May 4, 2016

Graduate carves big future in art

UOW graduate Chris Zanko’s vibrant depictions of classic Australian urban architecture receives cult following.

The streets of suburbia, with their red brick houses, electricity pole-lined streets and rusty Hills Hoist-filled backyards, are not usually the subjects of sellout art. 

Hence, it came as a welcome surprise to Illawarra-based artist Chris Zanko, who graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts from UOW just last year, when his recent exhibition sold out in a mere two hours. 

“It was a real surprise to sell everything. I’m relatively an unknown artist, and I figured people didn’t really know my work.”   

Chris’ artworks of carved wood depicting some of the Illawarra’s Northern Suburbs most iconic local architecture captured the attention of several buyers on the opening night of the group Locals Lonely exhibition held at the Egg and Dart gallery in Thirroul. 

Gallery owner Aaron Fell-Fracasso believes there is a lot of up and coming local talent in the Illawarra. 

“Chris’s work is quite unique. I think the crowd on opening night marveled at the techniques in the works -- they are quite luminous.” 

Chris, who grew up in the region with a mother who is also an artist and a father who is a collector of all things art deco, said he has always had preoccupation with the Australian urban landscape. 

"I love the local history and the older style of architecture, and it seems a lot of people feel the same way.” 

“These days a lot of homes and buildings are being knocked down, so the area is not going to look like this much longer. It's great to be able to capture these beautiful buildings while they're still here.” 

This work is a continuation of Chris’ major university project, in which he depicted the Port Kembla Steelworks using the same techniques.