lives and works in Sydney, Australia
Art education and experience
1970 Short course with Bert Flugelman, Sculptor.
1997 Tom Bass Sculpture.
1998 Julian Ashton Art School.
2002 Short course with Nigel Harrison, Sculptor.
2007 Commenced Bachelor of Fine Art Degree at National Art School Sydney.
Group Exhibitions
1998 Hunters Hill Art Show
1999 Waverley Art Prize
Sydney Airport Authority Drawing Prize
Drummoyne Art Society Show
2000 Salon des Refusés, Archibald Portrait Prize.
Sydney Royal Easter Show
Window on Church Street Gallery, Melbourne
2001 Salon des Refusés, Archibald Portrait Prize
2002 Norton Street Gallery, McMahons Point, Sydney
2003 Parramatta Art Society Art Show
Blacktown Art Show
2004 Willoughby City Art Prize
Sculptures in the Vines, Hunter Valley
Bega National Portrait Prize
2005 Darling Park Sculpture Exhibition.
Finalist in Berkelouw Portrait Prize, Berrima
Australia Square Exhibition, The Sculptors Society
Portrait Artists Australian Exhibition at The Arthouse Hotel and Court House, Sydney
2006 Australia Square Exhibition, The Sculptors Society
2007 Finalist Moran Portrait Prize at Library of NSW Sydney
Power in the House exhibition of Portraits Artists Australia at Parliament House, Sydney
Sculpture Society Prize exhibition
2008 Australia Square Exhibition, The Sculptors Society
2009 Portrait Artists Australian Exhibition at The NSW Parliament, Sydney
2009 Darling Park Sculpture Exhibition
2009 MLC Centre Martin Place Exhibition
Awards
1972 Sydney Royal Easter Show Sculpture 1st Prize.
1999 Sydney Airport Authority Drawing Prize.
1999 Drummoyne Art Society Show for Abstract Painting
2000 Sydney Royal Easter Show Abstract Metal Sculpture 2nd Prize
2006 Sydney Royal Easter Show Abstract Metal Sculpture 2nd Prize
2007 Sydney Royal Easter Show Abstract Metal Sculpture 2nd Prize
Sculpture Society First Prize for abstract sculpture
2008 Sydney Royal Easter Show Abstract Metal Sculpture Commendation
2008 Bowral Sculpture Prize Highly Commended
2009 Sculptors Society Prize Highly Commended
Commissions
Qantas Airways and Private in painting and sculpture
Affiliation
Exhibiting member of Portrait Artists Australia.
Exhibiting member of The Sculptors Society.
MAURICE SCHLESINGER lives and works in Sydney, Australia
I have only recently allowed a lifelong passion for fine art to take over from my working life as a graphic designer.
I have studied sculpture with Tom Bass, and painting and drawing at the Julian Ashton Art School. I’m equally passionate about sculpture and painting, but I hope to be able to explore the challenges of portraiture which I find particularly stimulating. While I enjoy the discipline of realism, I am also drawn to experimentation and abstraction.
I have always had a passionate desire to draw, even as a child, winning my first award for an ink drawing. After arriving in Brisbane in the mid fifties, my passion had to take a back seat to the need to earn a living, but I still took classes and drew and painted at every opportunity.
Now that I have been able to return my passion to the driver?s seat, I am relishing the challenge of establishing a personal style. Although I still enjoy the discipline of formalism, I want to extend my capacity to experiment. For example, I accept the constraint of the need to portray a likeness in a portrait, but I increasingly find myself introducing less restrictive elements, such as in my portrait of the artist Elisabeth Cummings.
My development as a sculptor grew out of an interest in architecture, and I hope it will eventually lead to the opportunity to contribute to the built environment in the form of a large public piece. There is no greater joy than using one?s skills and talents to create pictures and objects which will give others pleasure, and I intend to use every opportunity to experience that joy. I am on a journey of discovery, and I plan to take pleasure from every step along the way. Currently completing final year in Fine Art Degree at National Art School.
Maurice Schlesinger