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Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship Winner 2000 Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship Winner 2000 Brett Whiteley Scholarship Winner
Dead Sea Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls
Fragrant Space Fragrant Space Fragrant Space
Les Sauvages De La Mer Pacifique Les Sauvages De La Mer Pacifique Les Sauvages De La Mer Pacifique
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Salvatore Zofrea Salvatore Zofrea Salvatore Zofrea
The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2000 The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2000 Brett Whiteley Scholarship
Whiteley With Words Whiteley With Words Whiteley With Words
Salvatore Zofrea
Since his first exhibition at Macquarie Galleries in 1967, Salvatore Zofrea's work has been a feature of the art of Sydney. Best known for his major mural series for Fairfax Limited, the Sydney Opera House, the former State Bank of New South Wales, Star City Casino and most recently for the NRMA, Salvatore Zofrea is also a printmaker of distinction. Five years in the making, between 1994 and 1999, Salvatore Zofrea's one hundred Appassionata woodcuts are his most sustained autobiographical series to date, incorporating images from his boyhood in Borgia, Italy, his migration to Australia and his experiences as an artist in Sydney. Zofrea's imagery is intensely personal, sometimes almost painfully so, recounting the key events of his life.

The delight of childrens's games, the dignified clamour of religious festivals and the back-breaking work of peasant life are all part of the magical, family centred world that was his first home in Borgia. The world changed forever when his family migrated to Australia. Sydney is where Zofrea discovered his love for art and where his first struggles as a young artist occur, where he experiences love and loss. In Appassionata, Zofrea charts the physical and emotional journey, not only of himself, but of his family and those he encounters, with a poignancy and expressiveness that is well served by his use of the woodcut.

All 100 Appassionata prints are in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a recent generous gift from the artist, together with the woodblocks from which they were printed and all the preparatory drawings. The exhibition therefore reveals the evolution of these prints from the preliminary drawing to final composition, the cutting of the woodblock and the printing. Regarded as Zofrea's most ambitious and accomplished series of prints, the works have a directness, succinctness and expressiveness which complement and challenge his work as a painter.

A fully-illustrated catalogue to accompany this exhibition has been generously sponsored by Deutsche Bank.
On view:Wednesday 29 March to Sunday 30 April, 2000
Art Gallery of New South Wales Art Gallery Road
The Domain, Sydney
Telephone:(02) 9225 1744 or recorded information
(02) 9225 1790
Hours:Daily 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day & Easter Friday)
Admission:Free of charge
Media Information and Interviews:Jan Batten:
Press Office
Telephone: (02) 9233 1213 or (0418) 279 348
Facsimile: 61 2 9221 3185
email: janb@ag.nsw.gov.au

Salvatore Zofrea from the Appasionata portfolio 1994�99 57. Self portrait with cigarette woodcut 40 x 60cm HC proof Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of the artist