Rubin in the running for Archibald
ARTIST Victor Rubin is delighted with his Archibald Prize nomination for his diptych of friend and fellow artist John Olsen.
DANNY GOCS AND LEXI LANDSMAN
ARTIST Victor Rubin is delighted with his Archibald Prize nomination for his diptych of friend and fellow artist John Olsen.
“It’s a nice feeling to be nominated — it’s such a prestigious prize,” said Rubin, who has been nominated twice before.
Rubin’s entry, titled John Olsen, features his subject in two poses — one seated on a chair and the other naked in a bath.
“I wanted to have a bit of fun,” said Rubin. “It was Olsen’s suggestion to appear in the bath.”
However, Olsen, who is now 82, was not required to pose naked. “He didn’t take his clothes off; I just imagined that.”
Rubin said he first met Olsen at art school in 1967. “I was only 17 but we have remained friends ever since.”
Olsen won the Archibald Prize in 2005 and Rubin hopes his subject matter will be an omen for this year’s $50,000 award, which is to be announced on Friday (March 26).
Simeon Kroenenberg, the director of the Anna Schwartz Gallery in Sydney, is the subject of Adam Chang’s painting Two Eyes, Closing to Open, which is also a finalist for the Archibald Prize.
“Being the other side for a change is most interesting,” said Kronenberg. “It’s nice to be recognised like that, but it’s also more important that the artist is represented.”