Stephen Kaldor

‘Front Veranda’: Oil on canvas

He is primarily a realist although he is not afraid to experiment with other styles. His turnout of work is substantial and, although his subject matter is varied, a lot of it delivers an anti war message (a message that is close to his heart, having lived through the revolution in Hungary). His work has won many awards and he has twice been a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.

TU -When and how did you get into painting?
I have been painting/sketching all my life but not seriously until about the 1970's when my wife gave me a set of oil paints for my birthday. I had a young and growing family at the time and a busy solo suburban medical practice, but I got hooked very quickly. I felt that I needed some formal training and became an evening student at the National Art School (East Sydney Tech) between ‘72 and ‘76. I enjoyed Art School tremendously, but I must admit that most of my art training started after Art School and was self motivated.

‘Bus Stop no2: Egg tempera on board. This is part of a series Stephen did on loneliness within an urban setting. He says that bus stops are great places to observe people “because they are private and public places” and you can see how people try to maintain their own personal space within a public one.

Essentially my approach has always been to look at a problem/issue and solve it to the best of my ability. Style and technique is secondary to the desire to communicate whatever the particular painting is about.

TU - What is your experience of the art establishment in Australia and do you think it is hard for talented artists to get known?
It is not easy to break into the Art establishment in Australia. Being a migrant and part-timer is not helpful either, but if you’ve got talent and something to say I believe one can succeed by persevering despite the knocks. In this sense I think we are not unique.

‘Smoko’: Oil on masonite. Again this is about loneliness within an urban setting. The graffiti in the background shows that you cannot stop people from expressing themselves. Stephen says that “graffiti is always a sign of life.”

TU - How do you think the Art industry in Australia could be improved?
What I find particularly galling is the scarceness of public, as opposed to private galleries, venues where artists could show their work without having to consider their saleability. I am not against private galleries making a reasonable profit on my work, but I think we could use a lot more non-profit artist run spaces at accessible venues. The few free artist run venues have next to nil budgets so they can do very little promotion and consequently the works displayed there are only seen by a few fellow artists and not by the public at large... it is a bit like preaching to the converted.

As the cost of advertising is very expensive I am genuinely curious about the impact of the Net, and Net-magazines like this, on art promotion.

‘John Santry’: Oil on masonite. This painting was a finalist in the Doug Moran competition.

TU - Have your experiences growing up in Hungary influenced or affected your artwork?
I don’t know that having a Hungarian childhood by necessity influences my artwork any more than if I had been brought up in Wagga Wagga. The official art of my childhood in Hungary was social realism, ie. Realist art steeped in propaganda. I do paint mostly in realist mode but this is by choice and not due to my background. At least I don’t think so.

TU - What is the hope for the future with regards to your art.
I retired from medicine in ‘91 and since then I have been able to paint more or less full-time (I do a bit of art teaching part-time). I hope to continue to convey my slightly tongue-in-cheek view of the world in paintings.I feel very strongly about many issues and not so strongly about a lot more. The path my life has taken so far is obviously reflected in my work and will continue to do so. As Ned Kelly said before they hung him: “Such is life...”

‘The Zealot’: Egg tempera on board. Stephen says that this painting “is about the ability to wield power and the willingness to destroy beauty if it expresses an opinion contrary to that of the Zealot’s.”

David Cotter