NEON WORKS

THE KELLY SERIES MINUS FIVE (Preview exhibition here)
Lister’s THE KELLY SERIES MINUS FIVE is based on Sidney Nolan’s iconic Ned Kelly series. The artist comments “Here I chose to repaint and edit (in my own style) some of the most famous paintings made about the legendary tale of the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang originally painted in 1946/47”. The series consists of a charming and intimately sized suite of 22 oil & latex on canvas paintings, a life-size ‘Listeresque’ Ned Kelly armour from recycled materials, one epic 3.5m painting as well as a video titled Am I under arrest or am I free to go. Interested in the concept of ‘rebellion’ in the Australian psyche, the artist’s work explores the palpable dichotomies of truth, justice & the law vs folklore & legend; cops vs robbers and “us vs them”. These themes underpin the artist’s imagery of notorious super hero and masked identities. No stranger to controversy himself, Lister’s highly recognisable and often defiant street and fine imagery is championed world-wide.

Courtesy of FireWorks Gallery 2019

PUNCH THE CLOCK EXHIBITION 2018 (Preview exhibition here)
Anthony Lister is no stranger to scaling walls either in his home town Brisbane, his current home of Sydney or New York where he regularly exhibits. Lister will go out of his comfort zone to paint distinctive images and present them as stark renditions of the now. His new canvas works for this exhibition touch on issues of mortality and racial collisions, including a montage of Picasso’s Guernica imagery and the landing of Captain Cook.

Courtesy of FireWorks Gallery 2018
 

BREAKING ART (Anthony Lister: The Flower Show 2018) (Preview exhibition here)
I have a problem with the word "art" and especially being titled an "artist". I feel that these are buzz words where all sorts of slithering pseudo creative types can hide in its ambiguous aura. My preference leans more towards the literal, therefore I refer to myself as a painter. For starters the word "art" is far too short, and (as far as I can decipher) is an abbreviation for the word "artefact", is this correct of me to assume? If this is so then I find myself (in the context of contemporary language) making facts. This is where I begin to confuse myself and 
also feel a sense of overwhelming excitement and amusement. In light of this revelation i conclude that if the fact that if I am (for lack of a better word) in fact making art, and the product of my function as a painter is factually unmistakably the literal manifestation of this thing we call "art". I come to the realisation that I am in essence a fact maker, which is quite an exciting realisation for someone who has been called a dreamer of fantasy and imagination. I am unique and not quite domestic and therefore necessary. Facts are wonderful in theory. Theory is disastrous without action. Action speaks louder than words. They say a picture speaks a thousand words. This show is about how I turned the word "art" into the "fact". This being the case I imagine being told by people "hey I like your fact" to which I will reply "thankyou". 

Courtesy of the Artist 2018