Mike Parr dropped by gallerist Anna Schwartz after political performance piece

One of Australia’s most high-profile contemporary artists Mike Parr has been dropped by his long-term gallerist Anna Schwartz, after a performance last Saturday where he painted the words “Israel” and “apartheid”.

Parr, 78, one of Australia’s leading performance artists and printmakers who has been represented by the Melbourne-based gallerist for 36 years, received an email the morning after his performance, saying his “relationship with the gallery had been ‘terminated’”.

Artist Mike Parr at Sydney’s Carriageworks.Credit: James Alcock

Schwartz owns an eponymous art gallery in Melbourne’s fashionable Flinders Lane, representing well-known contemporary artists such as Angelica Mesiti, Clement Meadmore, Emily Floyd and Chiharu Shiota.

Schwartz’s husband Morry owns Schwartz Media and is the publisher of the Quarterly Essay, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly magazine and Black Inc books.

Pictured: Work created by Mike Parr on Saturday, believed to have led to gallerist Anna Schwartz deciding to no longer represent him.

Parr said his performance on Saturday night, drew on statements from the London Review of Books, related to the latest conflict in the Middle East.

“I am sure this is in response to the work on Saturday...I am incredibly naive and feel I have been blinded by my relationship with Morry and Anna, I thought it was a friendship, but that’s no longer possible,” Parr said.

The celebrated artist, who has garnered international and national attention since his first exhibition under Schwartz’s banner in 1987, said he was deeply saddened by the split.

“I’m an artist who does difficult work,” the celebrated artist said.

“I don’t think I could have produced my art without Anna’s moral support. If I am like Vincent van Gogh, she was my Theo van Gogh [Van Gogh’s younger art dealer brother and supporter].

“I have needed that emotional and financial support and Anna had the intelligence and dedication to provide that support,” he said.

Gallerist Anna Schwartz with artist Mike Parr’s work in 2017.Credit: Peter Braig

“What is becoming of Israel and what is becoming of the Palestinian people has now become a crisis for all of us, and openness, the ability to face the truth of this crisis and compassion are paramount,” Parr also said.

Anna Schwartz was contacted for comment. The gallery’s homepage announces “Anna Schwartz no longer represents Mike Parr” beneath the promotion for his latest work, Sunset Claws.

Parr was told his current work of mixed media and installations would remain on exhibition until December 16, and he was to remove his work from the gallery before the end of the year.

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