Matt Huynh is a Sydney-based artist and illustrator, graphic novelist and all around amazing and innovative person. I first saw his work in a strange show at a university where his animation about a fox blew my face off my head with amazingness, and have since come across his work here, there and everywhere. Strangely, he’s not so keen on solo shows so I always wondered when he would do one, to showcase his beautiful design and illustration skills to the art- and talent-hungry masses. Finally that day has come, and Matt is putting on his first solo show in three years, Asperatus, at the Skeleton Gallery at the Australian Museum. Yes, that is correct. With all the bones and stuff. Yes, the one with the skeleton on the rocking chair and stuff.

I interviewed him about his current work and life. It’s nice to speak to intelligent, articulate artists who are passionate about their work. The exhibition opening is tomorrow, June 1st, so read quickly.

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+ What does the title ‘Asperatus’ mean? Ok, I’ll be fair, I googled it and it’s about cloud formations with a ‘wavy undersurface’ – but why did you choose it for the exhibition? What does it mean to you? What does it mean in terms of the exhibition? How did you choose it – where did you learn about it?
> I wanted something that captured this moment in time, both personally and as a visual metaphor for the zeitgeist. From where I am, the time and experiences I am surrounded by are very much of a ‘wavy undersurface.’ We are beginning to deal with consequences of actions long disconnected – global warming from consumer and lifestyle decisions over decades; homeowners affected by the global financial crisis and the bankers dealing with pixels instead of faces; even the modern form of terrorism and warfare. Our problems are abstract and their solutions demand a lateral thinking we are developing that is foreign to our history of zebra and monkey-mind thinking.

These clouds appear as though the sky will collapse over you – they’re dark and overbearing – and yet they often disperse without storming at all. These confusing signals and appearances disconnected from their meanings are a sign of the times. Read more for the full interview…

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: Adam Paquette, Alan Moore, Art, art feature, Art Spiegelman, asperatus, australian museum, Ben Constantine, Biddy Maroney, Chalkhorse, china heights, Chris Wahl, Craig Phillips, Craig Thompson, Daniel Clowes, David B, Eddie Campbell, feature, firstdraft, Frank Miller, Garry Trinh, GB Tran, Gipi, Horus & Deloris, james jirat patradoon, Jeff Smith, Jessica Abel, Jillian Tamaki, Jonathan Zawada, Kate Banazi, Kevin Tran, Knot, Lee Tran Lam, Leigh Rigozzi, Mandy Ord, Marcela Restrepo, Marcelo Baez, Marjane Satrapi, Matt Huynh, Matt Madden, Mel Stringer, Mitchel Spider, Moebius, Monster Children, monstrosity, MOP, Morten Rowley, Pat Grant, Paul Pope, Peter Blegvad, R. Kikuo Johnson, Rutu Modan, Scribla, skeleton gallery, Sonny Day, Sonya Gee, Tony Curran, White Rabbit, Wil Loeng

Tony Curran is one of those fingers-in-all-the-(local-art-related)-pies kind of people. Director and founder of the traveling Watch This Space gallery, resident curator for our good friends at The Wall, and a practicing artist himself. Not only does he know more about art than we do, but he can write about it sans wank – an unfortunately rare skill.

We’ve invited him into our blog to review something special every couple of weeks. This week he gets his High Culture Pants on, for the Art Gallery of NSW’s retrospective of work from the late 19th century Aussie cultural refugee, Rupert Bunny. He also gets his ostentatiously French boxer shorts on, we guess because of ‘when in Rome’ and all that… Click for the review.

Posted by Tony Curran in Art, Reviews

Tags: art gallery of new south wales, ostentatious french underthings, rupert bunny, Tony Curran, tony curran gatecrash

Tony Curran is one of those fingers-in-all-the-(local-art-related)-pies kind of people. Director and founder of the traveling Watch This Space gallery, resident curator for our good friends at The Wall, blogger for the Australian Centre for Photography blog (coming soon!) and a practicing artist himself. Not only does he know more about art than we do, but he can write about it sans wank – an unfortunately rare skill.

We’ve invited him into our blog to review something special every couple of weeks. This week it’s Icelandic art star Olafur Eliasson’s new exhibition at the MCA – Take Your Time – running until April 11 2010. Those photos up there are by Alexander Krauss, courtesy of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. Click on them to get to the review…

Posted by steph in Art, Gatecrashers

Tags: iceland, MCA, olafur eliasson, Tony Curran, tony curran gatecrash

Tony Curran is one of those fingers-in-all-the-(local-art-related)-pies kind of people. Director and founder of the traveling Watch This Space gallery, resident curator for our good friends at The Wall, blogger for the Australian Centre for Photography blog (coming soon!) and a practicing artist himself. Not only does he know more about art than we do, but he can write about it sans wank – an unfortunately rare skill.

We’ve invited him into our blog to review something special every couple of weeks, and here is his first: Daniel Crooks’ Train No. 1, on now at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Posted by Tony Curran in Art, Reviews

Tags: art gallery of new south wales, daniel crooks, Tony Curran, tony curran gatecrash, train no. 1

Tony Curran, who gave us some Real Perspective last time we spoke, is co-directing 2042 Art On the Street, a two day festival of Newtown’s art scene. He took some time off preparations to chat to us about what we can expect from the festival and how we can get involved. Read it after the jump.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: 2042 art on the street, newtown, Tony Curran

“Imagine art practices you can’t document with a camera because the artwork requires more visual ability than any camera can offer. You can’t upload the image to facebook because of the limitations of a computer screen. Some painters paint images that a camera can make: Good for them. Many of these artists can promote themselves and their art, make a living and provide stimulating visual media because of the flexibility of their chosen visual language.”

Real Perspective works with this kind of art: new, crazy, multimedia, exciting art that challenges the somewhat “disaffected” art scene with new concepts. Tony Curran, who runs the organisation, helped us with the Throw Shapes launch party and got us interested in what he does.

Posted by amelia in Art, Features

Tags: Art, real perspective, Tony Curran, Watch This Space

We were basically 85% sure that no-one was going to come to our party. We figured that everyone had said yes just to be polite but were actually going to go do more important things, like knit a tiny jumper for the tiny cat they knitted for their real cat. So when we got numbers the next day of the ridiculously large amount of people who came, we were pretty surprised. And hugely delighted…

Posted by amelia and steph in Reviews, Your Face

Tags: Danimals, Ears Vs Eyes, Greedy Hen, Informal Dialogue, James Brown, Lucia Fischer, Luke Tipene, Matt Huynh, Megastick Fanfare, Mel Bligh, Rebecca Murphy, Sonya Gee, SPOD, Stephenie Kanhukamwe, Tony Curran, Watch This Space, We Buy Your Kids