Rhino statues a hit with Dubbo councillor

Local News | Daily Liberal
25 April 2013

DUBBO'S three sculptures of a Southern Black rhino cow and calf have been publicly praised by the Dubbo City Council's deputy mayor, Cr Ben Shields. Cr Shields placed on the record his appreciation of the statues during the comments and matters of urgency section of the April council meeting on Monday evening.

"They are a tourist attraction in their own right," Cr Shields said.

"A lot of people know Dubbo is the home to Taronga Western Plains Zoo," he said. "Especially now as we have those great, fantastic statues."

Cr Kevin Parker said he too was taken by the impact of the rhino sculptures.

"I am just amazed by the number of people sitting on them and having their photos taken," he said "We could look at an animal theme instead of a Dream theme."

The creators of the scupltures, Sydney-based artists, Gillie and Marc Schattner said they were so happy to create the sculptures.

"Every animal (sculpture) is a memento to the rhinos that were lost, a constant reminder of this endangered species and a message to protect threatened animals."

> Read full article

Rhinos pop up across the city

Dubbo Photo News | Dubbo Weekender
12 April 2013

The city of Dubbo is now home to three stunning Black Rhino sculptures created by artists Gillie and Marc Schattner. The sculptures, unveiled today at three locations, further link Taronga Western Plains Zoo and the city it has called home for 36 years, acknowledging a proud shared history.

“These sculptures have been a labour of love for artists Gillie and Marc, who last year offered to create a work of art for the zoo in memory of the rhinos that passed away here after a mystery illness in 2012,” Taronga Western Plains Zoo General Manager Matthew Fuller said.

“The Zoo extended this very generous opportunity to Dubbo City Council, and as a result today we’re unveiling three Black Rhino mother and calf sculptures at the Visitor Information Centre, the Dubbo Regional Airport and the front of the zoo.”

Mr Fuller said the three installations, which include landscaping and signage, not only link Dubbo and the zoo, they highlight the plight of rhino species in the wild. > Read article

See installation and article at Taronga Zoo Dubbo >

> Click to view final artwork

MINI Paceman advertising campaign

12 April 2013

Gillie and Marc and 3 other artists were required to create a new piece of work “interpreting the Mini Paceman and its new slant on things.”

The artwork will be displayed on George St, Sydney on a billboard measuring 15.4m x 5m for 1 week. 

The entire creative process was filmed to capture their unique story. These content pieces will play out across FTA, STV & Digital including Mini & Ignite website and Facebook pages.

The artwork will also be on display in a Mini art-space in Melbourne. This may be in its full size or a re-versioned smaller piece. 

Check out the story here: > minipaceman.com.au

Papparazzi from the Pound

The bronze canine photographers have attracted hundreds of professional photographers of the homosapien variety, provoking precisely some of the camera
flashing pandemonium that the sculpture refers to. > more

Paparazzi Dogs

Exhibited at Melbourne’s Fed Square
7 January - 30 April 2013.

Dimensions
Life Size

Materials
Bronze

Man meets dog meets paparazzo... Specially commissioned and made for Federation Square, they’re a comment on the prevalence of paparazzi in popular culture. Visitors can go there to take their own photos with the paparazzi, allowing them to become their own celebrity.

The dog hybrids represent the pack nature of the paparazzi.

> South Bank Local News

> www.fedsquare.com/events/paparazzi-dogs/

Creative Power Couple: Gillie and Marc Schattner

David Rex-Livingston of the Rex-Livingston Gallery opened the ‘Go Dogs Go - paintings and sculpture’ exhibition by Gillie and Marc Schattner on Thursday night.

It had been a long day and I was feeling a little worn out so I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the gallery.

As I mixed with the crowd I gazed at the creations being exhibited.

The bronze sculptures of dog/human hybrids sitting on or beside other animals exuded warmth and good feeling. The paintings drew me in with their detail leaving me fascinated and interested.

The artworks created a relationship [with me] to the extent that the subjects depicted were no longer that of dog/human hybrids but of kindred spirits.

There was something unique about these artworks - Gillie and Marc. Talking to them it became apparent that they were in unison with one another, collaborating side by side with their creations, with some works taking more than a year to complete.

