Come join us for a visit to the Ross Watson Gallery as part of the Midsumma Festival. Entry to the gallery is free, and for those that want to stick around after we will head to a local cafe for lunch.
About the exhibition:
A record 2,520 viewed his recent Toronto WorldPride exhibition, and celebrating the 15th Anniversary of his gallery, Watson exhibits dynamic new paintings, photography and iconic editions, in his renowned style, which has earned him a global audience.
The Hon. Michael Kirb...
Come join us for a visit to the Ross Watson Gallery as part of the Midsumma Festival. Entry to the gallery is free, and for those that want to stick around after we will head to a local cafe for lunch.
About the exhibition:
A record 2,520 viewed his recent Toronto WorldPride exhibition, and celebrating the 15th Anniversary of his gallery, Watson exhibits dynamic new paintings, photography and iconic editions, in his renowned style, which has earned him a global audience.
The Hon. Michael Kirby wrote, "An outstanding realist artist like Ross Watson is just the right person to help teach honesty to our emotions in art and the essential beauty of sexual truth."
This Midsumma Festival exhibition celebrates an important milestone, the 15 year anniversary of the Ross Watson Gallery, which is devoted exclusively to the exhibition of the Melbourne artist's work.
An outstanding centrepiece of this exhibition is an engaging painting which references Caravaggio's sexually provocative 'Amor Vincit Omnia', and includes handsome model Paul Ciccetti, who faces us front on, smiling and comfortably naked, Watson's reminder of the moral constraints the Renaissance artist endured.
Stephen Fry recently saw the painting and wrote "Ross it's absolutely stunning. Always one of my favourite Caravaggio's – the cheekiness of the winged Eros combined with the nude is just irresistible. One of your absolute best!"
Ross Watson wrote "Imagine the subject matter Caravaggio might paint if he were alive today, given he was attracted to men, and the decline in the Vatican's power and influence. Artists in his time had little choice about what they painted."
In further development of Watson's 010:COAST series, we see the recent incorporation of surrealist imagery to create visually exciting vignettes where the artist expertly directs the narrative, while inviting the viewer's own interpretations.
"The Elton John AIDS Foundation is deeply grateful to Australian artist Ross Watson for generously creating and donating an entire edition of his new art print - Duo - to benefit the Foundation's work. 100% of the sale of this print edition will support EJAF's grant initiatives." - Scott P. Campbell, Executive Director, EJAF, New York
