The Samstag Alumni
The 2000 Anne & Gordon Samstag
International Visual Arts Scholarships
John Harris | Károly Keserü | Marco Masci | David Ralph | Elvis Richardson | Sally-Ann Rowland | Troy Ruffels | Paula Wong
The duplicity apparent in the cheating heart of post-modernity is again invoked in the only other painter in the Samstag class of 2000, David Ralph. The denotative aspect of Ralph's work seamlessly connects formalist photography, photo-realist painting, and the longevity of the surrealist impulse, while connoting a post-Watergate vision of architecturally inspired conspiracy theories, dreamscape settings of a corporate noir, the silences of which are eloquent of an interior monologue on the condition of late capitalism.
The style and technique of Ralph's work mimics the smooth and invisible workings of the modern corporate sector, however these interiors have a distinct retro, even metro look, their aesthetic functionalism the product of a time which perceived of 1984 as the future.
James Moss
from his Samstag catalogue essay;
The World is not Enough
| David Ralph Born 1963, Warrnambool, Victoria |
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| 2000 | Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship MFA, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London, UK |
| 1998 | Master of Fine Art by Research (Painting), Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne |
| 1985 | Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting), Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne |
Triforium 1998
oil on canvas
157 x 114 cm
© the artist
Slippery slope 1999
oil on canvas
117 x 142 cm
© the artist
Resting place 1999
oil on canvas
121 x 142 cm
© the artist