KENNETH RONALD WHISSON

Whisson studied at Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne., 1944-45 and Warrandyte, with Danila Vassilieff, 1945-46. He lived and worked in England, 1954-56, and 1969-70, and spent four months in Morocco, 1968-69, working in a Moroccan government studio for visiting artists.
His twisting, triangular shapes, often representing heads and fragmented figures as well as unidentified shapes, evoke a personal dream world expressive of anguish presented in lyrical terms. His painting is literary (in the sense that Francis Baconís painting is literary), its `language‚ and imagery deriving from his early contacts with Vassilieff and other Melbourne painters of the 1950s. In July 1977, he settled in Perugia, Italy and exhibits occasionally in Australia, his 1980s and 1990s exhibitions including a retrospective at Broken Hill Gallery 1987; a survey show at Pinacotheca, Melbourne and four Vic. regional galleries 1990 and Watters, Sydney. His work appeared in numerous group exhibitions 1978-92 including Acquisitions to the Australian Collection 1956-81, AGNSW 1982; Australian Art of the last 20 years, MOCA, Brisbane 1988; the Bicentiennial exhibitions The Great Australian Art Exhibition and The Face of Australia; Prints and Australia; Pre-settlement to Present, NGA 1989, Cross Currents, Waikato Museum of Art, Hamilton, NZ 1990; Her Story, S. H. Ervin Gallery Sydney 1991.

AWARDS:
John McCaughey Memorial art prize (shared), NGV, 1979; emeritus award, VACB, 1987.

REP:
NGA; AGNSW; AGSA; AGWA; NGV; QAG; AVMAG; TMAG; Parliament House; a number of regional public galleries including Ballarat, Heide, Bathurst, Latrobe Valley, Orange, Newcastle, MCA, Sydney; MOCA, Brisbane; Centre for Contemporary Art, Hamilton, NZ; tertiary collections including Uni. of NSW.

BIB:
Catalogue essays exhibitions as above and a number of general books on Australian art including Bonython, MAP 1975, 76, 80; Catalano, The Years of Hope OUP, 1981; Germaine, AGA. Peter & Susan Ward, In Different Light, UQP 1991. A&A Peter & Susan Ward, In Different Light, UQP 1991, A&A 13/14/1976; 22/2/1984; 25/2/1987. AL 4/2-3/1984.

REF:
Alan & Susan McCulloch, The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Allen & Unwin, 1994