Happy 100th Erwin Fabian!
People make a bit of fuss about birthdays, but in Erwin Fabian's case we can make an exception.
Celebrating the artist’s 100th birthday, Australian Galleries marks this milestone with Erwin Fabian |Celebrating the artist’s 100th birthday. Opening tonight, 5 November, this exhibition is a significant opportunity to be able to study works of an artist who has been practising for over half a century. Fabian’s works maintain a great presence both figuratively and literally – some exceeding two metres – dominating the gallery space.
Hardly fazed Fabian has no plans to slow down enough for a retrospect of his work at this point, thoroughly involved in his practice, physically bending rusted remnants of steel into other worldly sculptures. Working predominantly with collected scrap metal, his steel sculptures are no easy challenge. It can only be a time-honoured skill that enables Fabian to transform previously unrelated odd, scrap metal parts into fluid sculptural forms, drawing the spectator’s eye into their maze of curves and pattern.
In commemoration of Fabian’s long standing practice, Professor Sasha Grishin AM, FAHA, outlined the unique nature of his works, stating, “His sculptural creations do belong to the grand tradition of humanist sculpture. In other words, they interact with us on a human and emotive level: we come to believe in their existence not only as aesthetic objects, but as metaphors for the human spirit.”
However one interprets Fabian’s works, what is striking his innate ability to create works that balance strength and poise from the previously chaotic, unrelated industrial materials. Mastering formal struggles of mass and volume, surface and texture, and space, the result is a practice underlined by a matured and emotional response to the materials. For emerging and established sculptors, his works speak of a practice that has grown, changed and refined over time.
This impressive milestone has not gone unnoticed in the art industry, with art critic John McDonald writing earlier this year of Fabian’s success and recognised stature, commenting “He is one of the unsung legends of modern Australian art, and there seems to be no diminution in his powers whatsoever.”
To see for yourself the striking range and quality of Fabian’s sculptures, you can attend the opening tonight from 6-8pm at Australian Galleries in Melbourne.
Artist Profile wishes Erwin Fabian a happy and promising 100th birthday year.
EXHIBITION
Erwin Fabian | Celebrating the artist’s 100th birthday
Australian Galleries, Melbourne
5 – 22 November 2015
Courtesy the artist, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, and Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney.
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