Australian painter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stewart Angus MacFarlane (born November 1953, Adelaide, South Australia), is an Australian figurative painter. His style is a pared-down realism (with expressionistic touches) combined with a surreality of lighting and perspective.[1] He often, though not always, places a female or male nude in a situation of erotic enigma.[2] He paints the Australian scene representative of Western society as a whole.[3]
When aged 16 he enrolled at the South Australian School of Art, where he was influenced by the Adelaide painters, David Dridan and David Dallwitz. He gained a Diploma of Fine Arts (Painting) in 1974. The next year he travelled to America where he had group and solo exhibitions, as well as pursuing his other love, music. In 1977 he graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts (Painting) from the School of Visual Arts, New York City.[4]
He was a studio assistant of Alex Katz, Chuck Close, and Janet Fish.[5][6] Since returning to Australia in 1983, MacFarlane has earned his living as a professional painter, exhibiting several times a year, either in Australia or internationally.
MacFarlane is also a musician. His band, "Stew Lane and The Untouchables", performed and recorded in New York City from 1979 to 1981. The Album, Harder Than Wax was released by AZ International, France, in 1980. The band's independent release, "U.N.Rap Song" (Private Ear Records, 1980) was acknowledged by Freddy Fresh as one of the earliest rap records and one of the first examples of a group, outside the hip-hop genre, to incorporate rap into their music.[7]
MacFarlane, Stewart, and Helmridge-Marsillian, Veronique, Stewart MacFarlane. Small Observations. A Survey of Small Oil Paintings 1967–2005, Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, 2006, p.4.
McCulloch, Alan, (rev. by Susan McCulloch), The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1994
McCulloch, Alan, McCulloch, Susan, and McCulloch, Emily, The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2006
Pickett, Charles, Cars and Culture. Our Driving Passions, HarperCollins and Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 1999
Williams, Donald, and Simpson, Colin, Art Now. Contemporary Art Post-1970, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, 1994
Articles
Adam, Rosemary, "Stewart MacFarlane: 'Roswell'", Art Monthly, September 1990
Adam, Rosemary, "Stewart MacFarlane", Tension, March 1992
Heathcote, Christopher, "Summer Famine", Art Monthly, March 1989
Helmridge-Marsillian, Veronique, "Work and Sex. Three Paintings by Stewart MacFarlane", Art Monthly, July 1994
Morrell, Timothy, "The Function", Artlines, Queensland Art Gallery Society, August–September 1997
Catalogues
Katz, Vincent, Compulsion: Stewart MacFarlane, Brisbane City Gallery, 2001
Leong, Roger, The Painted Self. Rick Amor, Peter Churcher, Kevin Lincoln, Stewart MacFarlane and Lewis Miller, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, 2006
MacFarlane, Stewart, Door of Memories, Roswell Museum and Art Center, New Mexico, USA, 1987
MacFarlane, Stewart, Screenplay, Galerie Carlos Hulsch Berlin, Germany, 2000
MacFarlane, Stewart, and Helmridge-Marsillian, Veronique, Stewart MacFarlane. Small Observations. A Survey of Small Oil Paintings 1967–2005, Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, 2006
Rufe, Laurie, and Fleming, Stephen, Beyond a Gift of Time. Current Work by Former Fellows of the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program, Roswell Museum and Art Center, New Mexico, USA, 2008
Smith, Jason, So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star, NGV Shell Collection, 2005
Wei-Ling, Lim, Private Life. Stewart MacFarlane, Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2006
Video
Nedelkopolous, Nicholas. Private View (2004, 49 mins, Mini Digital Video) Documentary on artist Stewart MacFarlane.
