Bernhard Sachs (1954-2022) was a Melbourne artist and academic, whose expansive practice encompassed drawing, collage, painting, photography, performance and sculpture. Sachs, whose German father migrated to South Australia after World War II, was deeply informed by European art, culture, and philosophy, interweaving it with autobiography to produce a singular oeuvre, which interrogated history to understand its role in shaping the present.
Bernhard Sachs: After History focuses on works drawn from the late artist’s studio. Rather than a traditional retrospective, the exhibition seeks to highlight Sachs’ unique process of retuning to and reworking existing works, sometimes over a period of years. In addition, a parallel display of works by artists whom Sachs educated and mentored will acknowledge his formative influence on several generations of Melbourne visual artists.
A longtime resident of St Kilda, Sachs exhibited at Linden New Art on numerous occasions, as well as serving on the organisation’s board. After History marks the first major exhibition of Sachs’ work since his passing and is a timely opportunity to consider his significant contribution to Australian art and arts education.
Contributing artists to the exhibition include:
Greg Ades, Su Baker, Damiano Bertoli, Drasko Boljevic, Barb Bolt, Godwin Bradbeer, Sandra Bridie, Christian Capurro, Jon Cattapan (with Ben McKeown), Peter Daverington, Julie Davies, Matthew Davis, Janenne Eaton, Chantal Faust, Elizabeth Gower, Stephen Haley, Irene Hanenbergh, Ry Haskings, Raafat Ishak, Kate Just, Sean Loughrey, Sally Manall, Nicholas Mangan, Victor Meertens, Tom Nicholson, Alex Rizkalla, Bill Sampson, Rohan Schwartz, Ben Sibley, Krishnamurti Suparka, Masato Takasaka, KBT (Keiran Boland | Brie Trennery) and Ronnie van Hout.
Image: Bernhard Sachs, Metempsychosis after Petrus Christus / Das Fatale Paranoiac Critical Iconopclastic Agnostic Dispersion Melbourne 6.37 am, 2016, Oil and tape on paper, 280 x 200 cm. Image supplied.
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