2010 'Returning to the Animal Within'
Solo Art Exhibition - MELBOURNE
Nexus Modern Art Gallery,
7 – 21 October 2010.
123 Cecil St, South Melbourne.
Ever wanted to live a dog’s life? Husband and wife artist duo Gillie and Marc Schattner hope to bring out the animal in all of us at their new solo exhibition Returning to the Animal Within, on show from 7 – 21st October at the Nexus Modern Art Gallery in Melbourne.
This new exhibition presents over 20 paintings and fibreglass sculptures encouraging audiences to rediscover the simple things in life through the humanised perspective of a dog. Gillie and Marc suggest we start thinking like a dog, switch off our Twitter feed, have a roll in the grass, or have sex with someone we like, and honour the spirit of the dog to show us a better way of being human.
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CONTEMPORANEA
GROUP EXHIBITION OF THE FLORENCE BIENNALE ARTISTS OF AUSTRALIA
October 2010
Lovers of Gillie and Marcs' work will have the bonus of being able to see the infamous Good Boy sculpture on show in Melbourne at the very same time as their solo show at Nexus Modern Art Gallery, only a couple of blocks away. It is a feature in Contemporanea, a group exhibition of the Florence Biennale Artists of Australia, being held from 7 -19 October at Smart artZ Gallery in South Melbourne and 23 October – 6 November at Aarwun Gallery in Canberra. Gillie and Marc were invited to participate in the Florence Biennale last year.
Good Boy is a fibreglass sculpture of a giant kneeling man with a dogs head and a 41cm penis, drinking a cup of coffee. When exhibited in Sydney last year, the sculpture created a stir with some viewers who complained to authorities about its overt display.
“If you look historically through art, nudes have been accepted and admired for hundreds of years. Good Boy is about man and dog becoming one, and I hope people will enjoy and admire him in this new setting,” Gillie said.
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STOP PRESS: Jesus a Skateboarder?
ART MONTHLY AUSTRALIA Art Notes Issue 225
November 2009
Congratulations to wife and husband artist-duo Gillie and Marc Schattner whose contemporary blend of tragicomic chic earned them first prize for the Biennale of Chianciano, 13 to 27 September 2009, Tuscany, Italy, for their painting He'll never be famous but he doesn't give a damn, he's a musician, which features a Dalmatian-headed figure playing guitar. This work was chosen above 150-plus pre-selected entries worldwide.
The Schattners are not averse to incorporating dog-headed beings in their work. Their life-like silicon and fibreglass sculptural piece, The baby that shouldn't be, bound for December's Florence Biennale, portrays an oversized dog-headed naked baby (asking us to consider all the world's unwanted, neglected, impoverished babies).
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And controversy lingers with their work, If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder, which features in the inaugural 2009 Blake Prize Director's Cut, an online exhibition which extends the Prize exhibition, 7 October to 7 November: www.blakeprize.com.au
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2009 Biennale of Chianciano, Tuscany, Italy
Gillie and Marc win first Prize!
October 2009
Gillie and Marc win first prize at the 2009 Biennale of Chianciano Tuscany, Italy.
The Biennale of Chianciano 2009 is a momentous show of contemporary art set in the beautiful Tuscan province of Siena, an area steeped in rich cultural diversity and artistically inspiring scenery. And the birthplace to Dante Alighieri, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Galileo.
The exhibition incorporates some of the finest contemporary painting, sculpture and drawing in the world. A renown-judging panel chose 150 participants from thousands of contemporary artists.
There were artists participating from countries as diverse as the Philippines, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, England, Australia, the USA and many more. The artists have participated in numerous exhibitions and can be found in museums and in the most important private collections around the world. Similarly, the movements represented were equally varied from the delicate tones of Impressionism to the gestural marks of Abstract Expressionism. The esteemed international jury panel was won over by the painting from husband and wife team, Gillie and Marc Schattner, and awarded it first prize. The winning painting was titled; He’ll never be famous but he doesn’t give a damn, he’s a musician, a portrait of a young guitarist with the head of a Dalmatian.
