The Shape of Things Hamilton Darroch

08 February till 28 March 2014

Hamilton DarrocH - tHe SHape of tHingS the recent work of Hamilton Darroch with its forceful colour and dramatic lines

could be referred to as conceptual abstraction. the large (over a metre tall) and

smaller-scale gouaches combined with his re-configured found objects exchange

the modernist ideal of pure form for a different ideal. that is, the much less idea-

listic experience of the real world, with its built and natural environments, bodies,

detritus, politics and pop culture.

Darroch’s wonderfully vernacular works negotiate the territory between repre-

sentation and abstraction. equally, the work is imbued with the philosophy that

colour is fundamental to the way we experience the world both biologically and

culturally. the warm brush strokes of his yellow stripe series, late Winter and

late Spring, resists the obvious interpretation of a hardedge style, and speak of

a subtle eye. in these works the picture plane is deep, the harmony of yellows

create shadows, and therefore a kind of plasticity is formed almost entirely from

hue and tone. What does this energetic yellow signal? as viewers it is entirely

open to suggestion and will evince individual reactions based on our own me-

mories, intuition and emotional response. Yet, it comes as a revelation, but not a

surprise to learn from the artist that these bright shapes with their soaring yellow

are inspired by the fleeting beauty of the Cootamundra Wattle. Like much of

Darroch’s work the australian bush and his immediate surrounds are a constant

source of reference.

in moonboy (after nolan), the artist has employed yellow again. this time taking

the iconic Moonboy motif of Sidney Nolan, which conflates both the figure of a

young man’s head and the moon. Darroch has applied his version of the image to

an old spade mounted to the wall. nolan’s urge to paint the australian landscape

is central to his place as one of australia’s most renowned artists. this notion of

mythology, time and space is central to Darroch’s appropriation of the yellow

circle. the rust eating at the metal of the spade continues the metaphor.

in recent years Darroch has spent time in the UK and europe working as an assistant

to the famed British artist Bridget riley. certainly, his in-depth engagement with

one of the leading abstract painters of her generation has influenced Darroch. But so

has his curiosity and research into the specificity of place and by taking inspiration

from the everyday. the sculptural installation the conversation is created from more

found objects. In this case, the work consists of a cast bell weight and a Victorian-era

gum brush salvaged from the river thames. the weight, painted a splendid blue

seems to evoke the sky or the void—a paradox of weight and weightlessness.

In its extreme simplicity, like the best of Darroch’s work, he has conveyed a sense

of the eternal and the discarded.

Katie Dyer

Curator, National Art School

Study 1 / Study 2

H 27cm x W 14.5cm

pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013

Study 1 and Study.2.

initial forays into colour theory relating to memory and the everyday. in these

works i’m considering possibilities to make the colours appear 2-dimensional

or to sit up.

Paint applied to raw timber creates a floating feeling for the colour. The surface

creates a strong ground and using objects adds another layer.

fold study

H 27cm x W 14.5cm

pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013

glass

H 32.5cm x W 36cm | 19cm between hooks

pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013 (Diptych)

after goethe

H 29cm x W 40cm | 24cm between hooks

pencil and gouache on table tennis bats. 2013 (Diptych)

After Goethe

after goethe is informed by the colour studies of goethe i saw in Berlin and

frankfurt. i sourced the bats in Berlin and they offered me a beautiful ground

for the colour studies.

the dark rings in the composition are in fact a deep green, which activates/

strengthens or lessons the intensity of the colour wheels.

Stuttgart

H 31cm x W 48cm | See install note.

casein on trowels. 2013

australian collections, to my knowledge, sadly have no piet mondrian paintings.

mondrian’s paintings stunned our modernist painters, like nolan, Boyd and to

an extent Williams because the paint is really applied thickly and textured.

oa recent install for Bridget riley i spent time at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,

which has brilliant mondrians.

The trowels I collected while I was in Stuttgart and the studies fit for me as me-

mories of the work and place. i love the patina of the trowels, their (worked)

everyday feel. important works recorded in the everyday.

H 38cm x W 270cm | 1-3

pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013

H 38cm x W 270cm | 4-6

pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013

Swag

H 250cm x W 250cm

oil on canvas. 2013

The star colour wheel painted on this work explores the multiple meanings of

the word swag.

a swag is not only a travellers bed but an ornamental arrangement or festoon of

flowers or fruit presented in grandiose colours.

Vancouver

H 90cm x W 40cm x D 10cm

oil on canvas backpack. 2013

The backpack (like working with colour) is about the journey and possible direc-

tions it can take you on.

