Dale Frank
More recently working primarily on Perspex, Frank hand mixes his own colour pigments into resins which are manipulated through rhythmical actions of pouring, scraping, and layering. The resulting works are hypnotic creations that meld conceptualism and materialism, inviting viewers to participate in the performance of their reflective surfaces.
b.1959, Australia
Lives in New South Wales
Active since the 1970s, Australian artist Dale Frank has forged a decades long international career. The artist is best known for his glossy resin and Perspex artworks, though has worked in a broad range of media and modalities. Through consistently exhibiting at Gow Langsford since the 1990s, Frank has developed a dedicated following in New Zealand.
A distinctive feature of Frank’s work is the fluid effects and colour blending resulting from the use of acrylic resin. Applied wet, this medium achieves brilliant colours and a very high gloss finish. Frank often uses a bold colour palette, and this is central to the distinctive contemporary aesthetic he has developed. His work bears some relationship to American abstract expressionist painting, which favoured processes of spontaneous or subconscious creation. Through pouring liquid resin on to the painting support, Frank relinquishes some degree of control over image creation. Yet, he retains an unrelenting focus on achieving rigorous artistic outcomes. Some of Frank’s works could also be visually likened to the squeegee paintings of German artist Gerhard Richter. There are technical similarities in terms of application of medium to support.
With examples including, As the Senior Manager of Supercheap Auto Parts in Mayfield at the end of a hard day Ronald ‘Ronnie' loved a swim..., and Thai Crab pancakes with green chilli sauce gave him so much grief, Frank’suse of titles is bemusing. Such titles don’t appear to have any relationship to the content of the work. Perhaps instead they operate in line with Dadaist ideas, eschewing logic and reason in favour of nonsense and irrationality.
Frank’s exhibition history is vast. He has twice participated in the Venice Biennale, in the Aperto section in 1984 and in the collateral exhibition Personal Structures in 2013. In 2010 he exhibited at the 17th Biennale of Sydney: The Beauty of Distance, Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age. He was recognised with a major solo retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney in 2000, and in 2005 he won the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize from the Bendigo Art Gallery. His work has been the subject of two monographs, Dale Frank, published by Craftsman House in 1992, and So Far: the Art of Dale Frank 2005-1980 published by Schwatz Publishing in 2007. His paintings are held in every major public collection in Australia and in numerous museum private and corporate collections in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States.
Gow Langsford Gallery has represented Dale Frank since 1997.
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Russel and Lisa had a strange sort of relationship, full of passion, but never with each other, 2023
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Little did Lionel know that his interpretation of womens needs with his dating app was about him needing to show wealth while at the same time showing vulnerability to particularly wealthy women of an older demographic, 2022
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Trev, Shannon and all the girlfriends that could have been, 2022
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After the incident and forced retirement ex-Senior Manager of Coles Budgewoi, Roger, always immaculately dressed..., 2021
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Emily and Gwenda would always meet at 8 at Monkey Skins coffee bar after their privately instructed Pilaties session and complain to each other about their husbands and their sex lives, 2021
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Gold foil covered bamboo condoms, 2021
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In the dark the drunken ghosts of masturbations past, 2021
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Julie's Irritable Bladder often made her affair with Nick her NDIS Support worker very interesting to say the least, 2021
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Simon Templeton was known as the best enamel jeweller slash artist in Gisborne..., 2021
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Alex his grandson was caught with his stepmom both naked smoking weed in his XR6 on the banks of Glennies Creek when he was supposed to be mowing the lawn, 2020
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Morrie would always introduce June his Philipino wife 30 years his junior as the old ball and chain, 2020