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Gillie and Marc have also been included this week in the Blake Prize Directors Cut exhibition with their controversial sculpture of Jesus riding a skateboard. The sculpture is titled; If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder.
Gillie and Marc are also invited to exhibit in the 2009 Florence Biennale, which opens in December. |
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CANINE ART IS DOGGONE
Western Suburbs Weekly
29 July 2009
SYDNEY artists Gillie and Marc Schattner are sick of dogs and say they will be steering clear of canine subject matter in their future endeavours. The couple’s latest exhibition The Dog in Us All, showing at Linton and Kay Contemporary in Subiaco, attracted nation-wide attention when it debuted earlier in the year, largely because of a huge sculpture entitled Good Boy. It depicted a naked man with the head of a dog posed on all fours and sipping a cappuccino. The Schattners attributed the furore that erupted to serendipitous timing and placement – the sculpture was displayed on the pavement outside a gallery that was next door to a childcare facility and the exhibition occurred at the same time as Bill Henson’s controversial photographic exhibition.
“Good Boy was supposed to be fun and light-hearted, people probably took it too seriously,” Gillie said.
Marc said that at the time of the exhibition people had a heightened sense of morality that played into a right wing concept of art versus porn.
“We had some really interesting interpretations of Good Boy as the castration of man and as a feminist statement,” he said.
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But the Schattners were no strangers to the canine connection, with much of their previous work exploring the concept of the duality of man and dog, including their finalist entry into the Archibald Prize, and they say their intention with The Dog in Us All exhibition was to expound on the theme in a whimsical and humorous manner. Although they may not be exploring the subject matter of dogs anytime soon, the Schattners are not shying away from controversy, with some of their new work including a sculpture of Jesus riding a skateboard. “A lot of the new works we’re doing are more and more challenging,” Marc said.
“As contemporary artists, it is our obligation to challenge.”Good Boy is yet to be sold.
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THE DOG IN US ALL EXHIBITION
Linton and Kay Contemporary Gallery
24 July -13 August 2009
A huge sculpture of a naked man on all fours with a dog's head has caused a stir on the stylish streets of Subiaco. The three metre tall, half-man half-dog artwork is part of The Dog In Us All exhibition at Linton and Kay Contemporary gallery on Hay Street, but one appendage in particular has generated the most complaints.
The sculpture takes pride of place on the footpath, and has caused traffic chaos as drivers crane their necks to have a good look at the unusual work. Called Good Boy, the figure's 40cm long penis caused a major controversy when the sculpture was shown on a footpath in Sydney. Mothers walking their children to a nearby day care centre were appalled by the image. At the time it caused a media frenzy, with many comparing the work to controversial artist Bill Henson's images of young children in various states of undress. But so far Good Boy has failed to offend as many people in Perth, leading the husband and wife artist team Gillie and Marc Shattner to conclude that West Australians were a more liberal and accepting lot than Sydneysiders.
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THE GOOD, BAD & UGLY
Gillie and Marc Schattner, artists
The West Australian Perth
18 July 2009
Doggies are non-judgmental
GOOD ...
CANINE COMPANIONS Who else in this world will lie at your feet while your undies are around your ankles as you sit on the toilet? Doggies are non-judgemental, loving and caring. Our golden retriever Moby is 10 years old. He has the most powerful nose in the world but you'll never see him holidng it as we exit the toilet. Good boy !
GYM JUNKIES We walk in feeling fat and walk out feeling fantastic. How could we not? Our trainer Sam is ex Mr World ! Plus we get to eat the full fat muffins for just an extra half-hour of running on the treadmill.
POACHED EGGS ON WEEKENDS We walk to our favourite coffeed shop in Darlinghurst, Sydney which seats only about 10 people. Eating poached eggs with strong black coffee for whatever reason stimulates us to brainstorm about new art projects.
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FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG
Sarah McNeill
Post Newspaper Perth
18 July 2009
"My ambition in life it to be the person my dog thinks I am."
