Actor Becomes Painter: Tim Draxl To Open First Solo Exhibition
Australian actor Tim Draxl is also an emerging visual artist and an exhibition of his work, IN BETWEEN The Act of Painting opens on January 9 at Rex-Livingston Arts + Objects in Katoomba.
This is the first major solo exhibition for Draxl, who is openly gay.
“My most recent works occupy the in-between spaces. It’s a space I have often found myself in as an actor between jobs,” he explains. “It’s a space between who I project to be in public and who I am in private – a conscious space in which I make the decision to present as one way or the other. It’s a space between dark and light as we emerge from the COVID lockdown, during which my creativity completely shut down.
“And in the emerging layers of paint, there is a space between something I previously destroyed and the fragments I can’t get rid of – happy accidents caused by a brushstroke or scratch on the canvas revealing what lies underneath. This act of creating is similar to finding the right interpretation of a character through experimentation and improvisation in the rehearsal room. You never really know where you’re headed with a role until you get there. The act of painting is much the same,” Draxl said via a statement.
Also a well-known cabaret star and actor, Draxl said the move to painting was a nature transition.
“Painting is a performance,” he says. “It’s like getting into character. As an actor, you’re not just acting, you are being. You call upon real emotions to create a character. For a painter, the process is much the same. My paint clothes are my costume, my studio is the performance space, and in the act of painting, I am a painter creating emotion through the very real use of colour.”
Draxl is featured in DNA #252 available in DNAstore.
