Gillie and Marc

Gillie and Marc Schattner are well known Australian contemporary artists based in Sydney.^[1] They are known for their prominent public sculpture works in Australia, Asia and the USA, and for their signature character hybrids Dogman and Rabbitgirl. Gillie and Marc are husband and wife artistic team, they paint, photograph, film and sculpt together, and are collected by major galleries and private collectors around the world.

Personal life

Gillie and Marc Schattner met in Hong Kong in 1990. At the time Gillie was a trained nurse, artist and illustrator from England. Marc was an artist and a Creative Director in an advertising agency from Melbourne. They married one week after meeting in a Hindi ceremony in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. The couple lived in Hong Kong, Singapore and New York before settling in Sydney. Gillie and Marc now live in Sydney with their two children, Jessie born in 1991, and Ben, born in 1995.^[2][3][4]

Art career

Before embarking on a joint art career Marc worked as an artist and an Executive Creative Director in a New York advertising agency eventually opening his own global agency called Now Screen. Gillie worked as artist, illustrator and graphic designer, even starting her own boutique graphic design company Two Funky Girls. While working at their day jobs and raising their young children, Gillie and Marc pursued their art separately.

Gillie and Marc's 'Paparazzi Dogs' in Melbourne's Federation Square

Gillie and Marc first exhibited as a pair in Singapore in 1990. Their first exhibition was called A Blue Eye View of Singapore. They continued to exhibit together in New York. Upon returning to Australia in 1999, they had a joint exhibition called Life Can’t Wait^[5] painting portraits of twenty Australians who face death and were on the organ waiting list. The project was sponsored by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and was used to create awareness and encourage the public to sign up to be organ donors. In 2006 Gillie and Marc became Archibald Prize finalists with a portrait of former Olympic swimmer John Konrads next to the Black Dog of Depression to symbolise his battle with Bi-Polar disorder.^[6]

Their iconic hybrid characters, featuring animal heads on human bodies, first emerged with their fibreglass sculpture Good Boy in 2005 before the exhibition I love my dog and my dog loves me. The character of Dogman was joined by Rabbitgirl in the artists’ work in 2011 and the characters became reflective of the couples’ own love story.^[7]

Gillie and Marc's entry into Sculpture by the Sea in 2012, 'The Travellers have Arrived'

Gillie and Marc have created several public sculpture works, some of which are on permanent display. It’s a beautiful day at the Sydney Children’s Hospital in NSW is a 230 cm tall bronze of a child dog/human hybrid sitting on his father’s shoulders. Coffee Drinkers, Dogman and Rabbitgirl sipping cappuccinos at a table has been displayed in Double Bay, Adelaide and Bowral. Tandem Riders is on Beaufort Street in Perth, Paparazzi Dogs have been displayed in Melbourne’s Federation Square, The travellers have arrived was a finalist in Sculpture by the Sea in 2012, It takes two is in Paddington.^[8]

'Run for your Life' by Gillie and Marc Schattner on exhibition in Melbourne's Federation Square

Awards and Prizes

• 2013 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Finalist, Woollahra Municipal Council, Sydney, NSW^[9]
• 2012 Sculpture by the sea Finalist, Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW^[10]
• 2011 Mosman Art Prize Finalist, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW^[11]
• 2011 Charlatan Ink Art Prize Finalist, The Carlton Arms, New York, USA^[12]
• 2011 Prometheus Visual Art Exhibition Finalist, Gold Coast, QLD^[13]
• 2010 BSG General Art Prize Finalist, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, VIC^[14]
• 2009 Winner of Biennale di Chianciano, Tuscany, Italy^[15]
• 2009 The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize Finalist, Adelaide, SA^[16]
• 2008 Sunshine Coast Art Prize Finalist, Caloundra Regional Art Gallery, QLD^[17]
• 2007 Mosman Art Prize Finalist, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW^[18]
• 2006 Archibald Prize Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW^[19]
• 1999 Mamaroneck Art Prize Finalist, New York, USA^[20]
• 1998 Cannes Advertising Festival for Scotch Brite and Ben Wear^[21]
• 1994 Winner of Singapore Creative Circle Art Prize^[22]

Controversy

Good Boy was first exhibited in 2009 and caused controversy due to the visible genetailia. Their work They weren’t in love but that didn’t really matter garnered media attention in 2010 for the sculpture’s provocative sexual pose, with US journalist Larry Knowles asking “Mutt or Smutt?” ^[23]

The town of Forbes in Central West New South Wales, Australia had a sculpture by Gillie and Marc titled Pyramid loaned to them for one year following a public sculpture exhibition. The sculpture featured the artists' signature characters, Dogman and Rabbitgirl, nude and posing in a pyramid formation. It caused controversy in the town, with some labelling the work obscene, prompting The Daily Telegraph to write 'Statue cops a bum wrap as Forbes locals demolish artistic merit of The Pyramid'.^[24] Following a social media storm, Gillie and Marc elected to donate the sculpture to Forbes entirely free of charge, saying there were larger issues than money at stake. Marc was quoted as saying, "the whole question is how contemporary art has been not just rejected but denigrated by the community at large”.^[25]

Lost Dogs

In 2013 Gillie and Marc created an edition of Lost Dog fibreglass sculptures and placed 100 of them in various locations around Sydney - some hidden and some in plain sight.^[26] All but three of the sculptures were stolen within one month.^[27] Gillie and Marc said the social experiment was supposed to be about “bringing art to the streets and making it really accessible”^[28] but they were surprised that so many of the 30 kg sculptures were stolen so quickly.^[29] Since the project, the Lost Dogs have become extremely popular within Australia and internationally and Gillie and Marc have created more editions featuring different dogs in different poses.^[30]

Quotes

“The world depends on contemporary artists to challenge life as we know it. We, the contemporary artist pull apart the world, so it can be put back together as something different.”^[31]

“We are determined to create art for the people. We want our artwork to be seen and enjoyed by as many as possible.”^[32]

References