

Paul Partos, Glass Painting, 1993. Oil on canvas, 73.5 x 58.5cm. Courtesy: the artist and Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne.
In this exhibition, we see him taking paint off the canvas, scratching it away using a variety of tools. Sgraffito is a term applied to pottery and painting on glass and walls as well as painting on canvas, which might be a clue to his repeated titling of some of these works as ‘Glass paintings’. The works are ordered chronologically. The first half, from 1988-1991, are all untitled, while the second half are all titled ‘Glass painting’. In the middle, dated 1990, there’s a work titled Now where was I, No. 1. It’s a diptych, with the right panel reminiscent of the Calendar Day series and the left panel looking more like the untitled and ‘Glass’ paintings which were to follow. A coincidence? Probably not: more likely evidence of the artist taking stock and grasping a thread which he would weave with coherence over the next few years.
Follow this artist
Sign up to receive the latest updates on this artist including exhibitions, VIP previews, landmark events, news and milestones.