Before it becomes a distant memory I want to put up some photos from the ‘Mid-Century Soirée’ that I attended last month. Held at the famous Walsh Street House in South Yarra,  the cocktail party was organised by Outré Gallery to coincide with US artist Shag’s ‘Inscrutable Mystery Guide’ exhibition.

The Walsh Street House was designed in 1958 by the architect Robin Boyd and is featured in two of Shag’s paintings, one of which was the centrepiece for the evening.

Shag and his painting ‘Dickie Bird’ at the Walsh Street House  Photo: John Raptis

When I found out about this event it was as if the planets had aligned. I’d get to meet one of my favourite artists and experience the Walsh Street House (something I had wanted to do for a while). On top of that it was at cocktail party with such a great theme.  Walking through the front door of the house was like stepping onto the set of a Mad Men episode.

While getting my photograph taken with Shag I learnt that this party was the first time that he himself had visited the house and that his paintings ‘Dickie Bird’ and ‘Robin’s Nest’ were both done from photographs. Shag also confirmed that his painting ‘LA Modern’ is based on the Stahl House (just mirrored) and that the photographer in the painting is the late modernist architectural photographer Julius Shulman.

Sheradyn and I with ShagThought I’d try out one of the Featherston Lounges

It was great to be able to walk through the house (drink in hand) and experience it as it was intended – as an entertaining house. Often when visiting architectural icons in a tour situation it can seem a bit clinical having to follow a ‘Bee-Line’ through the space.

The view of the children’s wing from the courtyard

The view of the parent’s wing and living area from the courtyard (with Bertoia Diamond Chairs in the foreground)

I was in my element with all the amazing detailing. From the cables supporting the roof  and balustrade-less balcony through to the built in joinery and brick floor. I also really loved the lighting both inside the house and in the courtyard – definitely something you can only experience at night time.

To commemorate this event and the ‘Inscrutable Mystery Guide’ exhibition Shag and Outré have released ‘Dickie Bird’ as a limited serigraph print. I think after such an amazing evening I’ll definitely have to get myself one.

Thankyou Outré for organising such a unique and once in a lifetime experience.

Other related posts on My Design Fix:

• Shag Exhibition – Inscrutable Mystery Guide
• Josh Agle (aka Shag)

Below are some more photos from the evening taken by John Raptis. via Desktop Mag 

‘This work is playful, but I’ve tried to throw a couple spanners into what people might expect from my art.  I’ve created 99 small, colorful paintings of tikis, but each tiki bears a symbol.

"Inscrutable Mystery Guide" is actually the little book that accompanies each small tiki painting.  It’s my hope that the books won’t be seen by anyone except the person who owns one of those paintings. I want to bring them into my own little cult and tell them some secrets.

In addition, I’ve created several large, panoramic canvases which will give further clues as to what the whole thing is all about.  In the past year my work has gotten darker and moved into new themes and imagery, but I’m trying to reconcile my old body of work with my new work, and trying not to be as manic depressive and serious as I was in the last year or so.’  - Josh Agle aka Shag

It was also a nice surprise to see Artist’s Proof prints of most of my favourite Shag paintings from previous exhibitions on display. Above Left: ‘Dickie Bird’ (the centrepiece of the Walsh Street House cocktail party) Top Right: ‘An Extraordinary Evening’ (the first Shag painting I ever saw and fell in love with) Above Left: ‘The Relentless Party’, Bottom Right: An original Shag painting from the 90’s

I love the stairs in this one (Hey! I’m an architecture geek – give me a break!) Funnily enough it’s titled ‘The Stairs’

Above Top: ‘The Marauder’ (I’ve got this one hanging proudly on my wall at home) and Bottom: ‘Rose Seidler’s House’

The exhibition is showing in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth:

• Outré Gallery Melbourne: August 14 – September 3
• Outré Gallery Sydney: August 21 – September 10
• The newly opened Outré Gallery Perth: August 28 – September 17

For an in depth review of this exhibition check out the Shagwatch Blog or for more info on Shag and Outré visit:

• www.shag.com
• www.outregallery.com

I’ll follow up this entry shortly with some photos from the Mid-Century soirée with Shag at Robin Boyd’s Walsh Street House so stay tuned…

Josh “Shag” Agle is one of my favourite lowbrow artists. Hailing from America, Shag is best known for his flat perspective, vivid colour paintings depicting lounge and tiki-themed scenes.

His paintings are visually influenced by avant-garde animation of the early fifties and sixties and usually have a subtle sense of humour to them leaving the viewer asking the question, “What’s actually going on in this scene?”

To me his paintings have a cool nostalgic feel, depicting the jet-setting high life of the 1950’s. Another great subtle feature in some of his paintings is his reference to classic mid-century modern houses. A number of his paintings have featured the work of Australian and American mid-century architects such as Robin Boyd, Harry Seidler, John Lautner and Pierre Koenig.

For more info visit www.shag.com

Above: Robin Boyd House II – Robin Boyd

Above: Robin Boyd House II – Robin Boyd

Above: Rose Seidler House – Harry Seidler

Above: Rose Seidler House – Harry Seidler

Above: Malin Residence “Chemosphere” – John Lautner

(I’ll put money on it that the photographer in this painting is a nod to the modernist architectural photographer Julius Shulman who famously photographed the Stahl House)Above: Stahl House (Case Study House #22) – Pierre Koenig (Photo – Julius Shulman)

Related Post:

• Stahl House (Case Study House #22) (1960) – Pierre Koenig