Ep 97: Jude Rae and '424-428' - Talking with Painters

After months of disruption and pessimism wreaked by the global pandemic, seeing Jude Rae’s exhibition ‘424-428’ at The Commercial in Sydney was as uplifting as the paintings themselves.

The towering concrete walls of the gallery would ordinarily overpower an exhibition of five paintings but the exquisite works easily took command of the space. Viewing the exhibition will be an experience I’ll never forget.

The genre of still life has a rich tradition in the history of painting; from those Cézannian apples and Margaret Preston’s flowers to the skulls of the Dutch painters reminding us that one day we’re all going to die. They say so much more than mere objects on a table.

The subjects of Jude Rae’s still life paintings, however, aren’t flowers or fruit. They range from gas cylinders and milk crates to plastic buckets, bottles and spaghetti jars. She’s attracted to these objects not necessarily because of any intrinsic beauty but because of the potential they present to her as a painter. ‘They give me work to do’, she says.

Jude’s work is not limited to still life. She’s an acclaimed portraitist and has won the Portia Geach Memorial Award for portraiture twice. Last year her portrait of Sarah Peirse was highly commended in the Archibald prize. She also paints mood-filled architectural interiors and both the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia recently acquired excellent examples of those works.

Jude is a previous podcast guest and you can hear more about her life and how she became an artist in episode 28.

We met at the gallery for this interview where I also filmed Jude talking about her work. Scroll down to see that video.

You can also see my 2017 video of Jude in her studio here.

To hear Jude Rae speak with me on the podcast about her recent work press ‘play’ beneath the above photo.