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Be Bop Pop
Jeff Raglus
8 – 24 March 2016
hours:
Tuesday – Friday 11am to 5pm,
Saturday 12pm to 4pm
admission: Free
…walking the line between high and low brow, graphic and fine, abstract and cartoon, jazz and pop.
This exhibition of new paintings follows pop artist Jeff Raglus’ balancing act of both music and art. His work walks the line between high and low brow, graphic and fine, abstract and cartoon, jazz and pop.
“That is my thing, and from this I have learned something of myself.”
Raglus is not particularly concerned with ‘genres’ either in music or art; his work is not confined to a movement or group. Raglus refers to his art practice as abstract cartoon or pop art.
There is always a correlation between Raglus’ music and art. In 2014, with his partner in life and art Vicki Philipp and their musical project Victoriana Gaye, Raglus toured and played music in the UK, Scotland, Copenhagen, Germany, Holland and France. They checked out every art gallery they came across. He did no art for four months, just played music, and looked.
On their return to Australia, Raglus decided to exhibit again, and has been painting since then, towards this show at fortyfivedownstairs. At the same time, Raglus and Philipp have toured around Australia a few times.
Travelling on the back roads and through small country towns was particularly inspiring visually. They regularly play in Melbourne, and a lot of the work in this exhibition is based on Melbourne as seen by an outsider arriving or leaving from the West.
“Looking back to a time when I played with Fitzroy band The Bachelors from Prague, record company executives often said, ‘You are too rock for jazz, and too jazz for rock’. I often feel that way – in between the buttons.”
Half jazz – half pop.
view online at jeffraglus.com
Jeff Raglus is one of a unique group of contemporary artists who divide their practice equally between music and the visual arts. Encompassing all that is pop, Jeff’s work constantly blurs the boundaries between fine and graphic art.
Jeff is a multi instrumental musician, who has toured overseas and around Australia many times with various ensembles., including The Eskalaters, The Nicest People, The Black Sorrows, The Bachelors from Prague, The Feeling Groovies and The Beachniks. He also plays with the Rebecca Barnard Band, Victoriana Gaye and the Ross McLennan Orchestra.
Starting off his art career in the seventies airbrushing surfboards, he has screen printed fabrics, T shirts and posters, made clothes, stage sets, designed CD and record covers and helped make video clips.
He has worked for Mambo, Swatch, Ansett Airlines and The Arena Theatre Company.
Jeff has written and illustrated numerous children’s books, two of which have been published overseas, he has also worked as an animator.
Even though Jeff moves around in many mediums and genres, including sculpture and Screen printing, he sees himself primarily as a painter and a musician. He has at least one solo and one group exhibition every year, and is involved in several ongoing musical projects.
In 2008 he released his first solo album Bellatrix. His band Fogg were chosen to perform at the Sapporo Jazz Festival in Japan in 2009.
For the last 3 years he has been writing, recording and touring with his partner in life and art Vicki Philipp and their musical project Victoriana Gaye.