Wieneke Archive Book 3 : Moreton Galleries 1960-61 Presscuttings

PARIS REVIEW By BARNETT CONLAN This review of the painting of David Burliuk is by the well-known critic Barnett D. Conlan. who has been prominent in the art world of Paris for many years. He was for 10 years art editor and dramatic correspondent for the Continental Daily Mail and writes regularly for London and New York publications. Burliuk, who has lived to be almost 80, is himself an important part of modern art. There are only a few left who can compete with him in this respect - Picasso. Braque. Kokoschka and his own countrymen Larionov, Gontcharova and Chagall. Born in Russia at Kharkov in 1882, after studying in Odessa, Munich and Paris. he eventually came to America. where he has been settled for more than 40 years. He is a prolific painter and, like Picasso, he scarcely ever stops painting. His output, which is scattered throughout the museums and collections of America, Russia and Japan. is enormous. In the days of old Russia. he was one of the avant-garde who did so much to change the art of the country. From 1910, he was an intimate friend of Mayukovsky, the great poet whose reputation he promoted and indeed helped to make. Later on. in Munich, he joined with Klee. Kandinsky and Franz Marc to form the Blue Rider group. Kaidinsky considered him as "the father of Russian futurism." Poet, actor, propagandist of Modern Art, orator and much else. Burliuk has been brimming with exuberant vitality for more than half a century. BEST KNOWN AS PAINTER If .his influence has been many-sidcd, affecting not only literature and the theatre, but also the film, it is as a painter that he is to -day best known. Here his intense activity and his scorch for new directions have led him into a variety of styles, ranging from a technique that recalls Byzantine art to one of pure abstraction, in passing through classical forms, surrealist art and expressionism. Burliuk, as far back as 1911. while living in Munich, became one of the principal creators of expressionism. Whatever adventures he may have had in art-and there are no lack of them - it is to the expressionist style that he owes his best work. Perhaps it comes more naturally to him than other styles because of his unique personality. Most of his subjects in this form are taken from the memories of his early childhood, and they depict thz life of his native steppe and the folk-lore associated with it. INHERENT VITALITY What makes his painting so attractive and gives it its lasting appeal is its inherent vitality. This is something that satisfies everybody. In those compositions which are memories of his early years on the farm he has achieved a child-like innocence which is altogether inimitable. He also has an enormous appetite for life and takes everything in his stride - from a power station to a vase of flowers. Colour is undoubtedly one of his most striking gifts and he has the oriental eye which detects the vivid warm colours of a peasant costume in harmony with a sunset. His richly -coloured flower subjects are uncommon, and in the large panels with the portrait of his wife against a background of flowering hushes, there is a sumptuous quality of paint that recalls Bonnard. At a moment when painting tends to become dry and dehumanized. an exhibition of Burliuk is well timed. It brings back the human clement which is an essential part of all great art and it does this not only by the poetic quality of the work itself but also through a series of re- markable portraits. David Burlitik-nt present visiting Brisbane-is one of the most distinguished American artists. Both his Paris and New York Exhibitions in 1961 were crowned with unique success as every painting in these exhibitions was sold. David Burliuk is represented in the Metropolitan. Whitney. Brooklyn and Boston Museums, The Phillips Memorial Gallery and numerous other important American collections. In addition German, U.S.S.R. and Japanese Galleries have acquired many of his paintings. MORETON GALLERIES. DIRECTOR: JAMES WIENEKE. Phone: 2 4192 CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS 1. Starry Sky over Australia 2. Winter Walk 3. Dance 4. Red Horse 5. 6. On the Pacific Islands 7. 8. Fiji Regatta 9. Study for "Sky Over Australia" 10. Steppe Proposal I I. Rider with Book 12. Landscape 13. Boats (Sketch) 14. Flowers 15. On Brisbane River 16. Er* -ma 17. Rainy Day 18. Study 19. Girl with a Duck 20. Tea party 21. Evening Walk 22. Green Cow 23. Girl with a Goat 24. Moonlight, Winter Ride in Russia 25. Red Horse 26. Australian Girls 27. Green Horse 28. Lanterns and Noise. (Kingsford Smith Drive, Brisbane) 29. In Pacc Vita Est DAVID BURLIUK PIONEER OF MODERN A 1911 - MUNICH. CO-FOUNDER 'Al' W. KANDINSKY, FRANZ MA' GABRIELLE MUNTER A , OTHERS OF THE NOW FAMC I BLUE RIDER GROU PRICES ON REQUFE J L