This sweet profundity inspired Marc and Gillie's exhibition, The Dog In Us All, and is at odds with the heated debate it has inspired.
The Schattner's fibreglass sculpture of a nude man with a dog's head, titled Good Boy, comes hot on the heels of nationwide angst sparked by Bill Henson's photograph of a nude 13 year-old.
Surprisingly, the objections to the Schattners' artwork are about seeing a man's penis, not the subjugation or man or the anthropomorphsing of dogs.
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THE DOG IN US ALL - It Must be Love
Emma Bergmeier
xPress Street Mag - eye 4 arts
17 July 2009
The Dog In Us All is on at Linton and Kay Contemporary Gallery, 123 Hay Street, Subiaco, from Friday, July 24 til Saturday, August 8.
For over 14,00 years, dogs and humans have lived closely together, so much so that popular culture has labeled canines as 'man's best friend'. Artists have long been fascinated with these four legged creatures and their relationship with man has been well documented. Sydney based artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, continue this tradition of documenting our four-legged friends, with the latest exhibition, The Dog In Us All.
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DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY
Words Steven Hounsome
The West Australian Perth - The Wire Lift Out
16 July 2009
A giant kneeling man with the head of a dog and a 41 cm penis is likely to turn heads in any setting, but when he is situated on a Sydney street, near a childcare centre, it can spark a furore. Such was the discovery of artistic duo Gillie and Marc Schattner.
'We had complaints from all around the world,' Marc says.
"The people and the newspapers came out ... people argued it was pornography, but nudity has been in art for a long time.'
Perth audiences will have a chance to judge the work for themselves when it is exhibited in WA as part of a themed exhibition - The Dog In Us All.
The selection of paintings and sculputures all feature man's best friend behaving in a decidedly human way; juggling balls, smoking cigars, or trudging besuited to work in a manner reminiscent of John Brack's Collins Street 5pm.
But it is a far cry from the art of William Wegman where canines are anthropomorphised purely for comic effect.
'When we witness the devastation that man can cause to his environment and his fellow man, we think it's of crucial importance to show another side of humanity,'Gillie explains. 'We've given the dogs human personalities to show they're the humans we want to be,'
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Inside Cover
Proust Questionnaire
The West Australian Perth - Page 2
8 July 2009
Gillie Schattner and Husband Marc Schattner are sculptors. Last year, their Good Boy sculpture caused outrage when it was shown in leafy Woollahra in Sydney. Today, it will be erected outside the Linton and Kay Gallery in Hay Street, Subiaco. You won't be able to miss it. Gillie filled out IC's Proust Questionnaire.
Age: 43
First job: Making coffee. It's still the first job of the day.
Defining moment: Realising that you can be a mother, wife, business owner and artist without going completely insane.
I love: Everything my personal trainer tells me I shouldn't
I loathe: My personal trainer. He tortures me for fun!
The person that had the greatest influence on me: My 4th grade teacher who told me I wasn't good at painting.
Why I love my home town (Sydney) : Because it's not London. I was born there and it drizzles almost 365 days a year.
My advice: Never marry anyone who snores, never sell out unless it's for a six-figure sum and never, under any circumstance, believe what you read in the paper.
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GOOD BOY
This husband-and-wife artist team say dogs are everything we aspire to be - more loving and loyal versions of ourselves.
By Maria Noakes
The Sunday Times Perth - STM Arts
28 June 2009
You would be hard pressed to find a husband and wife more in sync and more in love than Gillie and Marc Schattner.. The Sydney duo share not only a love of eachother and their two children, but also of art.
And what is most remarkable about these painters and sculptors is that they work side by side, literally. The Schattners paint together with Gillie on the left and Marc on the right. "We do get up, and we might change sides and I might say, 'You've missed a bit', but that's kind of how it works," Gillie says.
The creative couple admit their working relationship is a little unusual ... more
Maria Noakes, in STM Entertainment
PerthNow - Perth,WA,Australia
YOU would be hard-pressed to find a husband and wife more in sync and more in love than Gillie and Marc Schattner. The Sydney duo share a love not only of ... more
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