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Untitled, 2020
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Untitled, 2020
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Andrew took every Thursday's 17.30 Air Pelican flight from Newcastle to Canberra to spend the weekend shoplifting, 2019
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http://afghanproperty.af/property/175 (Beradarankabul@gmail.com) 11 beds, 8 baths $64,000, 2019
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The crotch swelling of the crochet king 1, 2019
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The crotch swelling of the crochet king 8, 2019
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He finally realised the relationship had just been in his head, 2015
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Bethungra - No one appreciated he often saw great great passion in what he did and felt even greater passion in what he thought, 2013/2024
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Chad Michael Murray 2, 2012
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Thai Crab pancakes with green chilli sauce gave him so much grief, 2011
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Wesley's Turtle Neck and Turtle Head, 2011
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Abbey eyes seeing the back of the head neurons firing regret, 2008
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Wanking with your Inner Idiot, the real you/jump start your body's fat buster/New Plymouth Landscape, 2004
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Summer Paintings
Group Exhibition 17 Jan - 10 Feb 2024 Auckland CityGow Langsford is pleased to present Summer Paintings. This exhibition presents a selection of paintings from six painters – Dale Frank, Séraphine Pick, Judy Millar, Ruth Ige, Karl Maughan, and Allen Maddox. The works are eclectic in style, ranging from the Maughan’s meticulously detailed 1997 gardenscape Ashurst through to Millar’s mesmerising Rows for Gertrude Stein, a monochromatic gestural painting from 2002. Each of the paintings demonstrate the skill, flair, and distinctive vision of the artist behind them.Read more -
Flow
Group Exhibition 18 Jan - 18 Feb 2023 Auckland CityBringing together internationally renowned artists Anish Kapoor (India/UK), Bosco Sodi (Mexico), Dale Frank (Australia) and Bernard Frize (France), Flow is an exploration of colour, surface and materiality.Read more -
In the Dark the Drunken Ghosts of Masturbations Past
Dale Frank 7 Apr - 4 May 2022Gow Langsford Gallery presents a dramatic new offering from internationally acclaimed Australian artist Dale Frank (b. 1959). The gallery walls have been painted black, reimagined as a dark space, inviting an unfamiliar perspective for viewing this new vibrant collection of paintings.Read more
Within his practice, Frank consistently subverts the medium of painting through embracing its materiality in newfound ways. His approach ignores the use of a paintbrush and traditional paints, rather embracing hand-pigmented resins that are smoothly poured and scraped upon a background of Perspex. In this new body of work Frank pushes his traditional techniques to create huge depths within these surfaces, often extending to sculptural forms on the surface of the work. These paintings are created through an interplay of deliberate action and chance, as the liquid resin takes on a life of its own, before settling into its final resting place.
There is a sense of movement within these works as though they might continue to shape-shift before our eyes. This is further amplified by the highly reflective surface of the works, which interplays with the changing light of the day and night. Frank has always been interested in how paintings can exist outside of human perception - as a unique entity, living out its days irrespective of those who gaze upon it. They don’t necessarily require context to be understood, rather being their own personality. -
Screenprints
Dale Frank 8 Jul - 1 Aug 2020For the first time in almost thirty years, Dale Frank presents a series of unique screenprints on paper.Read more
Working at an Auckland based studio earlier this year Frank pushed the limits of the technique, working directly onto the screens much like he would with his original works to create large format works on paper.
Contrasting the traditional fast pace of screen printing, his approach is time consuming and the resulting body of works are, unlike traditional editions, each unique. The process allowed Frank the freedom to produce a series of works that relate strongly to his painting practice, whilst also embracing several aesthetic elements that could only be achieved by screen printing.
