After having seen a couple of thousand art exhibitions over the years you tend to notice when the art and the space are working together well. I’ve seen artists make the space all but disappear, so that only the art and the viewer remain, for instance Zahraa Tariq Alkahtani; while other artists use the space in unorthodox and clever ways, like Manda Lane. After viewing John Mandich’s gigantic portraits in Montsalvat’s Barn Gallery, it can be said that putting these two together makes for an impressive marriage – both the art and the venue are huge, bold and grandiose.
Not only do Mandich’s works manage to literally cover the entirety of the Gallery’s vast wall space, but they are often framed by the barn’s massive structural beams to great visual effect. This is the ideal space for artists with a massive canvas and it’s clear that Mandich knows it.
His exhibition of impressionist portraits were all entries into the Archibald Prize over the last 25 years, over half of which (14) were selected for the Victorian Salon des Refusés (Hidden Faces). The majority of them are somehow related to the Evelyn Hotel, the pub in which Mandich works, and its surrounding suburb of Fitzroy. As this inner city Melbourne suburb is such a magnet for artistic people, many of Mandich’s portraits are of people you may well recognise.
For instance, legendary Australian actor Bill Hunter, from iconic Aussie films like Gallipoli and Muriel’s Wedding, was a regular at the Evelyn, popping in for a pot of Carlton. You find out this information from an A4-sized panel that tells the story behind the portrait and how Mandich came to know Hunter. These tales – mostly around 200 words each – accompany all 25 portraits and add a very human touch to the exhibition, giving personal, conversationally-written insights into the people Mandich chose to immortalise.
He has painted many singers who have graced the Evelyn’s stage, some of whom have gone off the musical radar, like Martin Martini and the Bone Palace Orchestra, but most have used the venue as a springboard to stardom, such as Dan Sultan, who had his first sold-out show there and recently played in Hamer Hall with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Zeke Ox, whose band Mammal recorded their first album live there and are currently doing powerhouse shows across Australia supporting their new album. Nai Palm, signer of Hiatus Kaiyote, did a three-year Wednesday night residency there, and is currently playing in Hiatus to sold-out shows across North America, Australia, Japan and Europe.
Also there’s Victorian minister Rachel Payne MP, advocate of cannabis legalisation and therefore suitably has actual cannabis within the layers of the painting depicting her and lesser-known but instantly recognisable local faces like Julian Centofanti, who ran the Carlton Arts Centre for decades, and Grant Alexander McCracken, who was locally famous (and simultaneously infamous) for being, well, Grant McCracken (if you know him you’ll know what I mean).
The sculptural works of Jean-Paul Zilliacus, compared to Mandich’s works, sit almost inconspicuously on plinths and tables scattered throughout the venue and the different mediums – giant two-dimensional portraits and modestly-sized three-dimensional sculptures – contrast each other well, especially considering the name of the exhibition, Dimensions of Perception | Two- and Three-Dimensional Explorations of Human Character.
The works from both artists are indeed attempts to capture a character, a personality, with art. Zilliacus’ meticulously detailed facial portraits display the technical abilities of someone who has total control of their chosen medium (predominantly clay). Various other models of the human form clearly illustrate what his biography terms the ‘melody of bodies and the music of shape’.
Another interesting way the two artists complement each other is the fact that Manich’s works are all named after their subjects and, along with the stories with each of them, the paintings change from someone you may not know into a human being; Zilliacus’ subjects sit there anonymously. That subtle juxtaposition – which perhaps some people may not even notice – works well.
All in all, seeing these artworks in the picturesque, French countryside-inspired setting of Montsalvat is well worth your time. And if you look a bit closer and do a bit of research on Mandich’s subjects like Centofanti, John and Maria D’Alessandro, Camillo Ippoliti, Mil Hanna, John Smallwood QC and Jack Jones, you could well notice that they are some of the people that made Melbourne the international cultural icon that it is today.
Read: Theatre review: Romeo & Julie, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
John Mandich and Jean-Paul Zilliacus | Dimensions of Perception | Two- and Three-Dimensional Explorations of Human Character will be on display at Montsalvat (Barn Gallery) until 18 August 2024.
The closing event will feature live music by Nick Haywood Trio on Sunday 18 August from 2-4pm.
