INGALLERY.1 and ONLINE
09 September – 02 October 2023
Daniel Pata: WANDERLUST.
Daniel Pata has WANDERLUST in his soul; he is the quintessential artist-traveller, moving and observing from place to place, rarely still.
‘I am profoundly grateful to my late wife Anne, who led a former Inner West Newtown street kid into a world of travel and excitement.’ ~ Daniel Pata, 2023
These paintings reflect the travelling times with his life partner Anne, and the more recent travels since. This stong desire to keep on wandering is evident in the breadth of subject matter and locations he has observed in this body of work.
Almost postcard-like in their nature, Pata’s paintings were created while revisiting familiar places associated with happiness and the enjoyment of good company from the central desert of Australia to the European summers of constant wanders.
Each work is accompanied by a postcard-like “scribble” that draws you into the moment of his view.
Of the painting San Remo, 2021, seen at left, Daniel Pata writes a quick notation directly to us, the observer: “…a Mediterranean city in Italy close to the French border. I visit here often. Enjoying its ancient character. The port had a visit from two large 1920’s yachts, which were interesting subjects.” ~ Daniel Pata, 2023
“As I journey through the decades of making paintings and drawing, the greater forces in my thoughts about working, the greater truths, start to emerge and the desires of ambition and success of a type subside to a greater compulsion to simply seek, learn and respond to a fascinating world of interesting subject matter. I like the idea of the mysteries of creativity. Perceptual enquiry is second to none in excitement and suspense. Not knowing how a work will form itself is exciting, you have to be quite reactive.
Besides the excitement of returning to familiar places, perhaps to dig deeper into a better understanding of their intrinsic qualities and just the pleasure of getting even more familiar with a place, there is the excitement and adventure of new frontiers for me to discover. In this respect, much of my travelling habits are formed by my late wife Anne, who led a former inner west Newtown street kid who’s horizons were rather limited, into a world of travel and excitement, and in this I’m profoundly grateful to her.
The world opened to me in many ways. The tradition of the artist exploring, is fairly common, but nevertheless gives one great pleasures with a sense of authentic purpose, the incentive to record and learn about newfound wonders is a powerful force. Even as I age, Wanderlust never diminishes. I will probably travel and paint and draw until I drop. I’m sure I share this desire and condition with many. But, Sometimes I look out of the window at home and get a similar feeling, and explore that pictorial interest.”
Daniel Pata, 04 September 2023.
