Artwork Information

Although born India in 1938, Fred Cress attended art school at the Birmingham College of Art from 1954-1959. After undergoing a rigorous art program that stressed the traditional aspects of drawing and composition, Cress migrated to Australia as an art teacher where he later became one of the country's most influential abstract painters for more than two decades.

 

By the 1980s, Cress made a radical shift from abstraction to figurative work through an inner desire to create representational images. From this, Cress began to depict the emotions that inherently coincide with the human condition. These allegorical, tragicomic scenes encompass the images that are seen in his work today. His series "Suits" lies within this same context, in which the viewer is forced to come to terms with the greed, dependence, and lust for power that each painting emits. Cress' "Suits" not only reflects the ambition and affluence associated with corporate culture, but also the humiliation and despair that accompany this social ladder.

 

"Business is widely considered to be the current religion of our society. With the promise of wealth, power and influence as "the carrot," people scramble and fight to get to the top and the resultant toll on their humanity can be enormous."

 

Fred Cress has exhibited in over 50 solo and 80 group exhibitions since 1965. He is Collections include the National Gallery of Australia, Australian State Galleries, as well as in private and corporate collections in Australia, England, France, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, New Zealand and the U.S.

 

 

2008 Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2007 United Galleries, Perth

2007 Australian Galleries, Sydney

2007 Robert Steele Gallery, New York

2007 BMGArt, Adelaide

2006 Australian Galleries, Sydney

2006 East West Gallery, London

2006 BMG Galleries, Adelaide

2005 Robert Steele Gallery, New York

2005 Annandale Gallery, Sydney

2004 BMGArt, Adelaide

2004 S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney

2003 Australian Galleries, Sydney

2003 Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2003 Annandale Galleries, Sydney

2003 Galeria Aniela Fine Art, Kangaroo Valley

2003 Robert Steele Gallery, New York

2003 Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo

2003 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize

2003 East West Gallery, London, UK Prizewinners

2002 BMGArt, Adelaide

2002 East West Gallery, London

2002 Annandale Galleries, Sydney

2001 Australian Galleries, Melbourne

2001 'A.S.A.P.', Vanessa Wood Fine Art, Sydney

2001 'Extinction Denied', Volvo Art Gallery, Sydney

2001 'Harmonic Visions', Tamworth City Art Gallery, Tamworth

2001 Chapman Gallery, Canberra

2001 Australian Galleries, Melbourne

 

Between 1965 - 2000, Fred Cress exhibited in over 43 solo exhibitions and has exhibited in over 87 group exhibitions.

 

 

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth

Australian National Gallery, Canberra

Bibliotheque Nationale de France

Lalit Kala Adademi, New Dehli, India

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Parliament House Collection, Canberra

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Tasmanian Art Gallery and Museum

Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery

Wollongong Art Gallery

Arab-Australia Bank

Art Bank, Sydney

Fairfax & Sons LTD

Kemps Mercantile Collection, Adelaide

Myer Foundation

National Bank of Australia, Sydney

News Corp

Pan-Continental Mining Co.

Phillip Morris Collection

Qantas

State Bank of New South Wales