Beric Henderson
Beric Henderson has spent most of his spare time writing, drawing or painting. His main interests since childhood have been art and science, and he received a PhD in molecular biology in 1990. His drawing and painting skills were finally overhauled and fine-tuned with two years of formal art classes in 1998-1999. Since that time, he has painted mostly in acrylics, producing a repertoire of expressionistic and surrealistic works that are often haunting, moody and provocative. He cites Alberto Giacometti, Franz Kafka, H.R. Giger, Jackson Pollock and Alfred Hitchcock as some of the influential figures in his artistic evolution.
His art and writing are often ambiguous in nature, aiming to describe that fuzzy milieu between light and dark, that which is indescribable or mysterious and hard to define. In his most recent artwork (from 2005), he has revisited his love of film noir, 1950s science fiction, and pulp fiction art to produce a series of unique retro-styled paintings, abstract drawings and digital manipulations that may be a turning point in his future artistic direction. Nostalgic, hypnotic, playful, erotic, disturbing, provocative. Who could ask for more?
Exhibitions
1999. Group exhibition at St. George technical college, paintings and drawings.
2002. Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Sydney./ Southern Exposure II/. Group exhibition. (Tree of Life) 2002. Sans Souci Art Competition, Southern Sydney.
2003. 1st solo exhibition "Twilights and Nocturnes" at Hazelhurst Community Gallery, Sydney (28 drawings and paintings).
2005. 2nd solo exhibition "Pulp Surrealism" at The Dragon's Lair Gallery, St. George Regional Museum, Sydney (16 paintings and drawings).
Publications
2004. "Aeronauticus 2004" published in /Spectrum 11: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art./ Underwood Books, USA.
2005. "Binary" published in /Spectrum 12 /(Underwood Books, USA) October 2005.
2005. "Aeronauticus" published in the US magazine /Direct Art,/ October 2005 (Vol. 12, p.57).
2005. Publication of "Pulp Surrealism and other Visions: The Art of Beric Henderson" December 2005 (a 24 page full color book printed on heavy art stock paper).
Awards
2005. Winner of the graphic logo art competition at St. George Regional Museum in Sydney, for design and promotion of the new /Dragon's Lair/ Art Gallery. Prize presented by the Mayor of Hurstville (Sydney, Australia).
2006. A winning entry in the international juried "Masters of Fantasy" competition, with artwork to be featured in the "Masters of Fantasy Vol. III" interactive CD.
Art training
1983. Art history and criticism by course work, "Issues and images of 20th century art", University of New South Wales (Australia).
1998-1999. Formal tuition in drawing and painting at Southern Sydney TAFE Institute (St. George campus), with influential instruction by Geoff Harvey, Wendy Talbot and Sandra Currie.
*Press Coverage and Published Reviews*
2005. /Australian Artist/ magazine No. 256 p.10 (Oct. 2005), "Pulp Surrealism at Hurstville Regional Museum"
2005. /The Leader/ newspaper, Oct. 20th, page 61. "Haunted by the Surreal and Ironic" (interview and story by Kathryn Barton, photo by Jane Dyson)
2005. /The Torch/ newspaper, Oct. 26th, page 7. "Surreal Statements Emerge from Night" (interview and story by Jeanette Stephen, photo by Wendy Kimpton)