These works are available exclusively through Gow Langsford Gallery. -
ABHK20
Group Exhibition 11 Mar - 4 Apr 2020 Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]Earlier in the year Art Basel Hong Kong was cancelled amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus. Having worked on the presentation for many months it has been reconceptualised and a version will be shown at our Lorne St Gallery for two weeks before we close to prepare for Bernar Venet's performance on 25 March.Read more
Selected for the Kabinett sector our planned presentation for Hong Kong included a designated focus on prominent painter Judy Millar. Together with her solo presentation of recent works, was a group of works by Oceanic artists including Colin McCahon (NZ, 1919-1987), Dale Frank (AU, b. 1959), John Pule (Niue, b.1962) and Lisa Roet (AU, b. 1967). While Millar's body of work will be shown at another date this exhibition is based around works that would have otherwise been shown at Art Basel Hong Kong this month. -
Dale Frank
27 Nov 2019 - 8 Feb 2020The paintings of celebrated contemporary Australian artist Dale Frank have long mesmerised viewers, their characteristically colourful surfaces at once seductive and sublime. Over a successful international career spanning four decades, Frank has continuously experimented with the conceptual and formal properties of paint, asking first: how does paint move? And then: how does painting move us? Mounted across both gallery spaces, Gow Langsford Gallery presents a new body of work painted on mirrored Perspex, emphasising the physical experience of his paintings.Read more -
Almost Blue
Group Exhibition 20 Feb - 16 Mar 2019 Auckland CityAssociated with the sea and sky that surround us, the colour blue has seduced artists and their audiences for millennia. Unlike red or yellow ochre, the blue we see day to day cannot be turned into a pigment - instead artists have turned to rare and precious sources to create the colour. The captivating colour has seen artists from Raphael to Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky to Yves Klein dedicate periods of their practices to studies in blue. This summer, Gow Langsford Gallery applies a blue filter to present Almost Blue, an exhibition which brings together works by international heavy hitter Anish Kapoor alongside prominent Australasian artists including Dale Frank and Max Gimblett.Read more -
Dale Frank
8 Aug - 1 Sep 2018Australian artist Dale Frank is known for his evocative abstract works challenging the concept of painting. Widely recognized as one of Australia’s most successful artists, his works are aligned with some of the most exciting and innovative contemporary painters of today. This solo exhibition of new works at our Lorne St Gallery sees materials such as varnish and aluminium collide in lively surfaces both fluid and deeply textural.Read more -
Dale Frank
31 Aug - 24 Sep 2016 Auckland CityRenowned Australian artist, Dale Frank, returns to Gow Langsford with a selection of new abstract paintings. The works in this exhibition are smaller in scale than the large scale paintings we have come to expect from Frank. The smaller size, however, in no way inhibits or restricts Frank. In these works Frank returns to a monochromatic palette pouring the thick coloured varnish onto mirrored Perspex. Many of the works have additional materials added to the surface such as crushed glass or globules of solid varnish which make them more complex both visually and structurally. While the controlled exploitation of varnish has been Frank’s signature of the past decades, the use of even more unconventional materials continues Frank’s ongoing exploration of the concept of painting.Read more
Dale Frank is one of Australia’s leading pioneers of contemporary art. His works are held in numerous collections and institutes worldwide including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA, and all major public institutions in Australia. -
Dale Frank
22 Jul - 15 Aug 2015 Auckland City, Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]The viewer becomes protagonist in Dale Frank’s new series of works. Where earlier works are partially reflective through the use of high gloss varnish, in this new series Frank replaces canvas with mirrored Perspex, allowing the viewer to become an integral part of the work. The works will be exhibited at both gallery spaces and a catalogue will be available.Read more -
Full Circle
Group Exhibition 4 Dec 2013 - 1 Feb 2014 Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]Full Circle is a group exhibition which examines the way in which a number of contemporary artists use the tondo as a form on which to work.Read more
An ancient shape that stretches back to the beginnings of time, first recorded in replicas of the sun and moon, the tondo, or circle, has long been linked with religion and mythology as well as with nature. The shape of the circle symbolises eternity and creating a circular work of art results in giving it a wholeness, as well as a sense of movement and energy gained from freeing the painted surface from more restrained square and rectangular stretchers.
