; Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney; Greythorn Galleries, Melbourne; Beaver Galleries, ACT, Schubert Galleries, QLD.
2006
Melbourne Art Fair, Beaver Gallery, ACT.
2007
Solo exhibition Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney
2008
Mixed exhibition Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney
Mixed exhibition Greythorn Galleries, Melbourne
2009
Mixed exhibition Greythorn Galleries, Melbourne
2010
Solo exhibition: ‘’all of us together’ Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney
2011
Mixed exhibition Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney
2013
Mixed exhibition Beaver Gallery.ACT
Summer collection exhibition Christopher Day Gallery, Sydney
2014
Mixed exhibition “Through the mirror ball”, BMG gallery Adelaide
Mixed exhibition summer collection, Christopher Day gallery Sydney.
2015
Solo exhibition, BMG Gallery, Adelaide
2015
Solo exhibition, Beaver Gallery Canberra
2016
Mixed exhibition BMG gallery Adelaide
2016
Mixed exhibition winter collection Christopher Day gallery Sydney
2017
Mixed exhibition BMG gallery Adelaide
2018
Mixed exhibition Christopher Day gallery Sydney.
2018
SALA exhibition Artworx gallery SA
COLLECTIONS:
Milperra C.A.E , Benalla Regional Gallery Vic, M.E.P.C , QANTAS, TCN Nine Sydney, Mobil , Taffs , Lord McAlpine U.K , Peko Wallsend, Barkus Doolan Kelly, West Farmers, Kerry Stokes , Kennedy Miller Productions, Covers Collection , Agha Kahn Paris , Bunker Hunt U.S.A , Matrix Canada, Rose Corp, Mirvac , Hayman Island , James Hardie, Bell Group WA, Morgan Banks, Hanna Match, Bensons, Key West, J. Brenda Collection, Crown Casino Melbourne, also many private collections in Australia
China, Taiwan, U.K, U.S.A, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Africa and New Zealand.
REPRESENTED:
Front cover of the Bulletin,1982. New Art One, and many articles and illustrations in various magazines.