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Sydney Magazine 30 July 2013
Elissa Blake
The person
Anthony Lister, 33, fine artist, sculptor
What's the story?
Painter, sculptor and installation artist Anthony Lister's art practice straddles two worlds. The first is the shadowy world of street art, of which he is an acknowledged master among those in the know. The second is that of London's white-cube art galleries, where he's regarded as one of the most sought-after young artists after being named among Australian Art Collector magazine's "Top 50 Most Collectable" list in 2010 and 2011. Originally from Brisbane, Lister grew up immersed in skateboard culture and, like his friend Banksy, he makes a point of leaving large-scale artworks in public spaces when he visits a city.
What kind of art do you practise?
"I make paintings about crime and I make crime with my paintings. Some call it graffiti; others call it revolutionary. I'm like a caveman painting on a rock but my rock is your fence and my cave is your world."
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What materials do you use?
"I use charcoal, then spray paint, then acrylic, then oil, to be precise and in that order."
Describe yourself in three words.
"Badass adventure painter."
Are you best known for your street art?
"I would like to think not. I would like to think I was best known for my charming ballerina paintings or my examinations of contemporary mythology through superhero imagery."
Is it harder for street artists to get recognition in the mainstream art world?
"There are so many art worlds these days I've had to develop multiple creative personality disorder just to escape the recognition. Fame used to be associated with talent. I'd like to prove there's still truth in that."
What is this show about?
"It's about men with flowers in their mouths and the devil on your shoulder. It's about deseeding watermelons and kissing the ones you love. Misery can be quite beautiful because without it, we wouldn't know the pleasure of joy."
What are you attracted to as subjects?
"I'm attracted to people-watching and riddles as much as I am to bones and flowers. Inspiration is for the weak and influence is a demon I keep at a distance."
The beautiful misery runs from August 7-25. See timolsengallery.com
FYI
• Street art is art applied, usually clandestinely, in public spaces and it does not always conform to the tropes of graffiti art. Lister's work has featured ballerinas, superheroes and menacing eyes.
• Lister's interest in criminology led to him working as a court artist in Brisbane when the man accused of the 2003 murder of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe was charged.
• One of Lister's best-known exhibitions, Bogan Paradise (2011), was hung not in a gallery but in a dilapidated former sex shop in the Chinatown end of George Street.
• His solo exhibition at Olsen Irwin will include 16 new works on canvas, along with bronze sculpture, video installation and bus-shelter light boxes.
• Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have collected Lister's work. His sales have jumped from around $8000 per piece in 2008 to almost $20,000 at auction last year.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/save-the-date-20130722-2qe87.html#ixzz2an9ZtBKE