Full Circle includes work by three key gallery artists, Reuben Paterson, Dale Frank and Max Gimblett. -
Devon is my favorite Luncheon meat
Dale Frank 22 Feb - 17 Mar 2012 Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]Dale Frank, one of Australia’s most acclaimed Artists, will delight Auckland audiences with an exhibition of recent paintings. His new series of works are as visceral as ever - the result of a highly complex painting technique in which intensely coloured varnish is poured layer upon layer in different stages of the drying process. In the resulting enigmatic and lyrical abstractions, surfaces are laden with colours that collide and separate, literally reacting with each other.Read more -
Recent Paintings
Dale Frank 11 Aug - 3 Sep 2010 Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]Complex galaxies of brilliant colour react into each other in Dale Frank's enigmatic abstractions. Laden surfaces reveal the expressive potential of paint but the fluid and lyrical nature of his canvases belie the calculated science of his painting practice.Read more -
Dale Frank
14 Oct - 7 Nov 2008 Lorne Street [2008 - 2021]Gow Langsford Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new work by Australian artist Dale Frank. Frank, who first exhibited in New Zealand in 1997, has an international...Read more
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Dale Frank: Nobody's Sweetie - Documentary World Premiere
May 22, 2024The Sydney Film Festival is on from 5-16 June 2024 and it will be the world premiere of a new documentary featuring Australian artist Dale...Read more -
Sydney Contemporary presents 2020
October 1, 2020For the first online iteration of Sydney Contemporary presents 2020, Gow Langsford Gallery is pleased to present works by Dale Frank and Virginia Leonard. The...Read more -
Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms
March 18, 2020Gow Langsford Gallery is delighted to announce our participation in Art Basel’s first iteration of Online Viewing Rooms, a new digital platform designed to connect...Read more -
Dale Frank at Auckland Art Fair 2018
May 23, 2018New works by Dale Frank will be presented over the next two days (Wednesday 23rd - Thursday 24th) at the Auckland Art Fair 2018 at...Read more -
Dale Frank at Auckland Art Gallery
March 13, 2018Two works from Dale Frank held in the Chartwell Collection are currently exhibited as part of the Auckland Art Gallery's new exhibition Other People Think:...Read more -
Gow Langsford at Sydney Contemporary 2017
September 7, 2017Gow Langsford Gallery is participating in the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair from 7 - 10 September 2017. The gallery's booth (B02) features an international line...Read more
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Sydney Contemporary 2024 | Booth C02
5 - 8 Sep 2024Gow Langsford Gallery returns to Sydney Contemporary , bringing with it a rich tapestry of talent cultivated over the years. The central focus of the...Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2023 | Booth C02
6 - 10 Sep 2023Gow Langsford Gallery has built a reputation for bringing some of the finest art from Aotearoa to Sydney Contemporary. This year, the Auckland-based gallery will present new paintings by four of its represented artists: Grace Wright, Aiko Robinson, Chris Heaphy, and Dale Frank. In addition to this, a grouping of small works will be presented by sculptors including Virginia Leonard, Pablo Picasso, Tony Cragg, Paul Dibble and Lisa Roet.Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2022 | Booth B02
8 - 11 Sep 2022The central focus of our presentation is a grouping of bronzes by Barry Flanagan (1941-2009, UK). His anthropomorphic hares engage in a variety of playful and spirited activities; they bound, balance, dance and contemplate. Shown alongside is a suite of new works by Shane Cotton (1965, NZ), and a selection of monochromatic works by revered painter Colin McCahon (1919-1987, NZ) together with paintings by John Pule (1962, Niue), Gordon Walters (1919-1995) and Max Gimblett (1935, NZ/USA).Read more -
Auckland Art Fair 2021 | Booth A7
24 - 28 Feb 2021For the 2021 Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery will be showcasing new works by Graham Fletcher, Grace Wright, Paul Dibble, Gregor Kregar, André Hemer and Dale Frank, alongside preeminent New Zealand artists Colin McCahon and Tony Fomison. Our major highlight will be a sculpture by British Modernist Henry Moore alongside a key work by Frances Hodgkins.Read more -
