Max MANNIX
Born in Victoria 1936
Max Mannix is an Australian artist who paints stories or ‘yarns’, based on his years growing up in Victorian country towns and working on cattle stations in the Queensland outback. These experiences and the colourful characters along the way have provided Max with an endless flow of inspiration for his artwork, depicting Australian country life in a light-hearted vein with keen insight and gentle humour. Max is a highly collectable and published artist, whose work is owned by private and corporate collections around the world. He has had over 50 Solo Exhibitions and numerous group Exhibitions throughout Australia.
Max’s work is predominantly painted in oil on specially prepared canvas board, but he also uses acrylics and pen and inks as well as creating etchings and figurative sculpture.
Max believes that his paintings are a social comment on himself. His growing up in a country town, working on stations and droving cattle, are his life experiences. He knows every character he paints. Max has worked with them, cried with them and laughed with them. He generalises situations and paints what is typical, rather than particular.
Max says: “I never tire of painting the established themes and scenarios of the bush, but every so often I like to branch out including palette knife paintings, Sydney Harbour cityscapes, nudes, contemporary landscapes, a series I call Lawyers and nursery rhyme characters inspired by the grandkids.”
