Road to the quarry
comfortable painting the industrial imagery of the
south coast, or a sunset, or a soft drink can. His work
skirts the boundaries between representation and
abstraction, blurring the natural world with the
synthetic world. “I am intrigued by the interplay
between man and nature… the shimmery horizon line
where a power plant ends and where a sunrise begins,
the way a container terminal imprints itself on the sea,
everything that the eye fills in and assumes in the
intervening space… these are the things that fascinate
me.”
Between 1985 and 1987 Richard travelled
through Europe, the Middle East and North America,
eventually settling in Canada for 2 years where he
worked as a photographic assistant and calligrapher.
In 1988, to supplement his income, Richard became a
postman. He says that the time spent delivering the
mail is a good opportunity to think and plan his next
painting. Over the last 15 years, Richard has had
several exhibitions of his work in both Wollongong
and Sydney. His painting from this time examines the
impact of mining on the Australian landscape, and
much of this work is now on permanent display at
Bluescope Steel Visitors Centre at Port Kembla.
Richard Claremont‟s artwork is represented in
collections both locally and internationally. He has
been a finalist in numerous art prizes, including the
2013 Mosman Art Prize, The Norvill and the
Victorian Maritime Prize.
His work as a portrait artist has attracted many
private and corporate commissions, his corporate
clients including AGL and QBE Insurance.