Sold at Auction: Gillie & Marc

Bio - ‘We are two people working as one, with a single vision, something no one else is doing in art’.

As husband and wife, Gillie and Marc collaborate to create art as one, applying the iconic imagery of the dog/human hybrid to celebrate the powerful spiritual relationship that exists between man and animal.

Gillie and Marc reference their own remarkable love story in their works, perpetuating a pursuit of happiness and encouraging us to challenge the status quo and the perceived safety of societal convention.Gillie and Marc’s unparalleled love is the cornerstone of what they are and of what they create.Meeting in Hong Kong, she was a nurse from England and he, a boy from the ‘burbs’ of Melbourne. Wanting only to find a soul-mate with which to share their passions for art, travel and adventure, seven days later they were married at the foothills of Mount Everest. They not only share an unsurpassed dedication to their art but also love for their two children, whom Gillie describes as their ‘best friends’ – along with their Weimaraner, Indie, of course.

Initially, Gillie and Marc painted and designed, but have now become very interested in sculpture – creating commissioned works for: Australia Zoo; Sydney Children’s Hospital; Australian Red Cross Blood Service; Hilton Hotel Singapore; and McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters in Singapore; and recently the Ying Ren Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing. They produce sculptures in a variety of mediums including bronze, brass, steel, wood, fibreglass and polyresin. Awards and accolades are numerous for the Schattner’s. In 2006 they were Archibald Prize finalists. He’ll never be famous but he doesn’t give a damn, he’s a musician, a painting, earned them first prize at the 2009 Chianciano Biennale, set in Tuscany. This work features a Dalmatian dog/man hybrid, playing guitar. Their life-like fibreglass sculptural piece, Bondi Coffee Dog, appeared in the Florence Biennale in the same year. Stretching controversy further is their work, If Jesus was alive today he would be a skateboarder, which featured in the inaugural 2009 Blake Prize Director’s Cut, an online exhibition. Gillie and Marc will also feature work in the 2012 Sculptures by the Sea at Bondi Beach.

With a 20 year history of collaboration, Gillie and Marc’s works have received acclaim worldwide and are held in collections both nationally and internationally.