Author Description

Tim Storrier (b. 1949) is a consummate and acclaimed artist who has made a significant contribution to Australian art. He has been awarded some of the most prestigious prizes including the Sulman Prize (twice), the Archibald Prize, the Art Gallery Packing Room Prize and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He was a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for three terms and in 1994 was awarded an Order of Australia (AM). He is represented in the National Gallery of Australia and in all major Australian public collections, as well as in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He became a celebrity when at the age of nineteen he was awarded the Sulman Prize, the youngest artist ever to win it. Talented and precocious, he had two mentors who provided the young artist with support and encouragement, Brett Whiteley and John Olsen. Olsen also introduced him to Lake Eyre in 1976, which was a seminal experience for the young artist. Through a long and active career, Storrier has produced a large body of work which includes some paintings on a heroic scale. Known for his dramatic paintings of incendiary fires, Storrier only began to include the figure in his most recent work, where he has revealed another facet of his consummate skill as a painter. There have already been six books devoted to his work. In the foreword to one of them John Olsen described Storrier as: `One of the most secretive and enigmatic artists working in Australia today ¿ a man of unpredictable intentions and directions, and one of the most original.¿ The book, written and created by Lou Klepac, contains paintings, works on paper, photographs and sculpture. Included are numerous quotes by the artist which adds a personal dimension to this comprehensive overview of Storrier¿s achievement.