NZ Expressionism

They're mad, bad and dangerous to know.
That's how one art critic described two of the three artists we deal with in this topic.

Expressionism is all about getting down and dirty with your feelings and portraying them through the magic medium of paint.
These guys are what's known as Neo Expressionists - a combination of emotional paint work with a good dose of rational planning to make the work readable.
One central painter in the background was Rudi Gopas, an Art Teacher at Ilam, who expounded the theories of European Expressionism.
He brought this new style to the NZ public with lashings of thick brush marks and swathes of yellow and purple paint..
Other artist models who make a huge impact on these men are:
Francisco Goya (don't loose your head),
Vincent Van Gogh (watch that razor, mind your earrr........too late) and
Francis Bacon (fancy a sandwich?), among many, many others.

There are may threads to link the NZ Expressionist artists in this topic, death being one of them and use of self portraits, another.
They have all considered themselves as outsiders and struggled with deeply personal issues.
All of them have benefited from study grants which gave them the chance of long spells away from NZ, traveling to see the major art collections of the world, particularly Europe and USA.
Use all of these factors when writing a context answer.

So roll on the drums please.....here are the bad boys of paint you need to know -
Philip Clairmont
Tony Fomison
Jeffrey Harris
Enjoy the topic and widen you world view further by learning a little more about another art movement.