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Narelle Desmond |
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Ken Done Oversized Surfboard Earrings, 2010, ceramic, acrylic, wire, beads,
420 mm x 750mm, Market value: $1000 |
Ken Done's commercial success, across a range of T-shirts, drink coasters and tea towels, has earned him the ire of the contemporary art establishment. Apparently you cannot paint and do clothing and homewares at the same time.
When Done left school at 14 to study art full-time, he became the National Art School's youngest ever pupil. His work was greatly influenced by the rhythmic lines and lush colours of a 1968 Matisse exhibition in London. In a near riot of colour and energy, Done artwork celebrates life on the coastal fringe; at the beach, on the harbour and underwater on the reef. He examines water as a social magnet, a gathering place, and as a link across generations of Australians. For Done - as for the people who inhabit one of the driest continents on earth - water in its many forms represents play, fun and freedom.
The secondary or resale market has a preference for early Done from the mid-1980s; the paintings with hundreds of multicoloured people all crammed up, apparently skiving off work at the beach. A more pared-back late 1990s version, such as Beach January 1, 1998 (200cm x 150cm, above), would sell for about $28,000. If that's too steep, you could always buy the mug, key ring, mousepad, silk scarf or T-shirt. Be loud and proud: good Ken Done is not a hanging offence.
Michael Reid, art collector, 'The Art Oracle', The Good Weekend, 2005
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