Auckland Art Fair Virtual Fair 2020
29 Apr - 6 Jun 2020Gow Langsford Gallery is pleased to be taking part in the Auckland Art Fair Virtual Fair from 30 April - 17 May. Artists included are Frances Hodgkins, Tony Cragg, Judy Millar, Louise Henderson, Dale Frank, John Pule, Paul Dibble, Karl Maughan, Reuben Paterson, Simon Ingram, Virginia Leonard, Max Gimblett and Colin McCahon.Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2019 | Booth B02
12 - 15 Sep 2019For Sydney Contemporary 2019, Gow Langsford Gallery is showcasing a range of works from New Zealand and Australian artists and works from prominent British sculptor Tony Cragg. Find us at Booth B02 to view works by John Olsen, Dale Frank, Lisa Roet, Colin McCahon, Gordon Walters, Laurence Aberhart, Dick Frizzell, Michael Hight, Reuben Paterson, Hugo Koha Lindsay, Judy Millar and Max Gimblett.Read more -
Auckland Art Fair 2019 | Booth B8
1 - 5 May 2019For the 2019 Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery is presenting new works by Paul Dibble, Karl Maughan and Max Gimblett at Booth B8.Read more -
McCahon: In Conversation - Art Basel Hong Kong 2019 | Galleries Booth 3C15
27 - 31 Mar 2019For Art Basel Hong Kong Galleries 2019, Gow Langsford Gallery will present a selection of works that demonstrate Colin McCahon’s enduring influence, offering ABHK19 audiences a broader introduction to New Zealand art, while also considering McCahon’s practice in relation to his International contemporaries.Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2018 | Booth B02
13 - 16 Sep 2018Gow Langsford Gallery will be exhibiting a selection of works from New Zealand and international artists at this years Sydney Contemporary held at Carriageworks. Visit Booth B02 to see works by Tony Cragg, Paul Dibble, Leah Emery, Dale Frank, Rosalie Gascoigne, Andre Hemer, Michael Hight, Sara Hughes, Gregor Kregar, Colin McCahon, David McCracken, Toby Raine, Lisa Roet, Ugo Rondinone and Bernar Venet.Read more -
Auckland Art Fair 2018 | Booth D3
23 - 27 May 2018Gow Langsford Gallery is proud to present a series of solo exhibitions from three of our represented artists at the 2018 Auckland Art Fair. The exhibitions will be unveiled throughout the duration of the Fair: Dale Frank (Wednesday 23rd -Thursday 24th), Hugo Koha Lindsay (Friday 25th) and John Pule (Saturday 26th – Sunday 27th).Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2017 | Booth B02
7 - 10 Sep 2017Gow Langsford Gallery will be participating in the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair from 7 - 10 September 2017. The gallery's booth (B02) will feature an international line up of artists including five significant works by Tony Cragg, and works by Dale Frank, Lee Ufan, Brett Whiteley, Rosalie Gascoigne, and Katharina Grosse. Works by prominent New Zealand artists, such as Colin McCahon, Judy Millar, Paul Dibble, Max Gimblett, and André Hemer will also be exhibited during the course of the Art Fair. Sydney Contemporary will be held at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh NSW 2015.Read more -
Auckland Art Fair 2016 | Booth B14
25 - 29 May 2016For the 2016 Auckland Art Fair, Gow Langsford Gallery will present a solo project by Dick Frizzell and a group showing of new works by selected gallery artists, both local and international. Frizzell’s I’m here for the Monkey painting is based on his Phantom works that began in the 1990s. Like a pick-a-path book, viewers are encouraged to make their own narratives by creating their own groupings of several smaller works. The title is based on a famous Phantom adventure. 2016 is the year of the monkey.Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2015 | Booth B02
10 - 13 Sep 2015We are excited to be participating in Sydney Contemporary 2015. Visit us at Booth B2 and see new works by Judy Millar, Andre Hemer, James Cousins, Graham Fletcher, Dale Frank and Paul Dibble alongside works by Colin McCahon, Gordon Walters, Jono Rotman and Tony Cragg.Read more -
Sydney Contemporary 2013 | Booth C103
20 - 22 Sep 2013Sydney Contemporary is Sydney’s first international art fair showcasing work by emerging and established artists from leading Australian and international galleries. For the inaugural event Gow Langsford Gallery will curate a group exhibition including new work by gallery artists Judy Millar, Dale Frank, Tony Cragg, Sara Hughes, Max Gimblett, Bernar Venet and John Pule, alongside works by British artist Damien Hirst.Read more