Richard R Cornish (born 1942) is an Australian art theoretician and practitioner. He is an artist, writer, poet, teacher and left-wing political activist. He has won many prizes for his art and draughtsmanship and was a student at the National Art School.
His art works span the period from 1955 until today showing the influence of modernism, Mexican social realism and Asian multiculturalism. His artwork and writing covers themes such as the protest against the Vietnam War, the emergence of the women's liberation movement, questions of social injustice, economic crisis and ecology. Cornish has had nine solo Exhibitions and 30 group exhibitions and illustrated for the national folk magazine Stringy Bark and Greenhide, worked as graphic designer, designed book and record covers, created set designs for stage productions and worked in fabric printing. Cornish was asked to submit visual images for the Sydney Olympics with 12 other Australian artists.
Recently, Richard has finished several written texts on China A novel about a travel /adventure to a wedding in China in Harbin. He had also written an art and cultural text titled ‘When Worlds Collapse’ on how artistic culture experiences extreme alienation during crisis such as occurred in the 16thC Italy. He has finished a manuscript on ‘On Artistic and Cultural Creativity and its Counter Worlds’ and how it all works in the arts throughout history. He has started a three volume Memoir of his own life and the people and events that he has experienced in his life. His own artistic production has increased and is concerned with militant multiculturalism and artistic universality and the possibilities of a new Marxist based humanism.
Publications Art novels The Woman LilithCleo Magazine, Winter issue, Feb 1975 The Seven Remonstrations of the Chinese Jester Dong–Fang ShuoANU Library 1988
Plays The Girls in Our TownNewcastle Uni Library, 1974 The Jester of Ch’u is a radio play that was written for ABC's Ian Reid Competition,ABC 1995 Coriolanus and Co Go WackoQueensland Premiers competition, 2011
Published poetry Upon Tiananmen Square Poem in World Anthology ‘Earth Against Heaven' Five Islands Press, 1990 ‘A Small Feat Cooked for my New Lover’ Suzhou, China, June 1993 ‘Beloved Ilsa’ ‘The Liquid Mirror’International Library of Poetry 1997 Green Apples of Ornans, 1991 ‘An Australian Artist Confronts Chinese Ghosts’ Poems–Seven Sardonic Senryu's Chiaroscuro, May 1987 A Suite of Haiku Poems, June 1987
Art exhibitions Solo exhibitions Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, East Sydney 1967National Art School, East Sydney 1966 Against the Wind-One Blade of Grass’Mathew Flinders Theatre Foyer Flinders Uni SA Oct 1969Von Bertough's Gallery, Newcastle 1974Brooke Moore Gallery, Bathurst 1975 Retrospective ‘Ricordanza’ exhibition Flinders University S.A. 1980 ‘Cornish and Marko Koludrovic’,Tamworth City Gallery Tamworth March/April 1990 ‘Across Cultural Lines; Towards New Identities ’ Multicultural Exhibition,Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW 1997
Group exhibitions ‘Modern Art’ selected works from Sydney's Public Schools, Inner Sydney 1955. Organised by Ken Reinhardt and Keith MoldeNewcastle City Art Gallery Students Exhibition 1965, Newcastle School of Art and Design NTC student show, City Art Gallery 1966 Mattara Art Exhibition, Civic Park, Newcastle 1965/66,Dora Creek Workers Club Art Exhibition, Dora Creek NSW 1964/65 May Day Art Exhibitions,Newcastle Workers Club, years 1966, 67, 68 The Realist Group Art Exhibition, (touring Australia) Newcastle City Art Gallery, Newcastle, June 1968 Perth Prize for Drawing Perth, WA 1969 National Art School, End of the Year show-East Sydney 1966/67,Cell Block Theatre National Art School,National Art School, East Sydney 1967 Travelling Scholarship (Won by Brett Whiteley) Art Gallery of NSW 1966 Le Gay Breton Prize for Painting,Art Gallery of NSW 1967David Jones Print Exhibition David Jones Gallery, Sydney 1967 Ashfield Art Prize, Ashfield 1967/67. Artist for Labour,Paddington Town Hall, Sydney 1975 Art Sale for ALP Von Bertough's Art Gallery, Cooks Hill, Newcastle 1975 7thTaree Art Exhibition Taree, NSW 1983 Collector Choice Art Exhibitions, Von Bertough Art Gallery, Newcastle 1977, 78, 79 Sulman Prize Art Gallery of NSW 1975 Newcastle May Day Prize for Political Cartoons, Newcastle Workers Club 1983/4 Little Treasures, Big Pleasures,Lismore Regional Art Gallery 1991/2Southern Cross Staff Exhibitions, Access Gallery, Uni Campus 1990/91 Expression Session,Art Exhibition Kempsey 1995 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery, 1996 Living treasures Art Exhibition.Lismore Regional Art Gallery Portraits of Senator Ian Cohen 1999/2000, School of Arts Art Gallery Nimbin.
Private collections Locations Australia Israel India Russia Denmark Great Britain Canberra War Museum, Canberra, Protest Paintings Against Vietnam War Flinders University Art Collection, South Australia Drawings in the National Art School Collection
References
Further reading World Encyclopedia of Art, ‘Allemeines Kunstlerlexikon’ Leipzig. ‘Who's Who’ in Australian Art’ Australian Encyclopedia of Art, vol 1,2 ed 1982. Directory of Australian Authors’, National Book Council, 1982 'Concise Dictionary of Australian Artists’. Comp Gwenda Robb, Elaine Smith ed.Robert Smith, Melbourne Uni Press, 1993 ’Who's Who of Australian Writers’ 1st ed Thorpe Pub, Victoria 2nd ed, 1995. ‘Cornish and Mark Koludrovic'.Felicity Fenner, Periphery Issue No 3 May 1990 ‘Artist Honoured by Recognition'Adele Twomey, Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth 2 November 1990 ‘Humanist Finds High Romance'.Christine Ross, Newcastle Morning Herald, 20 October 1974 etc
External links www.richardcornishartist.com