'Michael Zavros' forever young

Michael Zavros must be one of Brisbane’s most celebrated artists right now, with exhibitions
around the world as well as commissions from companies like Hermes. If you haven’t heard of him then you should. His work ranges from amazing realist paintings and sculptures of horses, to his expressions of his love of luxury as well as the narcissism that comes with it.

Born in Brisbane in 1974 before growing up on the Gold Coast, Michael has said he drew everyday of his childhood, so it’s no wonder he graduated from Queensland College of Art with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1996. Within ten years of graduating, Michael was winning International arts competitions, as well as doing residencies in Milan and Barcelona, on top of showings in Paris, Hong Kong New York - ‘OH MY’. Pretty amazing if you consider that most artists spend their whole careers trying to get just a glimpse of this kind of acknowledgment, let alone achieving it at the beginning of their career. Don’t get me wrong, Australia has also proudly embraced and bragged about this local boy made good. Michael’s works, on top of being owned by numerous private art collectors, are owned by numerous prestigious art galleries such as The
National Gallery Of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, University Of Queensland Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and Tasmanian Museum and Gallery just in Australia alone.

This Oil on Board Painting is a self portrait call ' Narcissus' 2005

' Man' Oil on Canvas 210x167 cm painted in 2009

' Falling August' 2006, charcoal on paper, 123 x 86cm

Winning is Easy, Bronze sculpture, 2009

' Forever' Oil On Board, 18x28cm 2005

Oh, and I just have to put this picture of me with the man himself at the 2009 IMA Christmas Party. This was the first time I had met him (I've caught up with him several times since this night) and I'm really working hard on not acting like the giggly school girl who’s in too much in awe to say anything!

This is a fab mini documentary I found called 'The Good Son' that recorded his preparations for an exhibition of fine drawings to be shown on the Gold Coast.

The madness of Simon Degroot

When I first looked at Simon Degroot's paintings my first thought was it looked like it was the artist representation of his internal feelings, as if it had to come out in one way or another and this was the result "Emotional throw up" I call it.

Having the words "throw up" by the way is by no means how I feel when I look at his work. Just to clear that up.

It wasn't until later on that I read, he sees some of his paintings as “being about spending time inside yourself and how sometimes there's something, a bit like a screaming beast inside, that's yearning to get out". This would explain why he named his self-publishing book “The Happy Mad"

I would describe his style as being childlike play of symbols and scribbles. It's something you would believe a child would do if he/she knew about playing with shading and had an interest in street art.

The local independent artist has had his work allover the place you would have seen it everyday and not know it. His had commissions from painting a whole side of a building to having a few traffic signal boxes dressed in his designs. In the past few years he's star has started to rise a bit more with several of his work been shown in Sydney, Melbourne and London.

Simon Degroot's latest show is a solo exhibition of new work called "Paper planes" (an obvious reference to his child like style and the name of one of his paintings. It's currently showing at the nine lives art gallery located upstairs of Mellinos Italian Restaurant. 330 Brunswick St Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. until the 11 of December 2009.

Simon Degroot's traffic signal box in corner of Brunswick and Mclachlan, Fortitude valley. Photo courtesy of 'bandido of oz' on flicker

More of Simon Degroot's traffic signal box in the corner of Melbourne and merivale st south Brisbane. Photo courtesy of 'Rae A' on Flickr

Some Photos I took at "Paper planes" opening night