Pugnacious!
Jeff Raglus at Art Park Gallery. Opening Reception Friday 11 May 5pm – 9pm
Jeff Raglus likes coming to Byron Bay. Jeff Raglus likes doing small paintings. He failed art in high school – the art teacher said it was cartoon rubbish! – and in so doing, unknowingly set forth on the path of the ‘outsider’ artist. Ragee left school early, bought an airbrush and spray-painted surfboards and started playing trumpet in the first of many bands.
At the same time, he printed T-shirts and made posters until eventually joining the iconic Sydney-based graphic company Mambo.
He worked there for most of the nineties – that is, when Mambo was still cool – and pretty soon started to paint in his Urban-Primitive-Surf-Pop style. Having had many sell out shows around Australia, this show at Art Park is a return to what he loves best.
Jeff says his influences are many, but could be summed up as ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle meet Picasso at Malibu Beach’! Of late, Ragee has skipped doing graphic work for other people and has instead concentrated on his own art and music. This show is a reflection and continuation of that.
Read the Drift feature on Jeff Raglus and Jerry Wedd here.
