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Gian Manik’s work is highly conceptual and deeply rooted in materiality.
His creative process stems from his artistic materials, which act as a springboard for imagined systems or structures. The potential for creation is the driving force; a space of growth and of bringing something into existence is essential.
For his solo exhibition at Anna Pappas Gallery, Manik will present a new body of work that continues his engagement with painting images of mirrored surfaces. The works are rooted in an element of chance, as the subjects of his paintings are dependent on what appears in the reflection. This includes abstracted images of the artist’s body, windows, walls and even other paintings in the studio. Worlds within worlds are created and manipulated, and what is produced on the canvas arrives through multifaceted pathways.
Manik explores the liminal space that exists when numerous visual devices are utilised. The space ‘in between’ also exists in the physical realm, between the mirror, the object, the painter and the canvas. These elements vibrate and coalesce into an image that transcribes the essence of the artist’s environment.
Manik holds a Master of Fine Arts from Monash University, and completed his Bachelor of Arts, Visual Arts (Honours) at Curtin University of Technology. Selected solo exhibitions include Big Recorder, 2013, Alaska Projects, Sydney; The Retreat to Representation, 2012, Venn Gallery, Perth; and Decorative Backings, 2011, Artbeat, Melbourne. Selected group exhibitions include Fresh Paint, 2013, Melbourne Pool, Compound Interest, Melbourne; and Joondalup Invitation Art Award Exhibition, 2009, Lakeside Complex, Joondalup. Manik has also held residencies at the Gunnery Artspace, Sydney, 2009, and at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2008.
Anna Pappas Gallery, 2-4 Carlton Street, Prahran VIC 3181