Impressive enough one would think, however, to my wonder Gillie explained, ‘I’m left handed, Marc right handed, so when painting we start at opposite sides of the canvas’.

Gillie and Marc are acclaimed worldwide with their works held in collections both nationally and internationally. Organisations who have commissioned artworks include the Australian Zoo, the Sydney Children's hospital and the Hilton Hotel, Singapore.

The exhibition is on view at the Rex-Livingston Gallery until 28 November. > more

Australian Art Collector

November 2012

Gillie and Marc Unviel Eight Metre Tall Commission in Beijing

Husband and wife collaborative duo Gillie and Marc Schattner have unveiled a new commission.

The pair was commissioned to create a giant nude dog/man hybrid holding a camera for the Ying Ren Hotel in Beijing. The hotel is located in Huairou district, the Hollywood of China. An eight metre enamel sculpture called Paparazzi Boy photographs guests as they enter the hotel foyer and projects the photo onto the lobby walls. The project took one year to complete. > more

Artist's Palette

November 2012

Click here to download and read pdf's

Insight Gillie and Marc Schattner
Demo Gillie and Marc Schattner

Mishap puts show in bubble bag

The Telegraph
19 October 2012

The Sculpture The Travellers Have Arrived at Marks Park, Bondi

The work is an attempt to transform ordinary matter into something extraodinary.

Loss of mother and calf inspires artists

Daily Liberal
30 July 2012

AN OFFER to create three sculptures of a rhino cow and calf for Taronga Western Plains Zoo and the Dubbo City Council were generated by the death of four white rhinos at the zoo earlier this year. Paddington, Sydney artists Gillie and Marc Schattner are international award-winning artists and Archibald Prize finalists and behind the generous offer to the city > more

Paparazzi Boy - Gillie and Marc's Biggest Sculpture Yet!

July 2012

An eight meter bright red enamel sculpture will photograph the guests as they enter the foyer of the soon be opened Ying Ren Hotel in Beijing, China. Paparazzi Boy is a dogman hybrid camera man with an impeccably sculptured body – boasting an enviable ‘six pack’ - and is the latest commissioned installation by award winning and internationally acclaimed artists, Gillie and Marc Schattner.

It Takes Two Sculpture Installed in Paddington

July 2012

Acquired by Woollahra Council for permanent display in Paddington, Sydney. This sculpture is installed on the corner of Glenmore Road and Cascade Street for all to enjoy.

Sculpture for Australia Zoo in memory of Steve Irwin by Gillie and Marc

Title: Run For Your Life 2012

For permanent installation at Australia Zoo, QLD. This massive bronze crocodile was created in memory of Steve Irwin to be unveiled on Steve Irwin Day, November 15, 2012 - a day for remembering the Crocodile Hunter.

Canine sculpture sends message

The Maitland Mercury
31 May 2011

A mammoth bronze sculpture of a suit-wearing dog picking up his own poo has taken up residence at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Created by Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner – and inspired by their golden retriever Moby – Fetch Boy is a three-metre artwork loaded with an environmental message. > more

Hare of the Dog

The West Australian
9 February 2011

Husband and wife duo Marc and Gillie Schattner take The Road Less Travelled with their latest exhibition featuring their trademark human, dog and rabbit hybrids.The show, which references the Schattners' personal roads in love and life in vibrant, larger-than-life artworks, opens at 6.30pm tomorrow and runs until February 24 at Linton and Kay Contemporary, Hay Street, Subiaco.

Dog-Man Sculptures Have Aussies Asking, 'Mutt or Smut?'
Larry Knowles

AOL NEWS
17 November 2010

Two Australian artists are turning heads Down Under with provocative art depicting human figures with dog heads. The works have inspired debate among Australians, who are asking whether the art is pornographic or a perversion of the senses.

Husband and wife duo Marc and Gillie Schattner, of Sydney, recently wrapped up their latest exhibition http://www.gillieandmarc.com/current_exhibition.html , titled "Returning to the Animal Within," featuring 20 paintings and five sculptures of dog-headed humans at play and in repose. While the pieces represent a shared whimsy between man and dog -- a portrait of a dog man playing a guitar, for example -- it's the sculptures that take the playfulness and add an edgy sexual element.

