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Lot Essay
A version of this work was exhibited at Monte Carlo, France, Parade des Animaux, June 2002
Kelly is a London-based artist who completed a Masters of Arts at RMIT and then furthered his studies at the Slade School of Art in London. In 1997 he was awarded one of the highly sought-after Samstag Scholarships and in 1999 Kelly exhibited his work Cow up a Tree in the prestigious Champs de la Sculpture II on the Champs Elysées in Paris.
Kelly's whimsical paintings and sculptures of cows were originally inspired by William Dobell's creation of papier-mâché cows during World War II, which were deployed as camouflage around defence bases, in a strategy that aimed to deceive enemy aircraft. Dr Edward McMahon recalled that:
"When World War II broke out, Bill (Dobell) served first as a camouflage labourer, later as an artist recording the work of the Civil Construction Corps, which built airfields and other defence projects. As a camouflagist, he was one of a group of several, later famous, artists who had been ordered to make papier-mâché cows and move them around the base in the hope of fooling Japanese pilots. (Said Bill, "I think the authorities underestimated the eyesight of Japanese airmen".) For almost a year he shared a hut with fellow-artist, Joshua Smith." (Dr. Edward MacMahon, "Unforgettable "Sir Bill" Dobell", cited in Niagara Galleries, John Kelly, June 1993, unpaginated.)
Kelly's cows, whether they appear in paintings or sculptures, conform to a set type and similar appearance, with the contexts or situations in which they are placed providing their individual narratives. Their bulky square bodies are in disproportion to their elongated necks and small heads, while the characteristic labyrinthine patterning of their hides is utilised in games of optical illusion with the viewer. Kelly has also been known to turn his cows upside down or, as in this work, stack them one on top of the other, so that they start to blend into one another, overwhelmingly becoming patterning and shape. These compositional and structural devices play games with the original intention of the historical papier-mâchae cows, for while they were designed to hide army bases, Kelly's cows themselves start to disappear. That the cows can also be essentially faceless and still convey a sense of expression and attitude is a measure of Kelly's artistic ability to imbue them with personality. Humour is a rare commodity in art and it is precisely this quality of playfulness that makes works such as Cow Stack so endearing.
Kelly is a London-based artist who completed a Masters of Arts at RMIT and then furthered his studies at the Slade School of Art in London. In 1997 he was awarded one of the highly sought-after Samstag Scholarships and in 1999 Kelly exhibited his work Cow up a Tree in the prestigious Champs de la Sculpture II on the Champs Elysées in Paris.
Kelly's whimsical paintings and sculptures of cows were originally inspired by William Dobell's creation of papier-mâché cows during World War II, which were deployed as camouflage around defence bases, in a strategy that aimed to deceive enemy aircraft. Dr Edward McMahon recalled that:
"When World War II broke out, Bill (Dobell) served first as a camouflage labourer, later as an artist recording the work of the Civil Construction Corps, which built airfields and other defence projects. As a camouflagist, he was one of a group of several, later famous, artists who had been ordered to make papier-mâché cows and move them around the base in the hope of fooling Japanese pilots. (Said Bill, "I think the authorities underestimated the eyesight of Japanese airmen".) For almost a year he shared a hut with fellow-artist, Joshua Smith." (Dr. Edward MacMahon, "Unforgettable "Sir Bill" Dobell", cited in Niagara Galleries, John Kelly, June 1993, unpaginated.)
Kelly's cows, whether they appear in paintings or sculptures, conform to a set type and similar appearance, with the contexts or situations in which they are placed providing their individual narratives. Their bulky square bodies are in disproportion to their elongated necks and small heads, while the characteristic labyrinthine patterning of their hides is utilised in games of optical illusion with the viewer. Kelly has also been known to turn his cows upside down or, as in this work, stack them one on top of the other, so that they start to blend into one another, overwhelmingly becoming patterning and shape. These compositional and structural devices play games with the original intention of the historical papier-mâchae cows, for while they were designed to hide army bases, Kelly's cows themselves start to disappear. That the cows can also be essentially faceless and still convey a sense of expression and attitude is a measure of Kelly's artistic ability to imbue them with personality. Humour is a rare commodity in art and it is precisely this quality of playfulness that makes works such as Cow Stack so endearing.