Location: Australia
I began practicing and exhibiting as a painter in 1989. Previously, he had been trained and regularly exhibited in Sydney as a sculptor/installation artist after studying at Alexander Mackie CAE in the 1970s. Greg completed a Master of Arts in painting at Western Sydney University in 1999. At this point his work evolved to embrace the concept of totalized time and the stratification of memory. His recent work has been focused on the significance of location, my family history and social history through more traditional genres and techniques such as landscape, still life and portraiture. His painting technique evolved from linear expressionist landscape paintings in the 1990s to collaged compositions of family, location and social history in Alkyd mediums to my more recent traditional solvent-free oil painting processes used by the great Baroque masters, C19th Romanticists and Pre-Raphaelites. All payments for works through International Money Bank Transfer or Paypal.
In the series "Groupthink" I sought to examine the nature of group behaviour across a range of sub-cultures and social environments. The paintings on canvas and paper focus on sporting, business, recreational and leisure milieus which appear mundane and benign, but reveal recent change in cultural and social values, family behaviour and human relationships.
A satirical artwork from the Series "Groupthink" examining the nature of moralistic hypocrisy in contemporary society and media. The work parodies celebrity and the commodification of sex.
158 x 105 x 3 cm
USD$3500 incl shipping and packing.
This figurative narrative is about the change in family and social values over generations. I am attempting to make everyday life an archetypal reflection on human behaviour. This work combines memories from different times, places and families to examine the human traits of greed, envy, betrayal and devotion. Art in The Mountains Painting Section winner 2000.
169 x 122 x 3 cm
USD$3500 incl shipping and packing.
Whysteria in St Germain is part of a series entitled Groupthink which in which I examined the nature of group behaviour across a range of sub-cultures and social environments to reveal recent change in cultural and social values, family behaviour and human relationships. This particular work was inspired by the panic created by natural and human created disasters. I hope viewers will reflect upon group behaviour that occurs in challenging situations. I find the use of Tenebrism and dramatic compositional clutter will convey how individuals feel in crowd panic.
SOLD
In this oil painting, I've captured a lively scene of play and spontaneity, where each figure is dynamically entangled in a moment of humorous mishap during a casual cricket game. Yet the work is a combination of memories of social cricket and a reflection upon over-competitive behaviour. Set against an everyday coastal suburban backdrop, the work explores themes of community, joy, and the unexpected twists in our daily interactions. It's a celebration of the light-hearted yet ironic moments that bring us together, vividly brought to life through a realistic yet figurative style. This piece invites warmth and conversation into any space, perfect for sparking joy and nostalgia.
USD$3890 incl shipping and packing.
Available
In this expressive oil painting, I've delved deeply into the vivid pulsations of human energy and spontaneity. The figures, intertwined in an impromptu dance, embody the raw, unrestrained joy and connection among people. This piece explores the visceral, often unspoken layers of human interactions, highlighting the beauty in the chaos of emotions. Let it fill your space with the dynamism and warmth of a spontaneous dance party. A humorous reflection on the Dance Party craze and references the hysteria of the "Dance Plague" of 1518 by Breugel.
158 x 105 x 3 cm
USD$2870 incl transport. Available
In this painting, I poured my fascination with historical and emotional depth into every brushstroke. The dynamic expressions and the dramatic interplay of light capture a moment teetering between camaraderie and betrayal. Drawn from the styles of expressionism and realism, the artwork blends a vintage feel with intense emotional narratives, inviting the viewer into a timeless exploration of human nature and its complexities. This piece promises to imbue any space with a powerful, thought-provoking presence. Part of the Series "Fragmented Values: Compulsive Lives, this work referenced Caravaggio, Bosch and Daumier in an attempt to make everyday life an archetypal reflection on human behaviour. It draws on stories and photo-documentation in juxtaposing events and places from different times with present social concerns. It peels back the strata of accumulated memory of people and spaces to form a layering of substance, sensation and thought in a totalised time.
NOT FOR SALE at present
In creating Moderne Melange I dove deep into the visceral tapestry of human emotion and connection. The entwined nude figures, painted with vigorous strokes of oil, are set against a vibrant, geometric modernist backdrop that pulses with energy. This combination of expressionism and abstraction reflects the complex layers of human relationships and the continuous dance between harmony and chaos. Each curve and clash of forms captures a ballet of emotions meant to resonate profoundly with viewers, bringing a dynamic and thought-provoking energy into any space. The work highlights how Modernist thought has a tendency to marginalize traditional approaches to painting.
