An Entertainment is a series of nine paintings and two sculptural works exhibited at Sullivan and Strumpf gallery, Melbourne and Sydney Contemporary. The body of work engages with the contribution of Russian born French illustrator Erté (Romain de Tirtoff). In particular these works respond to and extend Erté’s eccentric representation of women through extravagant garment and costume in a series of tableaux featuring the motif of 'coupling'.
Images by Charlie Hillhouse and Christian Capurro. Reproduced with permission.
Magazine excerpt courtesy Sullivan+Strumpf. Reproduced with permission.
History
ERA Category
Original Creative Work - Visual Art
Funding type
Self funded
Eligible major research output?
Yes
If not major research
Major Research
Research Statement
Research background:
An Entertainment is a series of nine paintings and two sculptural works exhibited at Sullivan and Strumpf gallery, Melbourne and Sydney Contemporary. The body of work engages with the contribution of Russian born French illustrator Erté (Romain de Tirtoff). In particular these works respond to and extend Erté’s eccentric representation of women through extravagant garment and costume.
Research contribution:
Erté’s position in art history is precarious. While scholarship on his fashion, costume and set design abounds, discussions of his contribution to art are limited. This series responds to an obscure essay on Erté’s representations by Roland Barthes in which he aligns Erté with a critique of femininity as thoroughly coded. In the paintings and sculptures- abstracted from Erte’s fashion and costume illustrations- ‘female figures’ made entirely of volumes of disembodied dress. All garment, substitution and construction these 'figures' are presented in tableaux suggesting play, pleasurable liaison and exchange. Buildings on an existing research focus on Modern masters and asks for a reassessment of potential of decorative practices and their capacity to address gender construction through revelry.
Research significance:
The exhibition was covered by multiple media sources profiles (including features in Russh Magazine, Art Collector and Qantas magazine). The work was acquired by several private collections nationally and internationally including the German museum Kunstammlung Henning J. Claasen.