MAGIC MIKE: Michael Zavros

Michael ZAVROS 'The Sunbather' 2015 oil on canvas 180.0 x 180.0cm Purchased 2016 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist
4 March - 28 May 2017
10am to 5pm Tue to Sun, 7 days during school holidays

Free exhibition

This exhibition features a gymnasium installation activated with live performers.

MAGIC MIKE articulates the artist Michael Zavros’ interest in exploring the idea of the body beautiful in art and concepts of male beauty. In part Zavros' art practice underscores contemporary society’s obsession with beauty and vanity, which he exposes as age old preoccupations, as much as it offers an autobiographical account.

The exhibition title playfully references virtuoso painting and 'magic' realism but also is a parody of the film of the same name, the 2012 American comedic drama directed by Steven Soderbergh about a troupe of male strippers. The lead role played by Channing Tatum is to Zavros the pop culture contemporary equivalent of an ancient Adonis; the male form perfected.

Newcastle Art Gallery has collaborated with Zavros as exhibition artist and co-curator to re-contextualize his earlier art practice alongside more recent and new works developed specifically for Magic Mike. Works of art recently acquired by Newcastle Art Gallery include The Sunbather 2015 and The Mermaid 2015 shown in this exhibition for the first time.

The Sunbather 2015 pays homage to the work of David Hockney and expands on Zavros’s ongoing exploration of the myth of narcissus depicting the artist beside his swimming pool. The Mermaid 2015 also uses the artist’s home pool as its setting capturing his daughter Phoebe floating with her hair spooling out on the surface of the water. These images of self and the self as mediated through his daughter offer a glimpse of the artist through an inward looking lens. They are important pieces in the artist’s oeuvre and representative of two dominating threads in his practice.
 

Related Links:

  Exhibition media release - Zavros brings muscle to Newcastle Art Gallery with exhibition MAGIC MIKE
  Exhibition review - Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum: John McDonald Master of Artifice, published 6 May 2017
 

Related Documents:

  MAGIC MIKE: Michael Zavros exhibition catalogue (pdf)
  Michael Zavros, The Sunbather 2015 Collection learning resource (pdf)

 

The gymnasium equipment in this exhibition is generously supplied by:

Michael ZAVROS 'The Sunbather' 2015 oil on canvas 180.0 x 180.0cm Purchased 2016 Newcastle Art Gallery collection Courtesy the artist

A one off service/delivery fee applies to all online & phone purchases.

A payment processing fee of 1.95% applies to all purchases made by credit or debit card and is not included in the quoted price.

A payment processing fee does not apply for purchases made through Ticketek agents or outlets when using cash, or when redeeming a Ticketek Gift Voucher.

A 1 cent variation may occur on your price per ticket/item due to rounding.

All ticket/item prices include GST, if applicable, and are quoted in AU$.

Prices

  • Exhibition entry FREE

Venue

Newcastle Art Gallery
1 Laman Street
Cooks Hill
2300