passion - Ian de Souza

ian de souza
a reflective impression
PASSION
A REFLECTIVE IMPRESSION
PASSION
PAINTINGS + DRAWINGS BY IAN DE SOUZA
This book is published to coincide with the exhibition PASSION at the Lynne Wilton Gallery, Armadale Victoria,
31 May to 20 June 2005.
The exhibition PASSION by Ian de Souza is the culmination of 25 years of drawing the figure. Rarely during that
time has the artist missed his weekly life drawing session. It is a commitment that he embraces with fervor.
Curated by Ros de Souza.
www.iandesouza.com.au | [email protected]
first published 2005 by reflective publications co
© 2005 the artist, claire sommerville, the authors. all rights reserved. this book is copyright. apart from any fair dealing for the purpose
of private research, criticism or reviews, as permitted under the copyright act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written
permission.
design: claire sommerville www.planetklaire.com
photography: roel loopers
production: haymarket
national library of australia cataloguing-in-publication entry:
de souza, ian, 1939reflective impressions. book 2, PASSION
bibliography
ISBN 0 9757705 0 0 [bk 2]
1. de souza, ian, 1939- - exhibitions.
I. hunter, rosemary. II. mcgrath, judith [judith m.]. III. title.
709.94
other books that form part of this series
reflective impressions fremantle 1980’s - 2000
published 2000 by reflective publications co
during the past 25 years i have encountered people who believe in
me and my ability as an artist. to you all i say a sincere thank you.
to exhibit my work in melbourne is thrilling for me. melbourne is
a place of good food, fine art and interesting conversation so it is
a privilege to represent western australia. my appreciation to the
lynne wilton gallery for extending the invitation to me.
to my wife rosslyn who, once again, i pay tribute to for her passion
and dedication.
i trust and believe in who and what i am
my role as an artist is to
reach and touch other lives,
a role that is no different to my early aspirations
in the catholic seminary studying to be a missionary
my art is my religion
and i enjoy the progression and explorations
in the journey to wherever it takes me...
ian de souza 2005
passion
implies many levels
of meaning and
experience...
Ian de Souza, born in 1938 in former
Portuguese colony, West Malaysia.
Childhood spent against the backdrop
of Japanese occupation during the
turbulent 1940’s. To Australia as
a teenager in the 1950’s where he
studied Theology and then Graphic
Design; however, it was music which
called him into a career which took
him on a circuitous path through
Europe, the Middle East and an affair
of the heart with a Sixteenth Century
farmhouse in France. Government
PASSION
@ LYNNE WILTON GALLERY
intervention following the discovery of
Uranium in the village put an end to the
restoration activities. He began to paint
for his own fulfillment and discovered
the obsession which was to shape the
rosemary hunter
painter | writer
rest of his life.
A variety of media and form ranging
from drawing, water and oil based paint
to collage in this current collection
of figurative abstract work deals
with timeless subject matter. Passion
implies many levels of meaning and
experience: The passion of the artist
Ian de Souza the painter settled in
through the medium; passion as an
Fremantle in the 1980’s. He created
abstraction implied in the titles and
an earthly garden with an integrated
the vicarious passion of the viewer’s
studio. The garden has become a
aesthetic experience. All, however,
Paradiso suffusing all the works with
are about deep feeling and universal
the qualities of energy and spirit gained
experience. These are indeed, works of
from propinquity with nature – qualities
passion. Words never suffice and art
informing the works of all who have
once liberated by the artist stands alone
embraced the best of East and West.
as do all things after the initial act of
Among the many major private,
creation.
]
cm 2004 [detail
on jute 112 x 162
rhythm of life oil
corporate and public collections in
which he is represented is the Australian
When asked for an artists statement:
Broadcasting Commission, ANZ
Ian de Souza related the encounter of
Banking Group, Challenge Bank, Kerry
writer, Joseph Campbell who, whilst in
Stokes’ private collection, Murdoch
Japan asked a Shinto Priest,
University Veterinary Trust, SGIO
What is your ideology…
Collection, Voyager Estate Winery,
what is your theology?
