Vernon Treweeke
Vernon Treweeke (1939 – 19 March 2015[1]) was an Australian psychedelic artist. He has been termed the "father of psychedelic art in Australia". In the late 1960s he was deemed to be "Australia's leading practitioner of abstract eroticism."[2]
His work is held in various Australian and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.[3]
Early life
Treweeke grew up in
Career
In 1966 Treweeke returned to Sydney via New York and San Francisco. In the late 1960s Treweeke regularly showed his work at Central Street Gallery in Sydney. His work of this time can be seen as developing a prototype for methods of exhibition practice that have subsequently become known as installation, multi-media and electronic art. A typical Treweeke exhibition during the Central Street years included silkscreen images on modular canvas panels coated in fluorescent paint, a sound component and then the whole space would be saturated in ultraviolet neon light.[4]
By 1970 Treweeke had abandoned his increasingly high-profile career as an artist. His lifelong interest in beat culture; exotic religions and alternative lifestyles eventually led him to the town of Nimbin. In 1973 Treweeke was instrumental in organizing the Aquarius Festival.[3]
Until his death in 2015, he lived in the
In 2003 a major exhibition of his work, the first in 30 years, was exhibited at Penrith Regional Gallery in Western Sydney.
In June 2010, an exhibition of his work was exhibited at CarriageWorks, centre for contemporary arts and culture, in Eveleigh, Sydney.
Personal life
Treweeke has 5 sons, including electronic musician Swift Treweeke, with whom he collaborated frequently,[5]and virtuoso jazz pianist Luke Treweeke, whose mother was the artist Wendy Paramor. Treweeke died on 19 March 2015.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Treweeke family wish to announce Vernon's passing". Facebook. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ Hill, Peter (21 June 2003). "Pose and expose". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ^ a b c "On the Railway with the "Father" of psychedelia". Stateline. ABC TV. 16 May 2003. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Vernon Treweeke - The Secret Paintings". Archives. Penrith Regional Gallery. 3 May – 22 June 2003. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ^ "HMD 31, by SHIT WANK RECORDS".