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The Mooche 1968

Artwork The Mooche this artwork made of Synthetic polymer paint (PVA) and oil on canvas, created in 1968-01-01
Accession No.
2014.287
Date Created
1968
Gallery location
Not on public display
Department
Australian Art
Dimensions A
167.5 x 167.5cm
Media Category
Painting
Secondary Media Category
mixed media
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint (PVA) and oil on canvas
Credit Line
The James C. Sourris AM Collection.
Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Dick Watkins’s colourful, jazz-inflected The Mooche 1968 was arguably the most lyrical painting included in the National Gallery of Victoria’s landmark 1968 exhibition ‘The Field’. The jostling push–pull of positive and negative space, created with a richly coloured mix of simple, yet open, geometric forms (triangles, squares, trapezoids and circles), epitomises the formal innovation and artistic experimentation of the era. Its lozenge-shaped canvas heightens the rhythmic quality of the composition, and conveys a sense of musicality that has rarely been matched in the history of Australian painting.

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Rights information

© Dick Watkins/Copyright Agency

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Stories featuring this object

WATKINS, Dick; The Mooche

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An installation view of a large charcoal drawing of a face on a white-grey background, with a visitor looking on.
ESSAY

Courage and beauty: The James C. Sourris AM Collection

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Exhibitions featuring this object

Ross Manning’s Spectra XIII 2017, installed for ’Courage and Beauty’, GOMA, September 2021 / The James C. Sourris AM Collection. Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2023. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / © Ross Manning / Photograph: J Ruckli, QAGOMA

‘Courage and Beauty’

Sep 2022 - Jun 2023

Reproduction requests

Images of artworks on this website may be used for research, study and other related exceptions as defined by section 40 of the Copyright Act 1968 (as amended) without applying for specific permission. All other uses of the content of this site (where applicable).  Refer these requests to reproductions. For more information, see copyright and reproductions on the QAGOMA website.