Page 60 - 2022-07-01VogueLivingar

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hen Ken Done mounted
his first solo show
of paintings in 1980,
the genial Sydneysider
Whad already spent two
decades as a creative director at advertising
agencies. He was a highly successful ad
man, holding roles at top firms in New
York and London. But he didn’t feel truly
fulfilled by the work.
Luckily for Done, that first exhibition at
Holdsworth Gallery was a success. He ended
his advertising career and began to paint
intensively, developing an exuberant
and youthful visual identity that drew
comparisons with Keith Haring and David
Hockney but was unmistakably Australian.
“Ken truly influenced the look and feel
of modern Australia,” says Romance Was
Born cofounder and Done collaborator
Anna Plunkett. “His use of colour
and technique is unapologetically ‘Ken
Done’ — it’s instantly recognisable.”
It’s perhaps not surprising that many
think of Done as a designer, rather than
a painter: after all, his iconography has
adorned countless garments and accessories
over the years. However, creating wildly
successful clothing ranges was not part
of the original plan.
“I wanted to continue simply to paint,
but at that first exhibition, I made 12
T-shirts to give to the press and there was a very strong response to
them, so I made 12 more,” he says.
By the mid-1980s, Done and his wife Judy had formed a design
company and begun manufacturing T-shirts, bags, bed linen and
more. People of all ages loved the merchandise — not just in
Australia, but also in major overseas markets, such as Japan.
The Japanese were so enamoured that, in 1988, Tokyo fashion
magazine Hanako put a Done painting on its cover and kept doing
so every week for the next 15 years.
Back at home, Done continued to design and paint. He says his
smartest move during that busy time was learning how to delegate
so he could focus on being creative. Since then, his vast output has
been the subject of more than 100 solo exhibitions, including
a major 1994 retrospective, Ken Done: The Art of Design, at Sydney’s
Powerhouse Museum.
Done says being involved in mainstream design and fine art
simultaneously is like being a musician who is known publicly as a
pop singer but who writes operas in his spare time. Critics recognise
his landscape, still-life and nude paintings as significant, even if
many of the admirers who wear his T-shirts are unaware of them.
70 vogueliving.com.au
THIS PAGE Pastel Reef mesh gloves from the
Romance Was Born x Ken Done collaboration.
Romance Was Born x Ken Done Batik Reef
T-shirt and Reef Garden wide-leg pants.
OPPOSITE PAGE Yellow beach 1 (2016) artwork
by Ken Done.
Although he is quick to credit Judy
for much of his commercial success,
Done displayed ambition and talent
from a very young age, leaving high school
at just 14 to attend the National Art
School in East Sydney. “I still have
a lot of that enthusiastic and bright
14-year-old in me,” he says. “I’m a very
optimistic person.”
He is also a natural collaborator and,
thanks to his time in the advertising
world, he knows how to create work
that synergises with a diverse range of
brands. Team-ups have become a major
part of his creative output in recent
years: he has painted one of BMW’s
Art Cars, served as creative director
leading the design of the Powerhouse’s
successful flagship restaurant, and has
worked with both Sheridan and Kip&Co
on lively ranges of bed linen.
The latest joint project is a clothing
range with Romance Was Born’s
cofounders, Plunkett and Luke Sales.
Readers who grew up with Done’s work
in their homes and who may have since
bought his clothes for their own children
are sure to find this high-fashion
collaboration thrilling. Plunkett and
Sales say it’s an opportunity to recapture
youthful feelings and get frocked up
at the same time.
“Ken and Judy have already made so many cool things,
so we tried to use our knowledge of textiles and development to
push his designs somewhere else while keeping the same spirit
alive,” says Plunkett.
That means party dresses, pool slides and lustrous Hawaiian
shirts for women, and a range of upmarket unisex accessories
including a picnic rug and a tote. A pair of pink socks adorned with
Done fish will please fashionistas of all ages.
That’s not all that Done has been working on recently. His work
is currently projected on the exterior of Customs House in Sydney
as part of the Vivid Festival, and he is prepping for a big painting
exhibition in August at Ngununggula, a new fine art gallery that
opened in the NSW Southern Highlands late last year. PHOTOGRAPHER: COURTESY OF THE KEN DONE GALLERY
Visitors to Ngununggula should prepare to be surprised. “Some
artists spend the last 20 years of their lives painting the same
picture, but I like the challenge of new things,” says Done.
He says he feels uncomfortable when people use words such as
‘icon’ and ‘legend’ to describe him. Instead, he says: “I think I’m
a much better painter at 80 than I was at 40. The overriding thing
is to get better at what I do.” kendone.com.au