One of the sculptures depicts two nude dog men knelt over ice cream cones, while another, titled "They Weren't Really in Love but That Didn't Matter," shows a naked dog couple having intercourse.

"Nudity always gives that shock value, but it's a natural, normal thing," Gillie Schattner told AOL News. "And it's a very loving pose they're in," she added, referring to the dog couple. A third sculpture, portraying a nude dog man on all fours savoring a cup of coffee, has garnered the most attention and criticism for the Schattners. The piece, first displayed in front of a gallery in Sydney in March 2009, is anatomically correct, with a penis that checks in at 40 centimeters. Within hours of being put on display, the sculpture, dubbed "Good Boy," had drawn the attention of passers-by, some of whom took offense to the work. According to the Sunday Times of Perth, the police were called in to investigate an obscenity charge. The media followed.

"Art or Smut?" asked the Daily Telegraph of Sydney. "Dogged by Controversy," read a headline in the West Australian.

When "Good Boy" went on display at a gallery in Perth three months later, gallery owner Linton Partington told WAToday.com.au, "We've had many an angry look and quite a few complaints about the 40-cm penis, but thankfully the people of Perth seem much more open minded than Sydney because so far there's been no visit from the police." The sculpture, which was excluded from the Schattners' latest exhibition, has been on tour throughout Australia since its introduction, eliciting a mix of smiles, shrugs and the occasional frown.

"Everyone sort of knows him," Gillie said of "Good Boy." "He's infamous."

The Schattners are hoping to find a buyer for "Good Boy," the title of which was inspired by the Schattners' own dog, Moby.

Beautiful Bodies

The Sun Herald
14 November 2010

ART SYDNEY issued a press release last week inviting media to snap "Gillie and Marc's controversially censored 3m high Fetch Boy 'pick up your dog poo' Sculpture", which is displayed outside the fair's entrance.
 
Asked why and who was censoring, a spokeswoman said the artists, Gillie and Marc Schattner, had decided to clothe the statue after a  sculpture of a  half-man, half-dog bending over naked outside Richard Martin gallery in Woollahra last year attracted the odd complaint.
 
She was adamant Art Sydney hadn't requested the beast's genitals be covered and then said Fetch Boy was a tongue-in-cheek comment about cleaning up after one's canine. But Gillie Schattner said they offered a large statue of two dogs "making love", They weren't in love but that didn't really matter, which was turned down by Art Sydney.
 
"They didn't want any of the nudes because families [would be] coming there," she said. So the Schattners compromised with a clothed dog. "The naked body is beautiful as far as we are concerned," she said. Pity the organisers don't agree. > more

Unleash your animal within

Port Phillip Leader
19 October 2010

ART and pet lovers can have the best of both worlds at South Melbourne’s Nexus Modern Art Gallery. The exhibition, Returning to the Animal Within, combines the work of husband and wife team Gillie and Marc Schattner. On show until Thursday, visitors are allowed to bring their dogs to the exhibition which presents more than 20 paintings and firbreglass structures.

The artists want to encourage people to ‘‘start thinking more like a dog’’. ‘‘Turn off your phone, switch off Twitter, have a roll in the grass and honour the spirit of the dog to show us a better way of being a human,’’ Mrs Schattner said.

‘‘We have incorporated dog heads with human bodies to reflect the strong bond between humans and dogs; the sculptures represent man and dog as one.

‘‘We can learn a lot about love, friendship and happiness from dogs.’’

Eclectic Works on Display

Canberra Times
18 October 2010

Contemporanea is on show for two weeks at Aarwun Gallery. Twenty-four of the 33 artists have been confirmed as coming to the opening night. Aarwun Gallery owner Robert Stephens says, ‘‘Biennale – many people will give you different ideas. My term for it is that it’s going outside the square with art.’’ The exhibition is only being shown at two venues in Australia, including Aarwun. ‘‘It’s in Melbourne right now from October 7 to 19 at Smart Artz Gallery. It’s had a fantastic response,’’ Stephens says. There are more than 100 pieces in the exhibition and Stephens says, ‘‘Some of it is quite controversial. There’s a statue, three metres by two metres, of a man with a dog’s head called Goodboy .’’ The striking piece is by Gillie and Marc Schattner and Stephens says it was rejected by some galleries.