Evans and Tate, Pentek Holdings Pty Ltd,
And he replied, …
Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd, Pilbara
We don’t have ideology …
Iron, Bunbury Shire Council, Gloucester
we don’t have theology…
Park Trotting Assoc, Geraldton Shire
we dance.
Council. With an impressive body of
landscape and life painting behind him,
as seen in his retrospective exhibition
of 2000 and the book Reflective
Impressions of the same date, he
presents his recent work.
passion
oil on canvas
154 x 133.5cm
2005
A self-taught artist, de Souza has developed clarity
of vision that takes his work beyond just a literal
representation to touch on a larger truth. He is able
to replicate what he sees, capture the atmosphere
that exists between the subject and his canvas, and
suggest his own emotive response to it all. His style
levels as they identify the reality, decipher a mood,
and interpret the artist’s passion for his art.
PASSION: PAINTINGS + DRAWINGS
Souza leaves his much-loved subjects of people and
places in and around the port city of Fremantle to
concentrate on developing further his figure work.
of the female form. These seemingly simple
judith mcgrath
art reviewer | freelance journalist
www.artseeninwa.com
works are highly satisfying as they say much with
a minimum of marks. With just a few bold black
lines de Souza suggests the fecundity of the figure
before adding a broader brush stroke in a lighter
wash, like a gentle caress. These quick, confident,
abbreviated drawings prove the adage that less is
more.
etail]
2004 [d
His works on paper involve ink and brush drawings
0cm
00 x 12
media 1
s mixed
PREVIEW
In this exhibition of drawings and paintings, de
cturne
urban no
allows viewers to relate to the works on multiple
They also provide a counterpoint to his oil
and acrylic paintings that offer a plethora of
information to feed the eye and engage the
mind. The paintings flesh out the figure with
tonal values and colours to create a visual
interplay between figure and ground. We can
enjoy the excitement of mark making on the
surface then fall into the sense of real space
and experience the mood they evoke.
And each work does create a mood even before
suggesting a narrative. For example we’re
drawn to The Conversations and its sense of
relaxed openness as four seated nudes are
arranged in a casual groupings. The energetic
brushwork suggests a lively dialogue while the
minimal use of colour [black, white and flesh
tones] creates a sense of ease that invites us
into this company of lovely ladies.
Similar hues are employed in Corroboree,
however here the mood is more exciting.
Strips of paper, torn from other drawings, are
employed to create a vertical collage of perfect
‘confusion’. Somehow de Souza has managed
to capture the essence of the event including
the melodious sound of the didjeridoo, the
staccato click of sticks, and the stomping of feet
on earth. On close inspection we discover the
flash of a dancer’s hand or part of a foot.
A different mood and rhythm is
suggested in We Dance where an
orchestra of short quick brush marks in
rich colours produce a single couple
who step in tandem to a lively tune.
Then there are the vibrant fire hues of
Passion where two figures merge into
one as they embrace. This painting has
us wondering if the title refers to the
picture, or the painting of it.
There is one exhibit that seems to
encapsulate all the best qualities of de
Souza’s drawing, paintings and passion
for making art. The blue monochrome
L’Ascensione has two baroque-like
figures drawn with a sense of volume
and lightness that allows them to float
away from the restrictions of the canvas
to the height of our expectation.
Ian de Souza’s development of the
figure is well resolved in these works
and his depth of feeling for his art
is obvious. In this exhibition he
invites viewers to discover their own
relationship with his art and to share in
his passion.
corroboree
acrylic on board
91 x 143cm
2004
rhythm of life
oil on jute
112 x 162cm
2004
oriental yearnings
oil on jute
120 x 150cm
2004
night song
oil on canvas
100 x 150cm
2004
palaeolithic understory
oil on canvas
150 x 100cm
2004
cossack acquisitive art award: winner landscape in oil or acrylic
la frontiera
oil on canvas
120 x 180cm
2004
nebuli
oil on canvas
120 x 180cm
2005
text and symbols china blue
acrylic on canvas
110 x 120cm
2005
l’annunciazione
oil on canvas
163 x 156cm
2003
artist’s private collection
of earth
oil sticks on jute
163 x 154cm
2005
pieta
oil on canvas
180 x 120cm
2004
l’ascensione
oil on canvas
180 x 120cm
2005
we don’t have ideology…
we don’t have theology…
we dance.
