16 June – 3 July 2016
about the exhibition
David Frazer’s artwork explores the themes of truth, despair and the emotional and fragile state of the human condition. With his characteristic imagination and wit, David depicts isolation and both urban and rural decline in his finely detailed wood engravings, lithographs, linocuts and etchings. His stage is often sparsely inhabited and the images are informed by thoughts of something better or nostalgic memories of a time that was never that great. However, their abandonment, alienation and longing is sometimes invested with ambiguity, slight optimism and wry humour. Perhaps, best summed up by David himself, his worksdepict “…loser confused blokes hanging around not quite knowing what to do. Add in other concerns about life – climate change, lack of water, lack of purpose, etc. etc.”
Born in Victoria, David Frazer graduated from the Phillip Institute of Technology, Melbourne with a Fine Art degree specialising in painting. In 1996 he achieved an Honours degree from Monash University specialising in Printmaking and, in 2000, gained his Master of Arts. In 2007, David was featured Australian artist on the ABC’s documentary series ‘Artist at Work’. In 2013, he was the recipient of the open section acquisitive prize of the Silk Cut Award, for his woodcut ‘Waiting for Rain’ which has also been included in a number of other awards and prize exhibitions. His works are represented widely across Australia and overseas in collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Australian War Memorial, State Library of Victoria and Chiang Mai Contemporary Art Museum of Thailand.
