Nick Mourtzakis
(Australia, Greece 31 Aug 1951– )
- Title
- Untitled study
- Place of origin
-
Melbourne →
Victoria →
Australia
- Year
- 1999
- Media category
- Drawing
- Materials used
- pencil, conté, white chalk on two joined sheets of brown paper
- Dimensions
-
102.0 x 75.5cm sheet, overall; 126.0 x 96.0 x 6.1cm frame
- Signature & date
- Signed and dated l.l., pencil "NICK MOURTZAKIS/ 1999".
- Credit
- Gift of the Trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation 2000
- Accession number
- 119.2000
- Copyright
- © Nick Mourtzakis
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
This drawing is a self-portrait made over a period of a year after the death of the artist’s mother, a time of intense emotional introspection for him. It began as a study for a painting, to examine scale, format and structure. The work extended beyond this very quickly and from an initial intention to spend several hours, the drawing involved me for several months … 'The drawing was made with and without reference to the mirror, in both artificial and natural light.
The work engages the presence of mortality and grief (as well as) continuity …' (Nick Mourtzakis, 2000).A watercolour – 'Eleni Mourtzakis, the artist’s mother' 1984 – is in the Gallery’s collection (see Hendrik Kolenberg, Australian watercolours 1880s to 1990s: from the Gallery’s collection, AGNSW, Sydney, 1995, p 107).
- Bibliography (6)
-
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Helen Campbell (Australia) (Author), Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, Sydney, 2012, 7, 34, 35 (colour illus.), 60.
'A fine harvest of drawings: legacy of an exceptional draughtsman' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 28-31., Look Nov 2011, Nov 2011, 30.
'Nick Mourtzakis' by Elizabeth Cross, pg. 18-23., Look May 2007, May 2007, 18 (colour illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia), The Dobell Prize for Drawing: 1993-2004, Sydney, 2004, 9, 30, 31 (colour illus.), 50, 53.
‘The secret artist’ by Megan Backhouse, pg. 3., The Age 13 May 2000, 13 May 2000, 96 (colour illus.).
‘Drawing from the migrant experience’ by Elizabeth Fortescue, pg. 106., The Daily Telegraph 31 Mar 2000, 31 Mar 2000, 106 (colour illus.).
- Exhibition history (3)
-
Dobell Prize for Drawing 2000, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 18 Mar 2000–07 May 2000.
The analytical portrait: works by Nikolas Mourtzakis, The Victorian College of the Arts Gallery, 30 Mar 2004–02 Apr 2004.
Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery, 15 Feb 2013–24 Mar 2013.
