In this series of portraits, professional photographer Gary Grealy captures some of the most unique characters of Australia’s art world. This world inhabited by the talented, strong, generous and at times eccentric characters of art patrons, gallery directors, art lovers and artists is portrayed as a carefully constructed and realised universe with film noir overtones.
In this exhibition, the sitters await the gaze of the viewer in much the same way as their curated, purchased or created artworks. From the doyens of public and private galleries such as Edmund Capon, Frank Watters and Geoffery Legge, art patrons and collectors, Gene Sherman, John Kaldor and Dr John Yu to renowned artists Adam Cullen, Jenny Sages, Robert Klippel and Jia Wei Shen, Grealy has followed his passion for recording these important contributors to Australia’s cultural heritage.
Gary Grealy has been a frequent finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery and his work has been collected by the NPG and National Gallery of Australia.
Find out more as Gary Grealy talks about the development of Art maker patron lover and his personal response to the project.