Max Gimblett

Gimblett is perhaps best known for his use of the quatrefoil — a four-lobed form derived from Gothic architecture and sacred geometry — as both support and subject for his paintings. His shaped canvases and works on paper are executed with a calligrapher’s sensitivity to the single expressive mark, each gesture carrying the full weight of his training and intention. His work invites sustained contemplation, operating somewhere between painting, drawing, and meditative practice.

His prints 3, Shape 1 (R), 8, Zero, 1, Ladder 2, Bottle, Circle, Egg Shape, Ladder 1, Pot, and Red Skull were produced in collaboration with Fred Genis in Sydney in the late 1990s to early 2000s. The titles reflect Gimblett’s characteristic interest in elemental forms — numbers, vessels, simple geometric shapes — each one a familiar object or sign transformed through close attention into something luminous and charged with meaning. The lithographic medium suited him perfectly, its directness allowing the quality of his mark-making to carry through without loss.

Gimblett’s work is held in major collections worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Auckland Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Australia.