Brushstrokes of 20th Century Contemporaries
Rigby, Roggenkamp, and de Silva
This September, the Royal Queensland Art Society (RQAS) hosts a unique exhibition featuring artworks by three Queensland contemporary 20th-century artists: John Rigby (1922-2012), Joy Roggenkamp (1928-1999), and Frank de Silva (1913-1981). All three artists had ties to the RQAS throughout their careers, enriching the local art scene with their unique perspectives and talents.
The exhibition showcases a diverse array of styles and mediums, including oils, acrylics, and watercolours, reflecting their distinctive artistic journeys. Some of these works, sourced from the personal collections of the artists’ families, have not been publicly exhibited for many years.
Visitors will have the opportunity to acquire artworks, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Royal Queensland Art Society. Don’t miss this chance to see the artistic heritage of these Queensland artists.
Free Entry Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 3:30pm
To find out more visit https://johnrigbyart.au/
Artist Bios
John Rigby DUniv (1922-2012)
John Rigby’s vibrant artistic legacy is showcased in this exhibition, focusing on landscapes of Queensland along with some examples from the South Pacific and the Northern Territory. A key figure in Queensland’s art scene, Rigby’s career spanned seven decades, commencing in the 1930s. By 16, he was working in commercial art and exhibited in the RQAS’s 1941 exhibition. He won numerous prestigious awards, including the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship (1955), the Australian Women’s Weekly Portrait Prize (1958) – then Australia’s richest art prize, and the Sulman Prize (1962). He was a regular finalist in the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prizes. Rigby also made significant contributions to arts education and administration, including as a Queensland Art Gallery Trustee for 18 years.
Joy Roggenkamp OAM (1928-1999)
Joy Roggenkamp, renowned for her exquisite watercolours and acrylics, is celebrated in this exhibition through a selection of landscapes and genre painted on the Sunshine Coast. Many feature children and even her phobia of some birds is represented. She began her artistic education in the 1940s and later her style evolved under the influence of artist Jon Molvig. Roggenkamp garnered various major awards, including the Art Gallery of NSW’s significant Trustee’s Watercolour Prize for 1962. A founding member of the Queensland branch of the Contemporary Art Society, her works are held in major public collections. John Rigby wrote of his friend that “Joy, with her love for nature, for all its rhythms, its tonalities, and its colour, rendered it with sensitivity and feeling.”
Frank de Silva (1913-1981)
Frank de Silva is showcased in this exhibition through a wide range of Queensland landscapes across various media. His artistic journey, marked by persistence, was hampered by the Depression and World War II. After the war, he studied art in Brisbane and gained recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, winning significant prizes like the H.C. Richards Memorial Prize (1957) and the McCaughey Prize (1960). In 1972, his work was featured in a U.S. tour. De Silva later became a dedicated educator, mentoring young artists and founding the Ascot and Aspley Art Groups. Tragically, his career was cut short by a car accident in 1981. The late art critic and gallery director John Cooper wrote that de Silva “was extraordinarily successful in capturing an atmosphere.”