Rod Bunter explores the union of sexual and consumer politics. Paintings of larger than life women stare intensely, luring their audience with their glamour and lusciousness. Bunter toys with advertising and mass media imagery, the faces of these women are familiar to us, super-hot, super-sexy and flawless.
Unlike the rushed speed of paparazzi images Bunters paintings are laboriously formed onto canvas, thousands of tiny pixels like brushstrokes unify to create stunning portraits. The addition of logos to these images creates cryptic hints as to what is being communicated and sold.
Are his portraits a glorification of beauty and fame, or are they a critique of the intrusion of mass media into our lives? It seems Bunter teases his audience with a seductive aesthetic and a series of clues that are both familiar and attractive, but the acidic nature of his comment is barely concealed by his beauties.
'Bunters use of familiar signs and images has created a language of desire whereby he is able to critique consumerism using its own creations.'
The show at Helen Gory Galerie will be a departure from his appropriation of familiar models and celebrities; instead he will be photographing models he has selected for the paintings. This change gives him even greater scope to manipulate his message.
His CV is brimming with awards, grants and publicity. He exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in the Primavera 2002 exhibition and attracted significant media exposure due the controversy surrounding his work.
His exhibitions in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney are usually sell out shows. With his first solo exhibition coming up at Helen Gory Galerie you are now able to see and purchase works from this exciting and talented artist.
Extracts taken from '4.30 weekdays', Holly Arden and 'Drive Thru', David Broker |
