'Colour, for me, is the main game' Idris Murphy tells me as we sit in his studio in Sydney's southern suburb of Kurnell, a stone's throw from Botany Bay.



On various easels around the room are works in progress. His distinctive energetic brushstrokes, often using metallic paint, the carefully placed collage pieces and thin lines scratched into the wet surface are just part of what makes up his arresting work.



And yes, colour takes centre stage - in this case bringing life to the landscape of the Northern Territory's East MacDonnell ranges which he has visited and revisited.



Idris Murphy is one of Australia's leading landscape painters and his work sits between representation and abstraction. He was inspired from an early age by the work of Matisse but, as he later explored what it meant to paint the Australian landscape, it was the way the Indigenous artists saw the land that influenced him to take into account both traditions.



In recognition of his career, the survey show 'Idris Murphy: BACKBLOCKS' has just opened at the Drill Hall Gallery in Canberra. Curated by gallery director Terence Maloon, the exhibition includes important works from the last 30 years of more than 50 years of work. The exhibition will also travel to Orange Regional Gallery and S.H Ervin Gallery and a monograph will be available in early 2023.



Idris has won the Gallipoli Art prize, has exhibited in 40 solo shows and group shows including a previous major travelling survey exhibition in 2009-2010. His work is held in the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of NSW and other state and corporate collections.



His love of literature, poetry and philosophy also comes through clearly in our conversation and you can find references to the works he mentioned in the podcast episode in the links below.



I’ll also be uploading a short video we filmed on the day of the interview onto the Youtube channel and this website in the coming weeks. 



Idris is represented by King Street Gallery on William in Sydney.



To hear the podcast interview, click 'play' beneath the above feature photo



Upcoming shows and talks



Survey show, 'BACKBLOCKS', Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, August 19 to October 16, 2022The above survey show will then travel to Orange Regional Gallery and S.H Ervin Gallery Group show 'Earth Canvas', Australian National Museum, Canberra 25 August to 20 October 2022Solo show 'NOW AND THEN' Mitchell Fine Art, Brisbane, 18 October to 5 November 2022



Links



Idris Murphy (website)Idris Murphy at King Street Gallery on William George Steiner - 'Real Presences'Hilary Spurling - ‘The Unknown Matisse’Lloyd ReesKevin ConnorPatrick White Colin LanceleyPhilip Guston John McDonaldVideo by Sean O'Brien 'Idris Murphy – Empyrean: scattering of stars'Annie Dillard Frank AuerbachKen WhissonJack Green (ANU art collection)John BergerFowler's Gap Research Station - UNSWBadger Bates (Artist Profile magazine)Christopher Neve ‘Unquiet landscape’Giorgio Morandi Piero Della FrancescaAlberto GiacomettiRoss LaurieMartin Buber - ‘I and Thou’



Gallipoli Evening, 2013, acrylic and collage on board, 130 x 120cmWinner Gallipoli Art Prize 2014



Evening Tide 2020, acrylic & collage on aluminium, 141 x 151cmImage courtesy of the artist and King Street Gallery on William



Afternoon to Evening Fowlers Gap 2009 acrylic & collage on board 120 x 110cmImage courtesy of the artist and King Street Gallery on William



Somewhere in France 2 2017 acrylic & collage on aluminium 151 x 141cmImage courtesy of the artist and King Street Gallery on William



Works in progress which we talk about in the podcast episode at about 1hr 12mins



Work in progress which we talk about in the podcast at about 1hr 22mins