Salvatore Zofrea

BORN 1946 Italy

STUDIES

Julian Ashton Art School
Privately with H.V. Justelius

Background

Salvatore Zofrea migrated with his family to Australia from Italy at the age of nine. At fourteen he enrolled at the Julian Ashton Art School where he studied for the next five years. He soon evolved his own highly expressionistic style whose imagery and vigour is steeped in his Calabrian background. Salvatore Zofrea feels keenly the artistic heritage of the figurative paintings of his native Italy. He often draws on literary, historical and religious sources to develop intriguing tableaux.

Zofrea’s style is characterised by a bold approach to colour and line and he is equally comfortable with large scale painting or more intimate media such as linocuts and etchings. Whether celebrating the labours of southern Italian farmers or creating cryptic narratives, Salvatore Zofrea’s work shows a lusty appetite for life.

Zofrea works in oils, woodcuts and frescos which he studied in Italy in 1985 through a Churchill Fellowship. His fresco based on Ray Lawler’s play “Summer of the Seventeenth Doll” is located in the foyer of the Sydney Opera House. Inspired by artists like Durer, and particularly Paul Gauguin, Zofrea was drawn to the medium of the woodcut and had his first solo exhibition in 1990 with the Odyssey series. His “Capricornia Suite” documents the labours of Italian migrants in the Queensland canefields while his monumental series of woodcuts “Appassionata” documents the story of his life.

Zofrea’s great life project however is to paint all one hundred and fifty images from the Book of Psalms. The Quercianella Series is based on Psalm 40 and features scenes from the seaside town of Quercianella in Tuscany.

Salvatore Zofrea’s work can be seen at the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, in major state and regional collections, and in the Vatican Museum in Rome. In 1995 the Italian Government awarded him the title of Cavaliere (Knighthood) for his contribution to art in Australia.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1967 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1968 Bonython Galleries, Adelaide
1968 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1969 Bonython Galleries, Sydney and Adelaide
1970 Toorak Galleries, Melbourne
1971 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra
1972 Toorak Galleries, Melbourne
1973 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra
1975 Victor Mace Galleries, Brisbane
1975 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1976 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra
1977 Macquarie Galleries, Canberra
1978 Von Toussaint Gallery, Perth
1978 Victor Mace Galleries, Brisbane
1979 Von Bertouch Gallery, Newcastle, , 1992.
1979 Victor Mace Galleries, Brisbane
1980 David Jones Gallery, Sydney
1981-87 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1982 The Fine Arts Gallery, Perth
1989 Vincent Art Gallery, Adelaide
1989 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1990 An Odessey, Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong
1990 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1992 The Capricorn Suite, Brisbane City Art Gallery and Museum
1992 The Psalms, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, touring NSW Regional Galleries
1992 The Capricorn Suite, Karnak Playhouse, Queensland
1992 Primavera Gallery, Canberra
1992 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
1994 Salvatore Zofrea, an Italo-Australian Odyssey, Rome, Italy

AWARDS AND COMMISSIONS

Sydney Morning Herald mural commissioned by the Fairfax family to celebrate 150 years of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

1977 The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW.
1979 The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW.
1982 Power Studio in the Cite University, Paris, for six months.
1982 Five panel mural for the State Bank of NSW.
1982 The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW.
1986 Churchill Scolarship to study fresco painting in Italy.
1992 Sydney Opera House Fresco sponsored by Toshiba P/L.
1995 Awarded title of Cavaliere (Knighthood) by the Italian Government in recognition of his contribution to art in Australia.
1995 Italio-Australian Man of the Year Achievement awarded by Italian National Day Celebration Committee.
1997 Commissioned by the Darling Harbour Star City Casino.
1998 Five panel mural “Celebration of Life - A Picnic at Clontarf” commissioned by NRMA,

COLLECTIONS

National Gallery of Australia and most state galleries
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Vatican Collection
Many private collections in Australia and abroad
Some Australian university collections