SHARP, MARTIN (1942-2013)

“Tiny Paddo Masquerade” (1982)
limited edition screenprint
99.5 x 75cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Sharp was Australia's foremost pop artist. He co-wrote one of Cream's best known songs, "Tales of Brave Ulysses", & created the iconic cover art for Cream's Disraeli Gears & Wheels of Fire albums. He is best known for his distinctive 1960s music posters. Sharp's clients included many popular musicians of the day, such as Bob Dylan & Donovan. In his most popular designs, the artist embedded letters, photographs, & bizarre cartoon figures into psychedelic patterns. He was primarily responsible for creating the 1960s psychedelic aesthetic for poster & album art. He was trained at the National Art School. He was founding co-editor with Richard Neville & Richard Walsh of Oz magazine, contributing humorous & often sexually explicit cartoons to the controversial journal. When he & Neville re-located Oz to London, Sharp continued as art director. Here he liased & collaborated with music royalty. When he returned to Sydney in the early 1970s, he established The Yellow House Collective, featuring Brett Whiteley, Garry Shead & Peter Kingston, who were responsible for creating some of the most influential art, graphic design & experimental films of the era. He also designed the important Nimrod series of screenprints & produced a number of iconic images of the Sydney Opera House. He exhibited widely from 1965 & is represented in all major Australian state galleries & the NGA. His work has been exhibited at the AGSA & AGNSW.