Dale Frank, In French everyone was told they were having herring for dinner, 2016; colour resin in liquid glass on Perspex, 200x150x6cm
Pearl Lam Galleries is pleased to present a solo exhibition featuring all-new work by Australian artist Dale Frank (b. 1959). The exhibition at the Pedder Building will comprise of sixteen
works all completed in 2016. The works on display demonstrate Frank’s continued exploration of the potential of painting, using materials recognised previously in his work, including varnish, glass, and resin, alongside newer additions to the artist’s practice including fire retardant foam, compression foam, and human hair.
Dale Frank initially became known in the art world through his performances and assemblages, but throughout his career, he has experimented with different materials in order to challenge the concept of painting by embracing the full chemical and physical transformative process of the medium. While the artist engages in the physical process of creating his works, he believes that each has a life and lifespan of its own that is created as a result.
Many of the new works on display incorporate the artist’s long-standing use of pigmented varnishes, which have been poured, melted, and folded to create abstract images. Widely recognised for his use of bright colours, the pigments on display are rich and intense, ranging from acrid pink to cobalt blue. Also at the gallery will be a number of works that show coloured resin and liquid glass utilised in a similar way. The pigments and resin used by Dale Frank are bound to Perspex, which, spatially and conceptually, add a new dimension to his work. Although he previously worked on canvas, Frank found that the reflective nature of Perspex alters the paint quality, with the resins and pigments appearing to cascade down the work’s façade.
In other works demonstrative of recent developments in the artist’s practice, Frank has used shattered glass, fire retardant foam, and compression foam on Perspex, adding a sculptural quality to
these works, which are then coated in Harlequin paint, colour resins, and varnish. A build-up of these materials suggests celestial typographies while re-examining the very nature of painting and what constitutes it. Also on display will be a work that sees the use of human hair in a similarly sculptural fashion, with extension pieces creating a cascade of monochromatic forms along the surface.
Dale Frank, Her insatiable inabilities, 2016; Reactive oxygenated fire retardant foam and liquid glass on Perspex, 200x200cm
“From the very beginning, my work has been premised on the notion that the art produced is independent of myself. Paintings tend to be more interested in pointing out how they exist, act, and
‘live’ beyond the realm of human perception, a paradox of sorts given the contrived nature of artworks.”
—Dale Frank
“This is Dale Frank's first major solo show with Pearl Lam Galleries, and we’re pleased that this exhibition features all-new work that will unite more recognisable practices by this renowned artist
alongside works that demonstrate key developments in his recent practice. Dale Frank consistently challenges widely accepted notions of what a painting actually is, and all of the work on display,
including the more sculptural pieces, are a part of his continued exploration.”
—Pearl Lam, Founder, Pearl Lam Galleries
About Dale Frank
Born in 1959, Australian artist Dale Frank creates paintings that traverse between solid and liquid, minimalist and expressionist, purity and the abject. Over a 35-year career Frank has explored
painting’s potential through experimentations of materials and process that challenge the concept of painting by embracing the full physical transformation process of the medium itself.
Recent and selected solo exhibitions include Sabco Peroxide (2016) and Toby Jugs (2014), Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia; The Silence Rode a Donkey into Town (2012), Gallery Reis,
Singapore; Dale Frank (2012), Art Statements Gallery, Hong Kong, China; and Ecstasy: 20 Years of Painting (2000), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Selected group exhibitions include Dancing Umbrellas (2016), Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, Australia; Lurid Beauty (2015), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; the Adelaide Art Biennale (2014), Adelaide, Australia; the 55th Venice Biennale (2013), Venice, Italy; Les Arts de L’effervescence. Champagne! (2013), Musée des Beaux Arts de Reims, Reims, France; Inner Worlds: Portraits and Psychology (2011), National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, Australia; and the 17th Biennale of Sydney: The Beauty of Distance, Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age (2010), Sydney, Australia.
About Pearl Lam Galleries
Founded by Pearl Lam, Pearl Lam Galleries is a driving force within Asia’s contemporary art scene. With over 20 years of experience exhibiting Asian and Western art and design, it is one of the leading and most established contemporary art galleries to be launched out of China.
Playing a vital role in stimulating international dialogue on Chinese and Asian contemporary art, the Galleries is dedicated to championing artists who re-evaluate and challenge perceptions of cultural practice from the region. The Galleries in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore collaborate with renowned curators, each presenting distinct programming from major solo exhibitions, special projects and installations to conceptually rigorous group shows. Based on the philosophy of Chinese Literati where art forms have no hierarchy, Pearl Lam Galleries is dedicated to breaking down boundaries between different disciplines, with a unique gallery model committed to encouraging cross-cultural exchange.
The four branches of Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore represent an increasingly influential roster of contemporary artists. Chinese artists Zhu Jinshi and Su Xiaobai, who synthesise Chinese sensibilities with an international visual language, are presented internationally with work now included in major private and public collections worldwide. The Galleries has also introduced leading international artists, such as Jenny Holzer, Leonardo Drew, Carlos Rolón/Dzine and Yinka Shonibare MBE, to markets in the region, providing opportunities for new audiences in Asia to encounter their work. Pearl Lam Galleries encourages international artists to create new work which engages specifically with the region, collaborating to produce thought-provoking, culturally relevant work.
About the exhibition
Exhibition Dates: 18 January–9 March, 2017 Monday–Saturday, 10am–7pm
Venue: Pearl Lam Galleries, 6/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong
Courtesy of the artist and Pearl Lam Galleries, for further information please visit www.pearllam.com.
