Paul Zika

Abstract

The primary objective of the Study Leave period last year was to initiate a new body of studio-based research into an ongoing analysis of pictorial space. Following a major survey of artistic output over the last twenty years in early 2009, Zika undertook a major review of that work and potential sites for new field trip study in Europe. The research employs a radical fusion of surface and form, drawing upon various decorative systems within architectural interiors – particularly where the synthesis of architecture, sculpture, painting and applied art are combined in a united scenography. So the field trips concentrated on Baroque, Rococo, Art Nouveau and Islamic sites in Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, St Petersburg, Granada, Cordoba, Valencia and Rome. Paul Zika has been teaching at the Tasmanian School of Art since 1979, and has regular solo exhibitions in Melbourne.