Mel Brigg was born in 1950 in South Africa and is currently based in Queensland, Australia. As a self-taught artist, he began to paint full time in the ’70s and has established himself as one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists. He is known for his support of institutions such as Child Welfare, Wildlife Trust, Save the Rhino Foundation, and exhibitions staged to draw attention to political detainees. He also founded the Swellendam Art Society.
In 1993 Brigg arrived in Australia to settle near Dungog in New South Wales, where he has supported the Sydney City Mission, the Variety Club of Australia, Save and Amnesty International. His work depicting the complexities of the human condition is held in many significant embassy, government, and corporate collections across several continents.
“Painting is a spontaneous reaction that happens when the brain sends screwed up, creative messages to the hand. The hand normally does everything in its power to ignore those signals, but the creative brain takes a path to the unknown and manipulates the moment. That is the path we should follow as artists.” says Brigg about his motivation as an artist.
“I paint not because I want to, but because I must – I am compelled to paint to convey my feelings and my message.” Mel Brigg’s paintings were initially a reaction to the turbulent times in his country of birth (South Africa) in the 1970s and 1980s. After painting in Australia for nearly 4 decades, his work has become more universally topical. Mel often embraces themes of displacement with the sensibility of true understanding. Mel’s remarkable technique and powerful imagery create artworks that are both beautiful and meaningful. Even more relevant today, his works often depict man’s urge to aim for a metaphoric place in the light.
His collection ‘Exodus’ depicts the movement of people. Asylum seekers moving from darkness into the light in the search for a better life. A migrant himself, Mel has always been moved by hardships that humanity endures in countries under conflict. Despite his preoccupation with the notion of tragedy and singularity of the human condition, the artist depicts them in a surprisingly serene and inspirited way. His figurative paintings often show a group of people, on the background of the vast country inspired by the wide-open spaces of Australia and Mel’s native South Africa. Offering a bird’s eye perspective, the figures are barely discernible, almost minuscule in their surroundings. However, they possess a strange sense of monumentality, as they move determinedly towards a goal which one can only assume is the better tomorrow.
The artist makes a strong reference to his origins by using materials such as sand, bones, or skin, combined with tribal symbols and heavy textures to convey a feeling of powerful energy forces surrounding the nomadic people.
Mel Brigg’s occasionally surreal landscapes are reminiscent of the sunlit impressionist paintings of William Turner. The emphasis on light and strong contrast, combined with a unique perspective, texture and atmospheric colour create paintings that are highly evocative, and emotive. The viewer can’t help but empathise with the people taken out of their original environment, weathering the harsh environment under Brigg’s signature moody skies. However, seeing the sense of direction towards positive change, his work emanates an overarching overwhelming sense of peace. Why Collect Mel Brigg’s Work Mel Brigg’s equivocal paintings with a strong message resonate with a cross-section of art buyers. His depiction of the African and Australian landscapes in all their moods and spirituality makes his work unique and very collectable.
Collections
South African Embassies in Singapore, Canada and Belgium
Royal Exchange London
Total Oil Collection South Africa
Pellisier Museum South Africa
Universities of Orange Free State and Stellenbosch, South Africa
Barclays Bank of Australia and South Africa
Standard bank of South Africa
Numerous town councils and corporations across South Africa
Queensland State Government
Grain Corp. Sydney
Housing Loans Insurance Corp, Sydney
Bayer Australia Ltd, Sydney
Sisters of St. Joseph, North Sydney
Amnesty International, Victoria
Optus Communications and private collectors throughout Australia
Burrawang West Station Art Collection. NSW
Wentworth Permanent Collection, Sydney
Mural for Mary McKillop Supercat, Sydney Harbour
Ehime Women’s College Art Collection, Ehime, Japan Publications Profile Magazine, July 2008
Weekender Magazine, feature interview June 2008
Salt Magazine, interview Winter 2008
Noosa Style Magazine, interview June 2008
Style Magazine, interview June 2008
Buderim Weekly, June 2008
Buderim Chronicle, June 2008
Coast Magazine, interview Spring 2008
The Record, winter 2006 cover (St Vincent de Paul)Australian Artist
Bulletin MagazineAustralian Art Collector
Art and Australia 1993
Mary Mc Killop, A Tribute. Limited Edition cover Published by Andrew Wilson. 1995
Mary Mc Killop College Yearbook 1999
In The Picture (Year 8 text book on Australian and International Art) Oxford Press 1996
Reproductions by Swan Press, 1974Almanac Publishers 1979 – 1990
Mel Brigg is a South Africa-born artist that has been making art professionally since the 1970’s. He is widely recognised for his atmospheric landscapes and figurative works, which bring to the foreground the complexities of the human condition. Favoured for its strong message and magnificent visuals, Brigg’s work appears in many significant collections around the globe.
“Light is the core of my paintings, together with perspective, texture, structure and lyrically atmospheric colour. Combined, these culminate in evocative, emotive and emphatic works” – Mel Brigg