Canine sculpture sends message

Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park
11 -14 November 2010

Gillie  and Marc will be creating a uniquely designed piece, specifically for Art Sydney  2010, entitled "He  thought this was going to be totally out of character but there's a first time  for everything". The  3m  high sculpture will be an addition to their current catalogue of  work "Returning to the Animal Within."

'We, the  contemporary artist pull apart the world, so it can be put back together as  something different.' Gillie and  Marc Schattner

Their art uses a colourful and exuberant meshing of  Pop Art and figurative expressionism to explore themes of contentment and happiness. Their recent dog series was inspired by  research that showed that if you want to live a happy life, the single most  important thing you can do is get a dog.

Returning to the Animal Within

Herald Sun Weekend
9 October 2010

The Returning to the Animal Within exhibition encourages audiences to take a break from the material world to enjoy the simple things in life through the perspective of a dog. Gillie and Marc's paintings will be accompanied by large fibreglass sculptures and photographic prints in this exhibition. Dogs don't wear Rolexes, they don't drive Jags. They don't accumulate frequent-flyer miles or have share portfolios, and they never read the real estate pages on Saturday morning.

Dogs love to go for walks and smell and taste the things they find. They love the way it feels when they stick their head our of the car window, or catch a dirty tennis ball for the millionth time. They love it when you rub their tummy. Dogs don't ask what something costs. They don't ask where you got it from, or whether it's the latest or the one that everyone's talking about, or whether you can only get it on special import or whether you can really afford it.Gillie and Marc take this philosophy like a stick and run with it.

The end of expression?

Nine to Five
6 September 2010

While Paddington-based artists Gillie and Marc Schattner tend to focus on the mixture of animal and man, children became another focus when a sculpture made by the pair, titled Good Boy, was claimed to be offensive by parents who walked their children to school past the sculpture. Displayed at Richard Martin Art,the sculpture was placed on a ledge outside the gallery due to space restrictions. The sculpture, a nude man on all fours with the head of a dog, carries a 41cm penis.

“[The meaning behind the work] is all about going back to the simple things in life and being materialistic and just enjoying what’s right in front of you,” Gillie told NINETOFIVE. “We think that dog’s bring out our humanity and make us humans.”

Gillie said the sculpture, which has traveled around Australia, found the most controversy in Sydney. “Nude art has been around for centuries, there’s nothing wrong with a nude body. If you started censoring art it would hurt the arts. All artists need to be able to freely express themselves. So we say keep art accessible to the public, don’t censor it, and let them judge for themselves whether they like it or not.”

While the debate over artistic freedom and consorship continues, it’s clear that even the art world have differing opinions. > more

CONTEMPORANEA

GROUP EXHIBITION OF THE FLORENCE BIENNALE ARTISTS OF AUSTRALIA
October 2010

Lovers of Gillie and Marcs' work will have the bonus of being able to see the infamous Good Boy sculpture on show in Melbourne at the very same time as their solo show at Nexus Modern Art Gallery, only a couple of blocks away.

It is a feature in Contemporanea, a group exhibition of the Florence Biennale Artists of Australia, being held from 7 -19 October at Smart artZ Gallery in South Melbourne and 23 October – 6 November at Aarwun Gallery in Canberra. Gillie and Marc were invited to participate in the Florence Biennale last year.

Good Boy is a fibreglass sculpture of a giant kneeling man with a dogs head and a 41cm penis, drinking a cup of coffee. When exhibited in Sydney last year, the sculpture created a stir with some viewers who complained to authorities about its overt display.

“If you look historically through art, nudes have been accepted and admired for hundreds of years. Good Boy is about man and dog becoming one, and I hope people will enjoy and admire him in this new setting,” Gillie said.

STOP PRESS: Jesus a Skateboarder?

