Philippe Le Miere's art takes us on a shape shifting journey through pop culture, where the focus moves from the artist to the viewer. In ‘The Carhill Expressway’, he fuses together two iconic works of Australian art: John Brack’s ‘The car’ (1955) and Jeffrey Smart’s ‘Cahill Expressway’ (1962). Both artists explored the daily commute and in twisting together here, Le Miere continues their voyage into the humorous, modern and strangely sublime. 

Philippe LE MIERE (1975 - )
'The Carhill Expressway' 2024
acrylic on paper
Edition of 50
Image Size: 15 x 20 cm
Dimensions: 21 x 30 cm
Signed: Numbered, titled and signed in margin
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent

(c) The Artist or Assignee

A word about the medium. This work is a pochoir (posh-waar) print. Emerging in late nineteenth-century Paris, pochoir printmaking involves layering and hand-colouring each component of the image. This unmechanized process gives each edition its own ‘aura’ while requiring significant time and skill. By the 1930s, pochoir had largely faded with the rise of more efficient, mechanized printing techniques. Master printmaker Jeffrey Makin was the first to connect Le Miere's experimental process with this nearly forgotten early twentieth-century practice. Subtle disturbances in the painted surface, with elements slightly misregistered, enhance its textural appeal. Once embraced by Matisse and Picasso, pochoir is now revived by Le Miere, uniting art and craftsmanship to imbue each piece with the essence of an original painting.