It’s a very beautiful object that has lived a physical life evident in the wear on

all its parts.

the colour wheel is weighted cool/heavy, ie more blue-green-purple toned, i

hope this colour speaks about the action of the object.

Sideline

H 60cm x W 230cm x D 25cm

oil on canvas stretcher. 2012

I painted the field of colours on the canvas stretcher in the hope that it would

operate in a number of directions.

the harmony i’ve painted on the surface has a rhythm that can almost be tracked

in its literal application, but metaphorically for me also speaks of memory and

observation.

gang

H 60cm x W 104.5cm x D 27cm

casein on spades on painted yellow shelf. 2013

gang is a poke at the Kelly gang. i collected the spades in cowra nSW and they

came as a group. there is a whimsy and nervous play in the angles/direction they

each individually look in.

i wanted to shift the mundane towards telling a grand tale and i am also interes-

ted in the colour of the yellow plane they are fixed to.

of course they are a nod to Sidney nolan, much like my earlier sculpture moon-

boy (after nolan) 2012.

propellers

H 27cm x W 15.5cm

pencil and gouache on table tennis bat. 2013

propellers animates three primary and secondary colours via introducing greys

and the central grey green triangle.

H 38cm x W 47cm x D 4cm (3cm gap)

pencil and gouache on bats. 2013 (Diptych)

this work is a nod to Jeffrey Smart and his colour planes, taken form the everyday.

the vertical wall planes, with an altered sequence begin to dominate and activate

the composition. they have a weight steadied with the doubling up of the blue.

the oversized bats with their purple circles provide a great ground for the colours.

Star study 1

H 52cm x W 19cm

pencil and gouache on bat. 2013

This work is an extended colour spectrum and the star offers a dynamic visual

form for the colours. the colours modulate away from the centre and there is an

echo in the points of the star from one colour to the next.

colour shapes

H 25cm x W 15cm

pencil and gouache on table tennis bats. 2013

purple Sun. Hilma

H 26.5cm x W 15cm

pencil and gouache on Slazenger padder bats. 2013

Ham DarrocHBorn Sydney 1972

Lives in Canberra, Australia

Email: ham.darroch@gmail.com

www.hamdarroch.com

Biography

2006 master of fine art (research) cofa University of nSW

1997 Bachelor of Arts (Visual) with Honours, Canberra School of Art,

australian national University (anU), act

2006- assistant to Bridget riley london United Kingdom

awards & residencies

2010 Bundanon trust residency

2005 NAVA marketing Grant

2002 Australia Council for the Visual Arts, New Work

2000 artsact Development grant

Solo Exhibitions

2013 The Shape of Things, James Dorahy Project Space, Sydney

2012 Everything Nothing Projects, Canberra

2012 goulburn regional art gallery, nSW

2008-2009 ‘load’ and ‘Slow Walk’ performance’s in london, UK

2006 Commuter Project, UNSW, Sydney, Australia

2005 new Works, mori gallery Sydney, australia

Selected Exhibitions

2013 the triangle, ccaS canberra, act

2012 Summer show Karsten Schubert gallery london, UK

2012 come to your senses ,grag, nSW

2011 imitation of life, canberra museum and gallery, australia

2010 Ridinghouse Benefit, Karsten Schubert Gallery London, UK

2010 Something in the air canberra museum and gallery, australia

2007 BloodLines curated by Peter Fay, various galleries NSW, Qld, Vic

2005- Matchbox Projects, Tokyo Japan, Sydney Australia

2004 oK commuter firStDraft gallery, Sydney

collections

Bundanon trust collection

Brazilian embassy

canberra museum and gallery

columbian embassy

private collections australia

private collections United Kingdom

publications

2013 the shape of things, Katie Dyer

2011 imitation of life, canberra museum and gallery, australia

2010 Something in the air,cmag, australia

2007 BloodLines curated by Peter Fay, Glenn Barkley NSW, Qld, Vic

2004 Domain Catalogue, Chris Chapman ANU Temporary public Art Project

2004 24/7 Catalogue, artsACT Urban Services

2004 Urban Visionaries , Peter Hill, Spectrum, SMH, June 12-13

2004 in the fast lane, Spotlight, Sunanda creagh,SmH,

2004 trainspotting Spotlight, Ben cubby, Sydney morning Herald

2003 art monthly australia, December, artnotes nSW

2002 art monthly australia, august artnotes act

08 February till 28 March 2014