USD $2870 incl transport. Available
In my artwork, I delve deep into the raw emotions and tangled interactions of human connections. Using oil, charcoal, India ink, and oil pastel, I depict a crowd where each figure expresses a complex blend of desperation and intimacy. This expressionist approach captures the fervor and subtlety of human emotions, inviting viewers to reflect on their own relationships and the profound impact they have on our lives. This piece is sure to bring a powerful, thought-provoking presence to any room. This mixed-media painting was inspired by my stay in Paris in 1984 and the current state of siege in the Western World. Part of the Groupthink series which focused on group behaviour, this work focuses on mass hysteria and crowd psychology. Oil and ink on water colour paper, box framed under glass.
AUD$1350.
SOLD
In this artwork, I've utilized oil, India ink, and oil pastel on paper to delve into the raw, unfiltered essence of human endurance and emotion. My approach in expressionism and a figurative style, with a touch of symbolism, captures the gritty vigor and resilience of the human spirit. This piece vibrates with energy and would invigorate any space, infusing it with a sense of life's unstoppable rhythm. Dance Marathon displays a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. This work about the dance marathon phenomena alludes to the modern dance party and references the hysteria of the "Dance Plague" of 1518 by Breugel.
Oil, Ink, pastel on primed water colour paper. Needs framing to hang.
USD$2400 incl shipping and wrapping
My recent landscape, and figure in landscape work, has been focused on the significance of location, my family history, folk narrative and social history through traditional genres and techniques. It is extending the work I have done with group figurative compositions in the series "Groupthink" and "Fragmented Values: Compulsive Lives". It explores the places associated with the stories I have explored in the two previous series. Now have become fascinated with how places of origin, their historical/ socio-political conditions shape individuals of a family lineage and their communities. My studio research has evolved to embrace the concept of totalized time and the stratification of memory and lends itself to the historical references I use in my landscape paintings, creating a mixture of philosophical and ideological threads through time. My painting technique, having evolved from linear expressionist landscape paintings in the 1990s to montaged composition imagery of family and social history in Alkyd mediums in the early 2000s. This eventually developed into my recent traditional solvent-free oil painting processes used by the Baroque masters, C19th Romanticists and Pre-Raphaelites.
My ancestor, privateer merchant navy Captain Henry Passmore sailed heavily armed merchant ships in the C18th and was likely killed when his main mast collapsed whilst coming aground on the Scarweather Sands or at Cape Grisnez, France in 1810 in a violent storm. My oil paintings embrace the concept of the “stratification of memory” through historical referencing. My recent work focuses on the significance of location on my family history and social history. 91 x 61 x 3.5 cm AUD $2100
Available through www.saatchiart.com/
gregcliffeartist
Highly Commended at the Maritime Art Award 2020.
Visiting Amsterdam in 1982 I became fascinated when I discovered that my ancestors were merchant seamen in the C18th who captained privateer boats visiting Amsterdam, Palermo, Messina and Bengal. AUD $2826. 92 x 61 x 3.5 cm
SOLD on www.saatchiart.com
As someone living in a town inside a national park I constantly witness traces of human presence being [seemingly] indelibly scratched into the surface of the earth by significant marks left by machinery, development and vehicles in the same way an artist leaves daubs of paint upon the surface of a canvas.
Having once been lost in a Queensland National Park I became aware that one often feels a foreboding about the isolation within a national park wilderness. I have sought to elicit a sense of danger or menace that often accompanies this but also the sadness about the continual exploitation and damage to the fringes of wilderness. Shortlisted Finalist, Scope Environmental Art Prize 2014. 137 x 108 x 3 cm AUD$2500
Available on www.saatchiart.com/
gregcliffeartist
“Sex and the Circus_Cliffe”
“Faith, Hope and Enmity”
“Whysteria in St Germain”
“Sunday Hit and Miss”
“Dance Party”
“The Betrayal of Lady Wisdom”
“Modern Melange”
“Whysteria”
“Dance Marathon”
“Shipwrecking”
“Prinsengracht 1982”
“From a Dark Place”
