Merrick Fry: A Life Looked At

In June 2013, the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery presented Merrick Fry: A Life Looked At drawn from the thirty-three works held in the gallery's permanent collection.

Artist Statement

My work has always come out of my country background, being surrounded by great landscape and the experiences I had in my father's family orchard. I have gravitated towards philosophies of realism. My early paintings and drawings always showed the marks and impingements of man on country - not a romantic view.

In the 1990s I was interested in the work of Edward Hopper (America - 1930s). During this period, I was also interested in the writings of Raymond Carver. These ideas culminated in a 1993 exhibition I named Ordinary Illuminations (King St Gallery on Burton, Sydney).

During the 19th century, the French realists (e.g. Chardin, Courbet and Manet) introduced a more egalitarian approach to subject matter. I have drawn, painted and made still life sculptures around Braque and Picasso's cubist works. These works came out of the complexity of Cezanne and, like Braque and Picasso, once you experience Cezanne's vision it is a constant source of inspiration.