Ordinary Illuminations (1993)

Exhibition details

I am interested in painting the ordinary world I see around me. The images come about after a gathering and fusing of information from many sources. The intention is to achieve a realism that is very intense and focused and, perhaps, by doing so, to expose our social predicament. This process of documenting the present is a sort of journalism. Unlike many, I am not convinced that such recording is done better by the advanced media. Rather, I believe that painting contains an intensity and prolonged memory that is not present in other media. These beliefs place my work on the periphery of current art practice.

Review

"…Quintessentially vernacular in content (from the Hills hoist to the Italianate garden sculptures), they share with Merrick Fry’s regional vignettes a sun-drenched sleepiness typical of Australian lifestyles.

Kerouac and the American Mid-West are also never far from Fry’s paintings, which have an eerie suggestion of imminent violence lurking behind an oily veneer of shimmering heat and restless boredom…" 

Felicity Fenner, Sydney Morning Herald, December 1993

Images: 

• 02-002: Lucky Dog, 1992-93, acrylic on plywood, 61 x 122 cm
• 02-018: Crossing, 1992-93, acrylic on plywood, 66 x 122 cm
• 02-020: Waiting, 1992-93, acrylic on plywood, 61 x 122 cm
• 04: Jack-knifed semi, 1992-93, acrylic on plywood, 59 x 91 cm
• 05: Checking the load, 1992, acrylic on particle board, 61 x 122 cm