Biography
Clinch’s striking imagery transports the viewer to a fictional but hauntingly real world; telling accessible tales of loneliness, joy, injustice, humour, melancholy and whimsy.
In keeping with his neo-renaissance use of the luxurious egg tempera medium, he paints entirely from drawings, executed plein-air, often at numerous locations and then adapted for composition in the studio. The same fastidious approach is devoted to his beautifully hand-drawn limited-edition lithographs.
Clinch has completed many major commissions, including works for; The National Gallery of Victoria, The Ian Potter Museum (Melbourne University), Frank Lowy (Westfield Holdings) and Lindsay Fox (Linfox Transport).
Selected Exhibitions
SOLO
2009
Lithographs, Drawings & Egg Tempera, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
Solitary Perspectives, Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton
2008
Black & White, Hill-Smith Gallery, Adelaide
2007
Urban Myths and Legends, Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne
Urban Myths, Touring; Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Benalla Art Gallery, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Geelong Gallery
2006
Robert Clinch, Lithographs, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
1994
Robert Clinch, Lithographs McClelland Galleries, Langwarrin
1988
Works On Paper, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney
GROUP
2009
In The Black, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne
2008
Annual Collectors' Exhibition, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne
Preserving The Past; Enriching The Future, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat
2008 Fletcher Jones Art Prize, Geelong Gallery
People, Places, Townhall Gallery, Boroondara
Director's Choice Exhibition, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide
2007
Works From The Studio, Lancaster Press Gallery, Melbourne
Banyule Works on Paper Art Award, Banyule Art Space, Melbourne
The Art Of The Dog, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine
Inaugural Burnie Print Prize, Burnie Regional Art Gallery, Burnie
2006
Passion Printing, Lancaster Press Gallery, Melbourne
Civic Connections, The Town Hall Gallery, Boroondara
Australian Print Making; 1960s to Present, Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine
Melbourne and Country, Adam Galleries, Melbourne
Geelong Aquisitive Print Awards, Geelong Gallery, Geelong
2005
Expansion, Lancaster Press Gallery, Melbourne
Ballarat and Beyond, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat
2004
Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Lancaster Press Gallery, Melbourne
City Life, Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, New York
2003
Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, Nantucket
2002
Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, New York
Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, Nantucket
2001
Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, New York
2000
Hammer Galleries, New York
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1998
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1997
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1995
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1994
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1993
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1992
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Uncommon Australians, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, (then touring all State and National Galleries)
1991
Alice Bale Art Award, McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin
Portraits of Joseph Brown, Latrobe University Gallery, Melbourne
1989
Ansett Invitation Art Award, City of Hamilton Art Galley, Hamilton
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Sir William Dobell Art Award, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney
1987
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Alice Bale Art Award, McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin
1986
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1985
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Fine Painting, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
Achievements, Collections & Commissions
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Geelong acquisitive print awards, (finalist), Geelong Gallery, 2009
Wynne Trustees Water Colour Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1993
Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship, 1993
Wynne Trustees Water Colour Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1989
Royal Overseas Art Award, Open Prize, 1984
COLLECTIONS:
Artbank
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat
Bankers Trust
Bank of Melbourne
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Castlemaine
C+Bus
C.G.U. Insurance Collection
Chaiyong Limthonkul Foundation Fine Art Museum,Bankok
Co-Invest Ltd.
Deakin University, Melbourne
Geelong Gallery, Geelong
Gordon and Marilyn Darling Collection
Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton
Joseph Brown Collection, N.G.V., Melbourne
Kym Bonython Collection
Latrobe University Gallery, Melbourne
Linfox Transport
Lowenstein Collection
Myer Family Collection.
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Library of Australia, Canberra
Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne University
State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
Sussan Collection
The Town Hall Gallery, Boroondara
Westfeild Collection
COMMISSIONS
Westfield Collection, 1999
Potter Museum, Melbourne University, 1998
National Gallery of Victoria; 1995-1996
Linfox Transport; 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993-1994
Portrait; Dr. Joseph Brown, A.O., O.B.E., 1991
Portrait; Sir Henry Bolte, G.C.M.G.,1989
Portrait; Fr. John Brosnan, O.B.E.,1985
Bibliography
Thomas, David, d'Art: The Art of Robert Clinch, The Lytlewood Press, Stoke-on-Trent, 2007
