GODDARD, BARRIE (1941-)

"Strata Interlock - Dog Leg Movements (Flinders Series) (c.1975) 
oil on canvas
cm
signed on verso
*private collection, Melbourne
 
Goddard is a prominent, award-winning Australian Mid Century Landscape painter. He studied at the South Australia School Of Art in the late 1950s and went on to become head lecturer and Head Of Painting from 1963-1995. Goddard’s early paintings reflect the interest in large scale abstraction which was being explored by many artists working during the late 1960s and 1970s. During this period Goddard applied his interest in the dynamics of colour field painting to the observation of the Australian landscape, creating strong optical effects which conveyed the experience of the landscape. The Flinders Series was based on the topography and clarity of light found in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The paintings reflect the artist’s interest in the daily shifts and changes of light which generate a sequential relationship in range and subtlety of colour. The apparent simple geometry of the paintings are made more complex by the colour and spatial movements created through tonal variation. Goddard’s work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, state & regional galleries, several university collections, & Parliament House, Canberra. This stunning 3m wide pastel oil painting in the Hard Edge Style is from arguably Goddard's most accomplished and respected series, the Flinders Series (1974-1979). The series depicts Goddard's fascination with the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Other examples from this series are represented in the Art Gallery Of South Australia, Newcastle Regional Art Gallery and EBUS Melbourne Collections.