Geoff Dyer is well known in Tasmania as a landscape painter, however few people know that he has also painted portraits, often for the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2003, he was awarded this prestigious prize for the portrait of Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan and is only the second Tasmanian to receive the award throughout its 98 year history.
TMAG will exhibit portraits by Dyer of notable Tasmanians including Alec Campbell (Gallipoli survivor), Bob Brown (activist and politician), Richard Flanagan (author), and David Walsh (founder of Mona). Geoff Dyer: Portraits will be the first time the portraits have been publicly displayed in Tasmania, and the only time they have been exhibited as a group.
The exhibition will shine a new light on this little known aspect of Dyer’s art, while also providing a unique insight into the portrait process and the life of each person pictured.
Richard Flanagan (detail), 2003, Geoff Dyer, oil on linen; On Loan from Lloyd & Jan Clark Lenna of Hobart
