Shane Pickett (born 1957,
Quairading
Quairading is a Western Australian town located in the Wheatbelt region. It is the seat of government for the Shire of Quairading.
History
The town was named for Quairading Spring, derived from a local Aboriginal word recorded in 1872 by su ...
,
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. Died 15 January 2010, Perth, Western Australia
) was one of the foremost
Nyoongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
artists. Combining his deep knowledge and concern for Nyoongar culture with a confident and individual style of
gestural abstraction
Action painting, sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical a ...
, Pickett created paintings that resonated with a profound but subtle immediacy. Balancing innovation with tradition, modernity with an ancient spirituality, Pickett created a complex visual metaphor for the persistence of Nyoongar culture against the colonising tide of modernity. During his career, Pickett was selected as a finalist in numerous major art prizes including the
, for which he won the 'Best Painting in a European Medium' category prize in 1986. In 2006 he was awarded first prizes at th
Sunshine Coast Art Prizeand the Joondalup Invitation Art Award, and in 2007 he was awarded the major prize at the inaugural Drawing Together Art Award. He has exhibited in every state and territory in Australia, as well as in the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia. His works are held in major private and public collections throughout Australia and internationally.
Pickett died suddenly in Perth, Western Australia on 15 January 2010.
Collections
*
Art Gallery of Western Australia
The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...
, Perth.
*Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
*
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
, Canberra
*
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
, Melbourne
*
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''.
The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...
, Perth
*Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra
*Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia
*BHP Collection, Western Australia
*Burswood Collection, Western Australia
*Caloundra Regional Art Gallery, Queensland
*Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory
*City of Fremantle Collection, Western Australia
*City of Joondalup Collection, Western Australia
*
City of Stirling
The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, makin ...
Collection, Western Australia
*City of Wanneroo Collection, Western Australia
*Edith Cowan University, Western Australia
*
Flinders University Art Museum
Flinders University Museum of Art (FUMA), sometimes referred to as Flinders Art Museum, is an art museum in Adelaide, South Australia, that preserves and develops Flinders University's historical and contemporary art collections.
History
The ar ...
, Adelaide, South Australia
*Holmes a Court Collection, Western Australia
*King Edward Memorial Hospital, Western Australia
*Nillumbik Shire Council Art Collection, Greensborough, Victoria
*Rockhampton City Art Gallery, Rockhampton
*Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia
*Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital Collection, Western Australia
*Subiaco Museum, Subiaco, Western Australia
*Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria
*Woodside Energy Ltd. Collection, Western Australia
References
*Winmar, A. 1990, 'Shane Pickett', ''Artlink'', Vol. 10, Nos. 1 & 2, 1990.
*Croft, B. 2003, ''South West Central: Indigenous Art from South West Australia 1833–2002'', Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
*Smith, N. 2005, 'Dreamtime Believer', ''Insite'' Autumn 2005, Perth.
*Mclean, I. 2006, 'Dreaming Painting: Shane Pickett', exhib. cat, PICApress, Perth.
*Pushman, T. and Smith Walley, R. 2006, ''Koorah Coolingah: Children Long Ago'', Berndt Museum of Anthropology, Perth.
*Skerritt, H. 2006, 'Kaanarn: True', exhib. cat. The Mossenson Galleries, Perth.
*Dufour, G. 2006, 'Shane Pickett: Smart Art', ''Australian Art Collector'', July–September 2006, Sydney.
*Tapper, N. 2009, 'A Little-known Place: The Art of Shane Pickett', ''Art Monthly Australia'', June 2009, Issue 220, Canberra.
Footnotes
Bevis, S. 2010, 'Service Honours Pickett', 'The West Australian', Perth, 22 January 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Shane
1957 births
Australian Aboriginal artists
Australian painters
2010 deaths
People from the Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Noongar people