Troy Quinliven remembered with love and admiration - Part Two

Troy Quinliven impressed at art school (St George TAFE) as a portrait painter and became good friends with another talented artist who gave him a book to read (Dostoevsky) just prior to taking his own life. This had a profound effect and very soon Troy became a voracious reader. Sadly his younger brother died in an early morning accident (while driving to work) at the end of Troy's BFA just before Christmas in 2007. The brother also left a book behind that he had been reading, facedown on the bedside table. For Troy this was a symbol of a life story interrupted. ¹

Kevin walked with Troy each morning over that summer and he worked through his grief during his Honours year with work that became more conceptual and involved books that he burnt, bound, covered in ash and in salt solutions. ¹

Kevin McKay provides us with an explanation:

First Day at Work (above), is a picture of Troy’s younger brother, Clay...The portrait was covered with salt solutions that crystallised. An unintended effect was the image underneath would appear with greater clarity and disappear according to atmospheric humidity. Troy felt this reflected the nature of grief and memory.¹

A painting (below) by Troy made with ash and referencing Mosaccio's Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, was a finalist in the 2008 Blake Prize, and one of his book works was included in Rev Doug Purnell’s 2010 Stations of the Cross exhibition.¹

Kevin, again is able to provide us with a background to the painting.

Troy's best friends, Andy and Rhianna (who was also studying at NAS) were the models for The Expulsion which references the figures of Adam and Eve in the famous Masaccio fresco and their contrasting expressions of physical and mental shame at the consequence of their transgression.¹

Troy's last exhibition was the only joint exhibition Kevin McKay had with Troy.

I viewed Troy's portraits of authors as him identifying with the creative agency behind the stories he read. He had wanted to call the exhibition Epilogue, which is the last chapter in a book. I convinced him to change it to Prologue, which kept the door open for more exhibitions on the literary theme. We had no idea that would indeed be the end.¹

Oil on linen various sizes. These portraits of authors (above) were some of the works in Troy’s last exhibition. (L to R) Top row: Rilke, Tolstoy, Mark Twain Middle: Celine, Henry Miller, Bukowski, Bottom: Nietzsche, Edgar Allen Poe, Moravia.¹

Troy's Prologue Exhibition was held 30 November - 10 December 2016 at Sheffer Gallery 38 Lander St Darlington, NSW.

Kevin McKay recounts for us:

The last portrait Troy painted was of the Spanish poet, Garcia Lorca, whose life was also touched by illness and tragically cut short. I entered this posthumously for the Work on Paper Award at Hazelhurst, Troy’s local Regional Gallery.¹

We conclude today with another remarkably powerful painting by Troy. His best friend, Andy, was the model for the pose and it was painted with ash for another Stations of the Cross exhibition.⁴