Thirty-four years on from their watershed exhibition at the Art Gallery of WA, Fremantle Realists brings together the work of three significant artists who turned their gaze toward the port city and local subject matter.
Ray Beattie, Marcus Beilby and Ken Wadrop operated out of a shared studio in High St, Fremantle, during the late 1970s and were known for looking at WA through the lens of photorealism. This show will feature evocative paintings, prints and drawings of the world as they saw it, including familiar suburban and rural landscapes as well as more introspective, inward looking subject matter.
Their early works formed the 1980 AGWA exhibition High Street Studio Realists which toured to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria to great acclaim. The artists – all still working today – also exhibited at FAC during their formative years.
Drawing mainly on work from the artists’ private collections (including brand new work) this exhibition offers a fascinating insight into the emergence of realism in WA.
Artspoken
‘High Street Realists’ Ken Wadrop and Marcus Beilby will guide a tour with FAC curator Ric Spencer through the Fremantle Realists exhibition.
Sunday 1 June 2-4pm FREE
Opening Friday 30 May, 6.30pm
31 May – 17 July
Fremantle Realists in The Fremantle Herald
Fremantle Realists in The Post