Press Release:
Selby Warren was a bushman and rabbit-trapper who spent his entire life in the village of Trunkey Creek in the central west of NSW. He started painting in his late seventies using brushes made with his own hair. Before picking up these brushes he was known among his fellow workers as a keen storyteller with a particular passion for the poems and ballads describing the lives of local stockmen and bushrangers. He would illustrate his stories and poems, using a stick in the dirt or charcoal on the back of a shovel, during tea breaks. While the work of Selby Warren is little known today he enjoyed a level of success in the 1970s during which time he exhibited at the Rudy Komon gallery.
— Patrick Hartigan, 2015
Documentation:
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“A tree in a creek”, 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“A tree in a creek” (detail), 1971, oil on petticoat, 470 × 600 mm
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“Convict Building”, 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Convict Building” (detail), 1971, oil on paper, 590 × 700 mm
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“Selby Warren”, installation view, Minerva, Sydney, 28 March – 2 May, 2015
“Ayers Rock”, 1968, oil on board, 650 × 720 mm
“Ayers Rock” (detail), 1968, oil on board, 650 × 720 mm
“Ayers Rock” (detail), 1968, oil on board, 650 × 720 mm
“Ayers Rock” (detail), 1968, oil on board, 650 × 720 mm
“Ayers Rock” (detail), 1968, oil on board, 650 × 720 mm