ART MONTHLY AUSTRALIA Art Notes Issue 225
November 2009

Congratulations to wife and husband artist-duo Gillie and Marc Schattner whose contemporary blend of tragicomic chic earned them first prize for the Biennale of Chianciano, 13 to 27 September 2009, Tuscany, Italy, for their painting He'll never be famous but he doesn't give a damn, he's a musician, which features a Dalmatian-headed figure playing guitar. This work was chosen above 150-plus pre-selected entries worldwide. The Schattners are not averse to incorporating dog-headed beings in their work. Their life-like silicon and fibreglass sculptural piece, The baby that shouldn't be, bound for December's Florence Biennale, portrays an oversized dog-headed naked baby (asking us to consider all the world's unwanted, neglected, impoverished babies. And controversy lingers with their work, If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder, which features in the inaugural 2009 Blake Prize Director's Cut, an online exhibition which extends the Prize exhibition, 7 October to 7 November > more

2009 Biennale of Chianciano, Tuscany, Italy

Gillie and Marc win first Prize!
October 2009

Gillie and Marc win first prize at the 2009 Biennale of Chianciano Tuscany, Italy.
The Biennale of Chianciano 2009 is a momentous show of contemporary art set in the beautiful Tuscan province of Siena, an area steeped in rich cultural diversity and artistically inspiring scenery. And the birthplace to Dante Alighieri, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Galileo.

The exhibition incorporates some of the finest contemporary painting, sculpture and drawing in the world. A renown-judging panel chose 150 participants from thousands of contemporary artists. There were artists participating from countries as diverse as the Philippines, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, England, Australia, the USA and many more. The artists have participated in numerous exhibitions and can be found in museums and in the most important private collections around the world. Similarly, the movements represented were equally varied from the delicate tones of Impressionism to the gestural marks of Abstract Expressionism. The esteemed international jury panel was won over by the painting from husband and wife team, Gillie and Marc Schattner, and awarded it first prize. The winning painting was titled; He’ll never be famous but he doesn’t give a damn, he’s a musician, a portrait of a young guitarist with the head of a Dalmatian. Gillie and Marc have also been included this week in the Blake Prize Directors Cut exhibition with their controversial sculpture of Jesus riding a skateboard. The sculpture is titled; If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder.

Gillie and Marc are also invited to exhibit in the 2009 Florence Biennale, which opens in December.

Out and About

The West Australian
29 July 2009

Gillie and Marc's controversial artistic offering, The Dog in us all, opened on Friday night.

A gallery full of guests spilled out of the new space for Linton and Kay, Contemporary, in Subiaco. The show was the perfect start to the bright future of the intimate gallery.

The pair who paint together on the same canvas, have taken a colourful exploration around the idea of unconditional love through man's best friend and assigned their dog subjects human activities and personalities.

Canine art is doggone

Western Suburbs Weekly
29 July 2009

SYDNEY artists Gillie and Marc Schattner are sick of dogs and say they will be steering clear of canine subject matter in their future endeavours. The couple’s latest exhibition The Dog in Us All, showing at Linton and Kay Contemporary in Subiaco, attracted nation-wide attention when it debuted earlier in the year, largely because of a huge sculpture entitled Good Boy. It depicted a naked man with the head of a dog posed on all fours and sipping a cappuccino. The Schattners attributed the furore that erupted to serendipitous timing and placement – the sculpture was displayed on the pavement outside a gallery that was next door to a childcare facility and the exhibition occurred at the same time as Bill Henson’s controversial photographic exhibition. “Good Boy was supposed to be fun and light-hearted, people probably took it too seriously,” Gillie said. Marc said that at the time of the exhibition people had a heightened sense of morality that played into a right wing concept of art versus porn. “We had some really interesting interpretations of Good Boy as the castration of man and as a feminist statement,” he said.But the Schattners were no strangers to the canine connection, with much of their previous work exploring the concept of the duality of man and dog, including their finalist entry into the Archibald Prize, and they say their intention with The Dog in Us All exhibition was to expound on the theme in a whimsical and humorous manner. Although they may not be exploring the subject matter of dogs anytime soon, the Schattners are not shying away from controversy, with some of their new work including a sculpture of Jesus riding a skateboard. “A lot of the new works we’re doing are more and more challenging,” Marc said. “As contemporary artists, it is our obligation to challenge.”Good Boy is yet to be sold.

The Dog in us all

Linton and Kay Contemporary Gallery
24 July -13 August 2009

A huge sculpture of a naked man on all fours with a dog's head has caused a stir on the stylish streets of Subiaco. The three metre tall, half-man half-dog artwork is part of The Dog In Us All exhibition at Linton and Kay Contemporary gallery on Hay Street, but one appendage in particular has generated the most complaints.

