Internationally recognised local artist Lawrence Daws celebrated on Sunshine Coast for first time

A retrospective of the Glasshouse Mountain prominent artist Lawrence Daws leads off the Caloundra Regional Art Gallery's tenth year anniversary celebrations.  

The grand exhibition will be followed by nine other special events throughout the year from 20 January.

All are invited to the opening at 2pm Sunday 31 January officiated by John McDonald, national art critic and writer.

The Promised Land: The Art of Lawrence Daw, is his first retrospective and the most significant curatorial undertaking by the Caloundra Gallery to date. After Caloundra it will tour Australia for two years.

The exhibition features work from each of the extraordinary six decades. Aged 82 and still energetically painting, Lawrence his studio in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, long a haven for prominent Australian artists, including Brett Whiteley, Ian Fairweather, John Olsen, Tim Storrier and Donald Friend.

The retreat has offered a place of contemplation and the opportunity to explore more than just the visible landscape. One of Daws' favourite quotes is by Hermann Hesse, "The true profession of a man is to find his way to himself."

Sunshine Coast Regional Council's Cultural Heritage and Collections Manager, John Waldron, said through this current retrospective of 50 paintings, diaries and other works, we gain insight into this continuing journey for Daws.

"While early influences on his career included the likes of Hans Heyson, Arthur Streeton and Lloyd Rees, over the years Daws developed more of a passion for symbolism and his work became laden with his own personal lexicon of images," said Mr Waldron.

These were drawn from a combination of influences including Piero della Francesca and writings by Freud, Jung, the tarot and alchemy.    

Lawrence's work is represented in every major Australian public collection, as well as the Tate Gallery, London; The Victoria and Albert Museum; The National Gallery of Beijing and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh.

graphic to the right: Lawrence Daws, The Cage 11/40, 2005, digital mixed media print, 139.0 x 153.0cm, Tweed River Art Gallery.