shinto priest
[as told to joseph campbell | writer]
we dance
oil on canvas
170 x 130cm
2005
collage
…a manifestation of one of 20th century arts most powerful organizational innovations
- the technique of discovering endless possibilities of surprise and delight from strange
juxtaposition, ad hoc arrangements, incongruencies and incoherence.
collage is less a matter of celebrating disorder than discovering new affiliations and
other kinds of order within unlikely ensembles…
jeffery kipnes
construction madness
successions of a variation
line brush drawing collage
50.5 x 40.5cm each [diptych]
2004
the essensual line 1
line brush with wash
80 x 60cm
2004
the essensual line 2
line brush with wash
60 x 80cm
2005
mother and child
line brush with wash
80 x 60cm
2004
the essensual line [the dancer]
line brush with wash
80 x 60cm
2002
shades
acrylic on board
101 x 186cm
2001
artist’s private collection
embrace
oil on canvas
153 x 163cm
2004
lady in blue
acrylic on paper
92 x 114cm
2003
mother and child
gouache and oil sticks on board
82 x 146cm
2001
artist’s private collection
QUALIFICATIONS
1963 Graduated Perth Technical College [Perth Central College of Art and Design
Certificate in Commercial Art
1967
Western Australian Institute of Technology [Curtin University]
Associateship in Art Teaching
1997
Participant in Drawing Marathon conducted by New York Studio School,
hosted by Adelaide Central School of Art
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
For the past 22 years Ian de Souza has conducted workshops and masterclasses in life
drawing and mixed media in WA, NSW and Queensland
In 2003 he was accompanying artist / teacher for Art on the Move: Early works by Elizabeth
Durack 1947 - 1950 touring WA regional areas
Guest lecturer watercolour Master Class UWA Extension Summer School 2003 - 2005
AUSTRALIAN COLLECTIONS + COMMISSIONS
Australian Broadcasting Commission; ANZ Banking Group; Bunbury Shire Council;
Challenge Bank; Gloucester Park Trotting Assocociation; Geraldton Shire Council; Murdoch
University Veterinary Trust; SGIO Collection; Newman Catholic College Art Collection;
Voyager Estate Winery; Port Bouvard Limited; Evans and Tate; Pentek Holdings Pty Ltd;
Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd; Pilbara Iron.
RECENT AWARDS
2004 Cossack Acquisitive Art Award: Winner Landscape in oil or acrylic
[Sponsor Pilbara Iron]
2004
Mandorla Contemporary Religious Art Award: Finalist
2003
Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd: Commissioned artwork celebrating grain industry
1999
Port Bouvard Limited: 5 commissioned art works for the company collection
EXHIBITIONS
Ian de Souza has been an exhibiting artist since 1983. He has shown in Perth, regional WA,
Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and USA. His work is held in private and corporate collections
worldwide.
IANdeSOUZA
ARTIST
born 2 august 1939
...and so, having arrived at this point,
you are invited to review PASSION by
reversing your journey through the pages.
the linebrush drawings become the collage:
the collage develops the inspiration for a
number of the larger works featured.
in 2004 ian de souza…
collaged his own work and reinvented the theme
which has informed his work in past decades; the human figure...
voluptuous form, the passion for the brush - are still there...
rosemary hunter
successions of a variation exhibition 2004
...my art is my religion and I enjoy the progression and
explorations in the journey to wherever it takes me...
ian de souza
passion implies many levels of meaning and experience...
words never suffice and art once liberated by the artist
stands alone as do all things after the initial act of
creation...
rosemary hunter
de souza has developed clarity of vision that takes his
work beyond just a literal representation to touch on a
larger truth...
judith mcgrath
ian de souza
PASSION