The sculpture takes pride of place on the footpath, and has caused traffic chaos as drivers crane their necks to have a good look at the unusual work. Called Good Boy, the figure's 40cm long penis caused a major controversy when the sculpture was shown on a footpath in Sydney. Mothers walking their children to a nearby day care centre were appalled by the image. At the time it caused a media frenzy, with many comparing the work to controversial artist Bill Henson's images of young children in various states of undress. But so far Good Boy has failed to offend as many people in Perth, leading the husband and wife artist team Gillie and Marc Shattner to conclude that West Australians were a more liberal and accepting lot than Sydneysiders.

The good, the bad and the ugly
Gillie and Marc Schattner, artists

The West Australian Perth
18 July 2009

Doggies are non-judgmental

GOOD ...
CANINE COMPANIONS Who else in this world will lie at your feet while your undies are around your ankles as you sit on the toilet? Doggies are non-judgemental, loving and caring. Our golden retriever Moby is 10 years old. He has the most powerful nose in the world but you'll never see him holidng it as we exit the toilet. Good boy !

GYM JUNKIES We walk in feeling fat and walk out feeling fantastic. How could we not? Our trainer Sam is ex Mr World ! Plus we get to eat the full fat muffins for just an extra half-hour of running on the treadmill.

POACHED EGGS ON WEEKENDS We walk to our favourite coffeed shop in Darlinghurst, Sydney which seats only about 10 people. Eating poached eggs with strong black coffee for whatever reason stimulates us to brainstorm about new art projects.

For the love of a dog

Post Newspaper Perth
18 July 2009

"My ambition in life it to be the person my dog thinks I am."
This sweet profundity inspired Marc and Gillie's exhibition, The Dog In Us All, and is at odds with the heated debate it has inspired. The Schattner's fibreglass sculpture of a nude man with a dog's head, titled Good Boy, comes hot on the heels of nationwide angst sparked by Bill Henson's photograph of a nude 13 year-old.Surprisingly, the objections to the Schattners' artwork are about seeing a man's penis, not the subjugation or man or the anthropomorphsing of dogs.

THE DOG IN US ALL - It Must be Love

xPress Street Mag - eye 4 arts
17 July 2009

The Dog In Us All is on at Linton and Kay Contemporary Gallery, 123 Hay Street, Subiaco, from Friday, July 24 til Saturday, August 8.
For over 14,00 years, dogs and humans have lived closely together, so much so that popular culture has labeled canines as 'man's best friend'. Artists have long been fascinated with these four legged creatures and their relationship with man has been well documented. Sydney based artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, continue this tradition of documenting our four-legged friends, with the latest exhibition, The Dog In Us All.

DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY
Words Steven Hounsome

The West Australian Perth - The Wire Lift Out
16 July 2009

A giant kneeling man with the head of a dog and a 41 cm penis is likely to turn heads in any setting, but when he is situated on a Sydney street, near a childcare centre, it can spark a furore. Such was the discovery of artistic duo Gillie and Marc Schattner.

'We had complaints from all around the world," Marc says. "The people and the newspapers came out ... people argued it was pornography, but nudity has been in art for a long time.'

Perth audiences will have a chance to judge the work for themselves when it is exhibited in WA as part of a themed exhibition - The Dog In Us All. The selection of paintings and sculputures all feature man's best friend behaving in a decidedly human way; juggling balls, smoking cigars, or trudging besuited to work in a manner reminiscent of John Brack's Collins Street 5pm.But it is a far cry from the art of William Wegman where canines are anthropomorphised purely for comic effect.

