TED MAY

Ted May - Artist The paintings of Ted May bridge many historical classifications, but they transcend any contemporary taxonomic interpretation. His study at East Sydney Technical College (now the National Art School in Sydney, Australia) in the early 1960s coincided with a time when Australian art was undergoing a shift; modernism had held strongly for two decades and abstract expressionism from the New York scene was starting to have an influence. Some artists rejected these new ideas, and May's formative years in this period were undoubtedly shaped by the discourse, but he and some of his Australian counterparts rejected the developing trends and concentrated on developing a style of painting that was unique and idiosyncratic. While the lines of expressionism and the intellectual minimalism of abstraction are evident throughout May's oeuvre, his signature 'drawings with paint' have remained resolute for 50 years. Unweighted by trends, they express an artistic freedom which has evolved through decades of faithful studio practice. Name: Ted May Qualifications: Diploma of Fine Art National Art School, Sydney Occupation: Full time artist - painter, draughtsman and soft sculptor Previously: Lectured at the VCA, RMIT, & Monash University Caulfield Campus, Melbourne and the National Art Schools, Sydney and Newcastle, NSW. CV Art Prize Exhibitions 2014 Shortlisted Black Swan Portrait Prize Perth WA 2014 Shortlisted Benalla Nude Prize Benalla Art Gallery, Vic 2012 Shortlisted Geelong Contemporary Art Prize Geelong Gallery, Vic 2012 Shortlisted Percival Xstrata Portrait Prize Perc Tucker, Townsville Qld2011 By Invitation Kedumba Drawing Prize Wentworth Falls, NSW2010 Awarded X Strata Portrait Prize Perc Tucker, Townsville Qld 2009 Shortlisted Gallipoli Memorial Art Prize Gallipoli Club, Sydney, NSW2009 Shortlisted Sulman Art Prize Art Gallery NSW2008 Shortlisted JADA Drawing Prize Grafton, NSW2008 Shortlisted Robert Jacks Drawing Prize Bendigo Art Gallery, Vic 2007 Shortlisted ANL Maritime Art Prize Melbourne, Vic 2007 Shortlisted Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize Museum of SA, SA 2007 Shortlisted Dominique Segan Drawing Prize Castlemaine, Vic 2006 Awarded ANL Maritime Art Prize Melbourne, Vic 2006 Shortlisted Doug Moran National Portrait Prize State Library NSW 2002 Shortlisted Dobell Art Prize Art Gallery NSW 1997 Shortlisted Sulman Art Prize Art Gallery NSW 1996 Shortlisted Wynne Art Prize Art Gallery NSW1986 Awarded Gold Coast Art Prize Gold Coast, Qld 1967 Awarded Maitland Prize (Abstract Painting) Maitland, NSW 1966 Awarded Maitland Prize (Figurative Painting) Maitland, NSW Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions 2021 Art UK: From Stage to canvas: Shakespeare in art 2020 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: Shakespeare Week Portrait Exhibition 2019 Bendigo Art Gallery: The Paul Guest Collection Group Exhibition 2015 Sydney Contemporary 2015 Gallerysmith, Melbourne: Wundergarten 2013 Melbourne University: Festival of Ideas Group Exhibition 2013 Gallerysmith, Melbourne: Pentimenti 2012 Gallerysmith, Melbourne: Tomb Raider 2011 Light Factory Gallery, Eltham: Drawings and master classes 2010 Perc Tucker Gallery, Townsville: The Forlorn Hope Series 2010 Gallerysmith, Melbourne: Wild Things 2009 JADA Drawing Prize Touring Exhibition (2009 & 2010) Group Exhibition 2009 Ballarat Art Gallery: Eureka Translated 2009 Ballarat Art Gallery: Reclaiming Group Exhibition 2008 BenaIla Regional Art Gallery: Face of Shakespeare 2008 Ballarat Art Gallery: The Forlorn Hope Series 2007 John Paynter Gallery@ The Lockup, Newcastle: Face of Shakespeare 2007 Tsai-Mo Arts Festival, Taiwan: International Group Exhibition 2006 Michael Commerford Galleries, Sydney: Drawings 2006 VIII World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane: Face of Shakespeare 2005 John Miller Galleries, Newcastle: Figurative Works 2005 Shakespeare Festival, Melbourne: Face of Shakespeare 2002 Studio/ Warehouse, Melbourne: A Return to the Figure 2000 M.A.C. Gallery, Melbourne 1996 Peter Gant Fine Art, Melbourne 1992 Solander Gallery, Canberra 1990 Kim Bonython Gallery, Sydney 1987 Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney 1986 Barberino val D'Elsa, Florence, Italy 1985 Niagara Gallery, Melbourne 1984 Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney (Group) 1983 Heide Museum of Modern Art - Figures & Faces Drawn from Life (Group) Public Art Collections Art UK Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery, NZ National Gallery of Victoria Heide Museum of Modern Art MOMA, Melbourne, VIC Ballarat Art Gallery, VIC Owen Dixon Chambers, Melbourne VIC Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville QLD Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford upon Avon Australian Embassy Saudi Arabia Peter McCallum Cancer Clinic, Melbourne VIC ANL, Melbourne BHP Melbourne Melbourne, La Trobe, RMIT and Victoria Universities, VIC Conrad Jupiter Casino, QLD Hilton Hotel, Perth WA Western Australia Institute Technology, WA Selected Biographical References The Paul Guest Collection- Publisher: Bendigo Art Gallery- 2019 What did Shakespeare really look like? Writer: Lydia Figes Publisher: ART UK 2019 Ted May and ''The Forlorn Hope" with excerpts from the journal of J P Stow- Editor: Anna Monument- 2008 The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art- Publisher: Miegunyah Press- 2006 International Tsai- Mo Art Festival- Publisher: Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau Taiwan - 2005, 2006, 2007 The Human Face is the Landscape of the Viewers' and Artist's Mind- Yenobek No.5- 95. U.S.S.R. – 1995 Profiles in Contemporary Australian Art- New Art Four. Publisher: Craftsman House- 1990 Artists and Galleries of Australia- Volumes 1 and 2. 3rd Edition. Max Germaine, Publisher: Craftsmen Press- 1990 Drawn from Life. Figures and Faces. Editor: Elizabeth Cross, Publisher: Heide Park & Art Gallery – 1983