Every year, as the media issues a cavalcade of banal reports on the Archibald Prize, a progressive disenchantment settles on artists and other denizens of the art community. The gulf between the way the prize is presented to the public and the way it appears to those with a stake in the game is widening with each cycle, as criticism and commentary become further divorced from reality. In a milieu in which everything to do with the arts has to be “fun” and “nice”, while simultaneously being heavily politicised, it’s a depressing scenario for those who refuse to subscribe to these – often contradictory - requirements.
In this sense, Richard Lewer’s Archibald winner repays careful study. It’s an undeniably ‘nice’ painting of a charming, elderly Aboriginal lady, on a cheerful orange backdrop. Yet it’s also part of a PR offensive intended to restore legitimacy to the APY Artists Collective - subject of an extensive investigation, of which the findings have been buried by state and federal governments. In this way, an inoffensive, likeable painting becomes a tool for propaganda.
The cynicism that attends the Archibald and Wynne Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW, leads to constant speculation that the good stuff will be found in the Salon des Refusés, at the S.H. Ervin Gallery. This expectation usually fails to ignite, as the Salon provides more of the same, but this year, we’re getting closer to the mark. As usual, there are a number of portraits one might view as inexplicable omissions from the Archibald, while the landscapes left out of the Wynne raise serious questions.