'When we witness the devastation that man can cause to his environment and his fellow man, we think it's of crucial importance to show another side of humanity,'Gillie explains. 'We've given the dogs human personalities to show they're the humans we want to be,'

Inside Cover
Proust Questionnaire

The West Australian Perth - Page 2
8 July 2009

Gillie Schattner and Husband Marc Schattner are sculptors. Last year, their Good Boy sculpture caused outrage when it was shown in leafy Woollahra in Sydney. Today, it will be erected outside the Linton and Kay Gallery in Hay Street, Subiaco. You won't be able to miss it. Gillie filled out IC's Proust Questionnaire.
Age: 43
First job: Making coffee. It's still the first job of the day.
Defining moment: Realising that you can be a mother, wife, business owner and artist without going completely insane.
I love: Everything my personal trainer tells me I shouldn't
I loathe: My personal trainer. He tortures me for fun!
The person that had the greatest influence on me: My 4th grade teacher who told me I wasn't good at painting.
Why I love my home town (Sydney) : Because it's not London. I was born there and it drizzles almost 365 days a year.
My advice: Never marry anyone who snores, never sell out unless it's for a six-figure sum and never, under any circumstance, believe what you read in the paper.

Good Boy

By Maria Noakes

The Sunday Times Perth - STM Arts
28 June 2009

You would be hard pressed to find a husband and wife more in sync and more in love than Gillie and Marc Schattner.. The Sydney duo share not only a love of eachother and their two children, but also of art. And what is most remarkable about these painters and sculptors is that they work side by side, literally. The Schattners paint together with Gillie on the left and Marc on the right. "We do get up, and we might change sides and I might say, 'You've missed a bit', but that's kind of how it works," Gillie says.
The creative couple admit their working relationship is a little unusual

Maria Noakes, in STM Entertainment
PerthNow - Perth,WA,Australia
YOU would be hard-pressed to find a husband and wife more in sync and more in love than Gillie and Marc Schattner. The Sydney duo share a love not only of > more

Barking Mad - Or a Weird and Wonderful Perth Arts Scene

The Sunday Times Perth
21 June 2009

A giant sculpture that caused an uproar in Sydney is bound for Perth. Titled, The Good Boy, the Fibreglass figure has the head of a dog and the naked body of a man, complete with genitals. At 1.8m high and 3.2m long, the sculpture and its generously proportioned appendage will be hard to miss when they go on display outside Subiaco gallery Linton and Kay Contemporary next month. Artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, said their sculpture, part of the exhibition, The Dog in Us All, was never meant to offend.

"The point we're making and the whole idea, is to show the relationship between dog and man, Mr Schattner said. "it isn't trying to be offensive and, quite frankly, it's a penis. Half of the world's got one, you shouldn't be too upset about it. But they were and then we had to justify why put a penis on a man, and our answer to that was, well, if you took the penis off it would be a bit abnormal."

Within hours of the sculpture being displayed in the ritzy Sydney suburb of Woollahra, the council and police had received complaints.

I Love My Dog and My Dog Loves Me Exhibition at Richard Martin Gallery

MiSociety - Images: Bill Ranken
18 March 2009

Bryce Courtney reduced the packed room at the Richard Martin Gallery to tears as he related his own ‘doggie tale’ from when he was a boy growing up in an orphanage in South Africa. As Gillie and Marc Schattner’s canine portraits bore witness from the walls eyes were dabbed as the dog loving patrons remembered their own loving four legged friends. On a day when almost every media outlet had cruised to the gallery to take shots of the huge four ‘armed’ sculpture out front it proved yet again that ‘man’s best friend’ is still very much exactly that.

Weird Dog Sculpture Furore

The Daily Telegraph
18 March 2009

A GIANT half-man, half-dog bending over naked while sipping a cappuccino is causing a stir among the latte set of Woolahra. The 1.8m-tall, 3m-long sculpture was only erected out front of the Richard Martin Gallery this morning but is already causing debate over whether full-frontal nudity is art - or twisted porn.

The sculpture was created by husband and wife pair Gillie and Marc Schattner for the gallery's exhibition "I Love My Dog And My Dog Loves Me", opening tonight. Gallery owner Richard Martin told the Daily Telegraph they expected there to be some strong reaction but it wasn't in the same league of the Bill Henson child porn scandal.

"I can't even join the dots between that and this, they are so far apart," he said. "It may raise a few eyebrows but I think overall the intent is wit and humour. Ideally people are open minded but some people have preconceived ideas about what is nudity and what is offensive." > more

NAKED DOGMAN: IS IT ART?

