Blue + Green

Franck Gohier

The Work

The title Blue + Green immediately struck a chord. In design and fashion, there’s the long-standing saying: “blue and green should never be seen.” As a framer, my career has always been a balance between strict tradition — the rules of conservation and design — and the creative freedom to experiment. In this painting, two women face off: one blonde, one dark-haired, the blonde threatening, “I’ll slit your throat,” while dressed in blue and green. To me, it read as a playful metaphor for my own two warring selves — the traditionalist and the creative — in constant dialogue (and sometimes battle) throughout my career. The humour, the colour, and the layered meaning made this piece irresistible.

Year: 2018
Medium: Acrylic on panel board
Image size: 900 x 1200 mm
Framed size: Variable — half-framed
Catalogue: 0001

Provenance

I acquired this painting directly from Gohier’s Darwin studio in 2016, just before it was included in his exhibition at Mitchell Fine Art Gallery. I had been invited to visit his studio — a rare and special experience — and fell in love with several of the works. This one, however, stood out above all the others.

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Framing

Framing this work became an artwork in itself. Gohier often resists framing, preferring to leave the edges of his panel boards visible, since they carry the history of his making process — brushstrokes, wiped-away accidents, even the odd insect caught in Darwin’s humidity. Respecting that, but still compelled to frame, I created a “half-frame.” One long and one short side of the painting are framed, while the other sides remain open, exposing the artist’s chosen surface. The two framed sections were painted to echo the title: the long edge in green, the short in blue. This playful, rule-breaking solution became a meeting point between artist and framer, a tribute both to Gohier’s philosophy and to my own creative instincts.

About Franck Gohier

Franck Gohier (b. 1963) is a Darwin-based artist, printmaker, and painter whose practice reflects both a sharp wit and a deep engagement with political and social themes. Known for his bold Pop Art–inspired imagery, Gohier’s works often merge humour with critique, drawing from popular culture, advertising, and the socio-political landscape of Northern Australia. His work is held in major public and private collections, including the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Artbank, and the National Gallery of Australia.