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Stuart Black (1937-2007) was a Melbourne-based painter who gained critical notice early in his career for a refined synthesis of modernist styles. As a mature artist, Black made art as a diarist and social commentator. He also made art purely for pleasure.

In its content, Black’s work sits between the comparatively covert explorations of the 1950s and 1960s to prefigure the freedoms of contemporary practice. Stuart Black’s art emerged when the figure of the homosexual male body was not such a pervasive cultural product and when the acts and signs of transgression had a (limited but potent) political power.

Black’s refreshingly honest and direct paintings especially those made in the 1970s and early 1980s are very important, because they fill the gap in our knowledge of Australian artists who work in the subject area of sex and sexuality.

The Stuart Black Memorial Bursary to the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, allows selected young artists to acquire materials, to travel and have the support of a sponsored drawing teacher. It is a lasting legacy of this charismatic personality and much admired teacher.

Margaret Lawrence Gallery
40 Dodds Street
Southbank VIC 3006

Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm - 5pm

Enquiries: +61 3 035 9400