Maryanne Wick
Since the Prehistoric Age the lizard has been depicted in art. In many Indigenous and Asian cultures, it is symbolic of ancestry, fertility, life and death.
During an artist’s residency at Newington Armory in Sydney this year, a pair of lizards would run amok through the studio. Although usually timid, they would chase and dart across my line of vision, around the easel and generally be very distracting. Back in my own studio things were not much better. A family of water monitors settled in under the floor. Quiet moments painting are now interrupted by the sound of their scuttling and a quick glimpse of a long tail can be quite startling.
It soon became obvious that the continual presence of lizards should be conveyed in the paintings. The intruders added a lightness to my original aim of revisiting still life in the traditional sense. They also added life back into the compositions. Organic forms of bush pods and fruits, found objects and hand-made ceramic pods now share the compositions with a hint of lizard. The natural tones and colour in the paintings are derived from their exquisite markings. The light reflects our changing sky. When the lizards disappeared into hibernation at the beginning of winter, the paintings seemed to wait for their return.
Maryanne Wick, November 2009
About the Artist
Maryanne Wick draws attention to the incidental but often poignant moments we miss in our hectic day to day lives. Through painting and drawing, her subject matter focuses primarily on figurative and still life composition to convey ‘a sense of place’ in quiet, unassuming ways. She has been described by art critic John McDonald (Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 2008) as ‘an emerging painter with a subtle, distinctive touch’.
Born in Sydney, Maryanne has lived and worked in London, Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong. She is a lecturer in drawing at the National Art School in Sydney, from which she graduated in painting in 2001. In the same year, she was a finalist in the Sulman Prize Exhibition and left Sydney to live in South Korea. Maryanne spent the next five years living in Asia and this experience was invaluable to her development as an artist. It provided the opportunity and time to focus on her own practice while being immersed in the art and culture of North Asia. She explored a variety of media and surface and was introduced to the many customs, traditions, beliefs and stories which influence her work today.
In conjunction with artist residencies in Beijing, Spain and Chicago, the Bundanon Trust (Nowra, NSW) and at Newington Armory (Sydney Olympic Park), Maryanne’s work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions in both Australia and South Korea. ‘Still Life and Saurian’ is her seventh solo exhibition.
Maryanne continues to explore ways of marrying her Australian heritage with her acquired North Asian sensibilities.
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Maryanne Wick
Once in a Lifetime 2008
ink, pencil, gesso & matt varnish on wood 20×177cm -

Maryanne Wick
Portrait of a Husband & Wife 2008
20×29cm ink, pencil, gesso, matt varnish on wood -

Maryanne Wick
Good for Health 2005
35×25cm colour pencil on handmade Korean paper
SOLD -