The Sydney Morning Herald
18 March 2009

Click to play video

Dogman gives paws for thought

Daily Telegraph
18 March 2009

Across the road from Woollahra's Lord Dudley Hotel was the sourece of their amusement, a giant man-dog by the side of the road, on his knees, sipping a cappuccino.
Half man, half dog - naked in every explicitly proportionate detail. Titled Good Boy, the sculpture was erected in front of the Richard Martin Gallery yesterday as part of the I Love My Dog and My Dog Loves Me exhibition.

'I Love my dog and my dog loves me'

Art Exhibition Richard Martin Sydney
14 March - 1 April 2009

In this exhibition Gillie and Marc explore the theme of true, unconditional love through man's best friend, the dog. They assign dogs human activities and give them human personalities, proposing an optimistic future of friendship and unconditional love for the human race. Gillie and Marc honor the spirit and nature of the dog, and the way their love can make humans better at being human.

I Love My Dog and My Dog Loves Me

Published by Wakefield Press
March 2009

'Almost everything that could be said has already been written about the wonders of owning a dog. Words simply cannot reveal the closeness you feel when your dog's eyes meet yours, and the reassurance it provides at days end to have your dog snoring happily on the floor beside you.' Bryce Courtenay, author, and owner of 'Tim'
This superb collection of original paintings by award winning artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, combined with their witty, and heartwarming observations about dogs and why we love them, is the perfect gift for anyone who ever loved a dog.

Partners in paint

Western Suburbs Weekly
June 17, 2008

Out of the tragedy of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York came a return to more simplistic, positive art styles which rubbed off on Australian painters Marc and Gillie Schattner. Several years in the US also cemented the pop art movement as a strong influence on their work, mainly interpretative images representing feelings rather than specific individuals. But the biggest changes were wrought by their return to Sydney. Despite sharing the same studio and exhibitions for more than a decade, the Archibald Prize finalists started competing for top bidding as the household's most successful artist. Healthy rivalry soon transformed into a frustrating cycle of elation and disappointment, until after three years of bittersweet congratulations over the latest artistic win they had had enough.

Two-Up

Sunday Times Perth W.A.
31 May 2008

ACCORDING to Sydney art duo Gillie and Marc Schattner, happiness can be found only by accepting what you have in the present.

This is perhaps why, when the pair grew jealous of each other’s individual successes, they accepted they could never be happily married with separate careers. Saying goodbye to the unattainable ideal, they joined forces to share their successes as a team. Fifteen years later, they are preparing for their exhibition It Takes Two, a summary of the Wishful Thinking series, at Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery this month.

Double Take

The Weekend Australian Magazine
5 January 2008

Painters Marc Schattner, 46, and his wife Gillie, 42, were being torn apart by rivalry - until they decided to share the same canvas.
They talk to Helen O'Neill.

Opinion Polls

The Daily Telegraph
5 September 2007

John Howard and Kevin Rudd are used to being nailed to power poles in the name of politics, but last week they were being hung high in the name of art.

As a breeze ruffled through the trees of Bellevue Hill, married artists Gillie and Marc Schattner hammered their latest collaborative art works on to the pole outside their home. One was a poster of Howard with a puppy, the other was Rudd with a baby.

Each poster carried the none too subtle message: VOTE ME.

In coming weeks, up to 1000 of the posters will appear as the Schattners and helpers paste them up.

John Konrads on Canvas

Black Dog Institute
13 June 2007

One of the finalists for the 2006 Archibald Prize, Australia's oldest and best known art award, is a painting of Olympian swimmer John Konrads, entitled 'John and his Black Dog'. The outstanding work was a joint effort by artists Gillie and Marc Schattner (pictured right). The couple have kindly donated the painting to the Black Dog Institute in recognition of John Konrads' leading role, both as a board member of the Institute and as a community leader in breaking down the barriers around mental illness - in particular, mood disorders.

The large painting will be placed on display at the Black Dog Institute facility on the grounds of the Prince of Wales Hosptial.
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au

Life Can't Wait for Organ Donors, and Nor Can Art.

The Sydney Morning Herald
11 May 2005

An art exhibition by Gillie and Marc of 12 lives urgently waiting for an organ donation during Organ Donation week, sponsored by the Red Cross Blood Service.Thursday 24th Feb 2005, 6-8pm
Darling Park, 201 Sussex Street, Sydney