27 March – 2 May 2004
The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the S.H.Ervin Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered into the Archibald Prize which were not selected for display in the official exhibition. The Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s most high profile and respected awards which attracts hundreds of entries each year and the S.H. Ervin Gallery’s ‘alternative’ selection has become a much anticipated feature of the Sydney art scene.
Each year our panel is invited to go behind the scenes of the judging process for the annual Archibald Prize for portraiture and Wynne Prize for landscape painting and figure sculpture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, to select an exhibition from the many hundreds of works entered in both prizes but not chosen for the official award exhibition. The criteria for works selected in the Salon are quality, diversity, humour and innovation.Our panel viewed more than 730 Archibald Prize and 710 Wynne Prize entries at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to select the 56 works for our alternative exhibition.
The members of the 2004 selection panel included Barry Pearce Senior Curator, Australian Art, AGNSW; Belinda Webb Curator, UNSW Art Collection & Jane Watters Director, S H Ervin Gallery
The Salon des Refusés exhibition at the S.H. Ervin Gallery has established an excellent reputation to rival the selections of the ‘official’ prize exhibition and is often cited as a more lively and discerning selection.
The Salon des Refusés has been hailed as being ‘ … packed with fresh and lively work by a combination of young and more established artists including a grotesque parody of the laboured mannerism of a number of the more conservative entries, a perfect metaphor for the renegade spirit of the Salon.’ (Benjamin Genocchio 1999).
This annual exhibition attracts considerable media attention and ‘… should be an obligatory stop … the atmosphere of the show is much more up-beat and engaging than the official exhibitions.’ (John McDonald 1997).
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Sunday 28 March Artists discuss the “celebrity” portraits – Andrew Forsythe on John Safran, Shane McGrath on Adam Elliot, Jun Chen on Joe Furlonger, Brendon Darby on Kim Beazley and Gareth Colliton on Paul Jennings
Sunday4 April – The Judge’s Verdict The Hon. Roderick Meagher with artist Steve Lopes
Sunday 11 April – Revealing the artist Sydney artists, Lucy Culliton, Kirsten Reed and Luis Martinez on their distinct approach to portraiture.
Sunday 18 April Landscape from all angles Exhibiting artists, Tom Carment, Peter Sharp, Petrea Fellows, Mitch Cairns and Tim Smith on their landscapes
Sunday 2 May It’s a great face for Radio! Anwen Keeling on Merrick and Rosso (Nova FM), Bradley O’Connor on Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (702 ABC) and Peter Smeeth with his portrait subject, Dr Graham (from 2GB).