Maryanne Wick
Birthday 2005
35×25cm colour pencil on handmade Korean paper
SOLD
Exhibitions
Biography
- 1958
- Born Sydney, Australia
- 2008-2009
- Short Course Lecturer in Drawing, National Art School, Sydney
- 2004-2006
- Lived and worked in Hong Kong
- 2001-2004
- Lived and worked in Seoul, South Korea
- 1998-2000
- BA (Fine Arts) National Art School (NAS) Sydney
- 1994-1997
- Lived and worked in Sydney
- Studied at Sydney Community College (painting, life drawing, sculpture)
- 1989-1993
- Lived and worked in London, UK
- 1977-1988
- Lived and worked in Sydney
- Studied at Liverpool Technical College, Sydney (painting)
Solo Exhibitions
- 2009
- Still Life and Saurian, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2008
- Still Lives, Cultural Exchange, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney. An umbrella event of the City of Sydney’s 2008 Chinese New Year Festival
- 2005
- Out of the Ordinary, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2004
- The Blue Roof, Le Saint-Ex Art Space, Seoul
- 2003
- Drawings and Monoprints, Le-Saint-Ex Art Space, Seoul
- 2003
- Still Life Paintings about Korea, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2002
- Still Life Paintings, Le Saint-Ex Art Space, Seoul
Group Exhibitions
- 2009
- Small is the New Big, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- The Armory Exhibition 2009, Newington Gallery, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
- Drawcard, National Art School, Sydney
- 2008
- From Mao to Now, Newington Armory Gallery, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
- 2007
- Body Works, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- Hazelhurst Art Award: Art on Paper, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Sydney
- 2006
- Contemporary, Stephanie Burns Fine Art, Canberra
- Year of the Dog, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2005
- Korean-Eyesed, Kwanhoon Gallery, Insadong, Seoul
- Suburbia, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2004
- Still Life, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2003
- Still Life, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
- 2002
- Le Saint-Ex Art Space 2nd Anniversary Retrospective, Seoul
- 2001
- Sulman Prize Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
- Hunters Hill Art Prize, Hunters Hill Town Hall, Sydney
- Fishers Ghost Festival, Campbelltown Art Gallery, Sydney
- 2000
- Millennium Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
- Graduate Exhibition, National Art School (NAS) Sydney
- Hunters Hill Art Prize, Hunters Hill Town Hall, Sydney
- Ideas in Progress, NAS, Sydney
- Unframed 37, NAS, Sydney
- Sel & Poivre, NAS, Sydney
- 1999
- Liverpool Arts Festival, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney
- Drummoyne Art Show, Drummoyne, Sydney
- Landscape, NAS, Sydney
- Health and Welfare, NAS, Sydney
- An Australian Historical Event, NAS, Sydney
- Transcription mural project, Grosvenor Place, Sydney
- 1998
- Members Exhibition, Gallery 4a, Sydney
- Benaldi House Art Show, Glebe Library, Sydney
- Liverpool Arts Festival, Liverpool Council Chambers, Sydney
- 1988
- Fishers Ghost Festival, Campbelltown Sydney
Residencies & Awards
- 2009
- Artist in Residence, Newington Armory, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Sydney NSW
- 2008
- Artist in Residence, Ragdale Foundation Residency, Chicago, USA
- Artist in Residence, Bundanon Trust, Nowra, NSW
- 2006
- Artist in Residence, Fundacion Valparaiso, Mojacar, Spain
- 2001
- Artist in Residence, Beijing Art Academy in conjunction with Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China
- 2001
- The Ministers Prize for Painting (Minister for the Arts and Education, NSW), Graduate Exhibition, National Art School, Sydney
Bibliography & Media
- 2009
- Kernebone, Fenella: Sunday Arts on ABC TV, 9 August 2009
- Kelly, Mimi ‘ArmoryX09’ Catalogue, Armory Gallery, Sydney June 2009, p22
- 2008
- John McDonald, Visual Art, Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald ‘Frustration of the Familiar…Concept and Connection’
- Sydney Olympic Park ‘From Mao to Now’ catalogue p.6
- Gibbs, Ed: Central Sydney News Magazine, Different Strokes, 6 February p. 22
- Mason, Maggie: 2RRR radio interview on ‘Still Lives’ exhibition
- ‘08 Year of the Rat’ City of Sydney Magazine, p. 20 February 2008
- Profiles, ART ALMANAC image p. 170 February
- Snashell, Richard: 666AM radio (ABC Canberra) radio interview conducted in Japan – Jan 08 (aired September 08)
- 2006
- Beijing Institute Art Camp Catalogue
- Red Gate Gallery, published in Beijing, China
- 2005
- Joinau, Benjamin: ‘Korean-Eyesed, Korea Through the Eyes of 12 Foreign Artists’ published in Korea
- 2002
- Santa Maria, Daniela: Joon Ang Ilbo, ‘…an Aussie addresses Korean themes’ review in Korea
Public Presentations
- 2009
- Guest Lecturer, Newington Armory, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Sydney
- 2008
- Guest Lecturer, Riversdale, Bundanon Trust, Nowra NSW
- 2008
- Guest Lecturer, Ragdale Foundation, Chicago Illinois USA (to patrons of The Art Institute of Chicago)
Collections
- Private Collections: Australia, South Korea, USA & France
- Public/Corporate Collections: Rokiaccess, Seoul, South Korea; Office of the Minister for Arts & Education, New South Wales
