Jack
Keith Burt
- Sitter: Jack Rodgers
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 50cm x 76cm
- Representation: Jan Murphy Gallery
About the artwork
Jack Rodgers and Keith Burt became mates after Jack first painted Keith for the Brisbane Portrait Prize in 2022.
The friendship and the painting sessions have continued, and this year, each has a portrait of the other hanging in this finalists exhibition.
These works speak to a friendship and an artistic bond that has grown over the years, as they share stories and techniques, support and informal mentoring, over coffee and beer.
Jack Rodgers studied a BFA at QCA Griffith University, graduating with a double major in painting and drawing. He has just had a solo exhibition at Woolloongabba Art Gallery, called Gabba Dogs, a nostalgic trip back to the heydays of the racing dogs at the iconic Gabba Stadium.
Jack Rodger’s portraiture style is characterised by the single, expressive and economical line, and is very different from Keith Burt’s more traditional, tonal approach. Burt draws on the conventions of portraiture with a focus on likeness, and has removed any extraneous elements that might distract us from Jack Rodgers. The background is sparse, so that our focus remains on the sitter perched comfortably on a stool.
Rodger’s work has been selected in the Brisbane Portrait Prize and the Percival Portrait Prize. His work has been shown in regional galleries, and this year had a solo exhibition at Saint Cloche Gallery in Sydney. He still works part-time as a barber.
About the artist
Keith Burt is a Brisbane painter and sculptor, whose practice includes still life, landscape and portraiture. He has had regular solo exhibitions in Brisbane over the past fifteen years. In 2020, he won the Brisbane Portrait Prize with a portrait of Matthew and Daniel Tobin. He has been a regular finalist in the Archibald, the Wynne prize (2023) and the Darling Prize 2024. He has had many significant commissions, and his work is held in public and private collections. Keith Burt has recently had residencies in New York and the Tweed region, and has expanded his practice to include sculpture. He exhibits with Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane.
