One Week in September - Van Rudd

McCulloch Gallery invites you to...

‘One week in September’

Paintings by VAN RUDD

14th-21st September 2008

Please join us for the opening night on the Friday 19th of September from 6pm-10pm.

DJ HUSS SOLEIMAN and DJ RONNIE JANEDI will be performing all night.

Sensitivity to the plight of the oppressed peoples in situations of exploitation and war interested Rudd from the outset of his artistic career. Many of his early paintings and drawings show an inner, psychological questioning of the effects of displacement caused by war and the alienating effects of living in large cities. This has led the artist to enthusiastically explore the pictorial effects of paint within the rich context of popular culture – an ongoing inspiration of his to this day.

Rudd’s ongoing obsession with the “world game” and its capacity to unite people of all nations has, in the past, led him to paint portraits of famous soccer players including Argentina ’s Maradona and France ’s Zinadine Zidane. In 2006, he painted a large portrait of Australia ’s Archie Thompson and donated it to the Melbourne Victory Football Club. Melbourne ’s Telstra Dome purchased a painting by Rudd depicting Melbourne Victory’s captain Kevin Muscat and Archie Thompson.

By the turn of the 21st Century, Rudd’s political persuasions became much more clearly discernible in his music and visual art. In his visual art in particular, he became much more dedicated to exposing the contradictions and injustices within the current, global system of neo-liberalism. This has led to a growing multi-disciplinary approach to his art including the development of The Carriers Project. His simple objective was to expose his paintings to very large audiences by carrying them on foot through busy city streets, shopping malls, major art museums and fairs to inspire debate about art and politics. As expected by the artist, there have been many confrontations with authorities.

He achieved significant notoriety with the Australia Council funded, national tour of The Carriers Project in 2007. Part of the project was cancelled in Brisbane , due to the arrest threats carried out by the Queensland Police. This happened whilst carrying his painting “Portrait of an Exploding Terrorist” through the Queen St Mall. Debate also followed the Canberra leg of the tour when the artist was exhibiting “Painting of an Extremist” (whilst not carrying) at an official polling booth during the 2007 Federal Election.

He also gained national prominence when a painting of his titled “Special Forces – After Banksy” was rejected from an exhibition organized by the City of Melbourne titled “Ho Chi Minh City Young Artists”. He was invited to exhibit due to his half Vietnamese heritage and to represent the Australian contingent of the exhibition, as most of the artists were from Vietnam .

Rudd currently continues to enthusiastically explore the potential of painting’s role in society while planning many other projects involving public installations, interventions and experimental videos in Latin America and South-East Asia . He truly believes that art is a weapon and that in today’s current global climate, should not only be relegated to the matching of somebody’s couch.

McCulloch Gallery
8 Rankins Lane
Melbourne 3000
(03)9670 7850
0422 162 013
www.mccullochgallery.com.au