Tony De Lautour: Revisionist Paintings

17 August - 6 October 2002 in the Entire Gallery

Tony de Lautour is well known for his seemingly brazen over-painting of other artists' works. In this recent body of work, pre-loved landscape paintings found at garage sales and second-hand shops acquire a new lease of life through de Lautour's revisions.

Replete with idyllic mountain ranges and lakes, these pristine landscapes have been colonised with a signature cast of beer-swilling kiwis, cigarette-smoking stags, snake bearing trees and brawling lions. These seedy protagonists openly mock the romantic aspirations of the original artworks, turning the panoramic vistas into crime scenes.

Whether the viewer chooses to see these revisions as blasphemous mutilations or vast improvements, de Lautour raises questions about the role of the original artist, the unique nature of an artwork, and the role of art in a society already saturated with images.

Tony de Lautour: Revisionist Paintings is a Waikato Museum of Art History Te Whare o Taonga touring exhibition.