Geoff Dixon & Euan Macleod

Inspired by Euan Macleod’s exhibition FacingTime: portraits of Geoff, currently on view at New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, and Geoff Dixon’s documentary Portraits of us, directed by Glenis Giles & Clare O’Leary, we are delighted to present this collaborative exhibition, by two of Bowen Galleries longest serving and beloved artists, Euan Macleod and Geoff Dixon.

Both FacingTime and Portraits of us, are at their core, allegories of friendship and the human condition. This exhibition, is a tribute to these two remarkable, stylistically diverse artists. And what better way to celebrate 40 plus years of friendship than portraits of each other.

Euan has been inspired, and painted Geoff in various forms throughout his career. The twelve works in this exhibition include ‘traditional’ portraits of Geoff within the Cairns environment, completed during the FacingTime project between 2021 – 2022.

Geoff, the muse, has historically steered away from portraiture. When starting the FacingTime project, we enquired as to whether, Geoff had painted Euan previously. Portrait of the artist as a young astronaut/Things without wings (2023) was Geoff’s response. And what an epic response! Geoff’s traditional environmental themes are combined with his deft depiction of Euan, born in the Chinese zodiac year of the ape and contained within the confines of the Face Time app, whilst the artist roams free…