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Gary Catalano

Gary Catalano

Gary Catalano (1947– 2002) was a Brisbane-born poet and art critic. His collection of poems The Empire of Grass jointly won the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry in 1992. His books of art criticism include The Bandaged Image: A Study of Australian Artists’ Books (1983) and The Solitary Watcher: Rick Amor and his Art (2001).

Gary Catalano reviews 'Conrad Martens in Queensland: The Frontier Travels of a Colonial Artist' by J.G. Steele and 'A few Thoughts and Paintings' by Ted Andrew

June 1979, no. 11 01 June 1979
I don’t quite know what to make of J.G. Steele’s dull, parochial catalogue of sketches and watercolours by Conrad Martens. The ‘frontier travels’ of one of our better colonial artists should, you expect, make interesting copy – especially when the artist in question happened to be prolific and the area of his travels the sparsely settled pastoral area of what is now South-eastern Queensl ... (read more)

'The Building', a poem by Gary Catalano

March 2022, no. 440 21 February 2022
Because of its gloomy appearance the building is like a defeated army, and the gloom is so heavy it makes handling difficult and postage quite out of the question. Still, if you wish to transfer its impression to someone don’t despair at the apparent impossibility of it; there are some things you can do, and it’s always better to feel like a winner than be dragged down by your enemies. I say t ... (read more)

Gary Catalano reviews 'Ian Fairweather: Profile of a painter' by Nourma Abbott-Smith and 'Conversations with Australian Artists' by Geoffrey de Groen

May 1979, no. 10 01 May 1979
‘To paint’, Ian Fairweather once observed, ‘one must be alone.’ True enough, you think, though hardly deserving of quotation. Down the years all kinds of artists have made the same observation, yet not many of them have been as consistently forthright when essaying the value and aesthetic nature of their lonely activity. Fairweather was an exception. ‘I paint for myself,’ he went on to ... (read more)