By Erin Cooper-Douglas
 |
| The downstairs collection at Dada Muse is open to the public for free, with donations encouraged. () |
In 1989, a young medical student saw a piece of art that would mark the beginning of a decades-long passion.
The piece was by famous 20th century Spanish artist, Salvador Dali, known as the face of the surrealist art movement for his bizarre and mind-bending works exploring the dreams and the subconscious.
As the medical student completed his training and went into practice as an eye surgeon, he set out about sourcing his own Dali pieces, slowly amassing a sizeable collection.
So sizeable in fact, it's the largest collection of Dali works on paper in Australia.
Of the 1,600 works, he owns all but 100.
Now the collection is on display in a new museum, called Dada Muse, with many pieces being displayed for the first time.
The man behind it all is Launceston's Dr Brendan Vote, who said it was high time his collection was taken out of his house and office and exhibited to the public.
 |
| Dr Vote hopes by displaying his art collection, people can find inspiration and healing. () |
"This is about community and enjoyment of the art, but also learning about how that art is made as well," he said.
As much as art collector and eye surgeon don't seemingly go hand in hand, Dr Vote said they've got more in common than some might think.
"I've always had an interest in surrealism because it ties in with perception, and perception ties in with vision," he said.
"My day job is in restoring vision, but we obviously use our vision for many things and particularly appreciation of art."
He's secured some of the pieces through auctions, while others he bought from private sellers to get around the mark-ups of auction houses.
"I'm a bit of a Dali armchair expert," Dr Vote laughed.
Works dating back almost a century
His collection is made up of drawings, prints and etchings, both originals and copies.
It includes works from across Dali's prolific 50 year career, dating back as far as 1930.
Some series show how a Dali print was made from start to finish, explaining the artistic process as well as the art itself.
Dada Muse's Manager, Amy Bartlett, said it's a rare collection.
"It's very unusual, to be honest, we're very, very fortunate."
 |
| Dada Muse's Amy Bartlett says it's rare to have so many Dali works on paper in the same place. () |
"A lot of people know about the museums in Spain, Paris and Florida, but that's different types of artworks like sculpture."
"This is almost Dali's complete work on paper collection."
Among the pieces is what's known as a "genuine forgery" of Dali's famous 1949 painting Leda Atomica — an exact copy done and signed by a known con-man.
"This is a particularly significant work because it ties back to a story of forgeries and he actually did it while he was in jail," Ms Bartlett said.
"It's my favourite piece just for the story."
 |
| Dali's work Flordali II features florals and fruit.() |
Open to the public free of charge
The museum in the Launceston CBD has two floors, the bottom of which is open for free, with donations encouraged.
The display will be rotated every three months.
Dr Vote said it was important to him that everyone who wanted to see it, could.
 |
| Dali's Faces in the Desert is Dr Vote's favourite, featuring at least 11 surrealist faces. () |
"I'm very fortunate to have travelled the world as part of my job...and one of the things I loved about London is you can go to the British Museum for free, you can go to the National Gallery for free," he said.
The upper floor is ticketed for guided or self-guided tours of the rarer works.
"Dali had a way of looking at the world and sometimes I think we all need to stop and look at the world a bit differently," he said.
First published at ABC website, April 11, 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment