SUPPORTED BY

Curated by Banchō is our local emerging artists program in 2021, supported by City of Sydney. See the program overview here

We’re excited to announce our April artist: Sydney local Daniel Barton and his ink and brush art exhibit ‘You Are An Animal’.

About the artist

Daniel Barton is a Sydney local who from the earliest age has been fascinated by the variety and wonder of the natural world and has been inspired by its wonder to create. His first recognised work was published in the comics section of the Sun Herald in 1977 where he was awarded a $3 prize for his drawing titled “Jaguar”.

After studying biology at university, Daniel spent a year in Japan where he was exposed to Zen philosophy and artistic practices, and its focus on the negation of self through meditative immersion in the moment of creation.

Through a wide and varied career, he has continued his art practice and his interest in the natural world.

In 2020 Daniel set about to produce a body of work addressing his evolving concerns on the nature of mind in all creatures, the creative act, and the recognition we feel when we connect with animals.

“All my life I have had a passionate interest in animals and art,” says Daniel. “When I contemplate them, I see and feel strongly our own humanity, in the gestures they make, the poses they strike, and the feelings that they evoke in us. I wanted to apply Zen art practices to engage with this question, to connect my own animal nature with the animal world, and hopefully inspire others to do so too.”

About the exhibition – You Are An Animal

A collection of brush and ink paintings produced in 2020 and 2021, celebrating the feeling of seeing an animal.

The Japanese tradition of Zen art seeks a loss of self in the act and in the work. Animals live their lives just like we do – when we look at them, we see ourselves and we lose ourselves in them. When we show our humanity to animals, we are more like them and when they look at us, we feel a common sense of presence in this world.

We live in a world of animals; they offer us wisdom in the many ways of being. Their gaze is our gaze back at us, in the greater community of the great diversity of life.

During the Daniel Barton’s You Are An Animal exhibition 20% of physical sales will be donated to the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA) to support their work policing anti-wildlife poaching laws in Central Africa.

For artwork sales enquiries, please contact Curated by Banchō Program Manager, Tina Wing Kee on curated@banchobar.com.au

(left) Baby Elephant by Daniel Barton; (right) Comorant by Daniel Barton