Rex Butler on Colin McCahon’s Victory over death 2

Dr Rex Butler, Professor, Monash University, provides an in depth talk on Colin McCahon Victory over death 2.

Rex Butler is Professor of Art History in the Faculty of Art Design and Architecture at Monash University. His most recent book is UnAustralian Art: 10 Essays on Transnational Art History with ADS Donaldson.

The work of Colin McCahon has had an enormous impact on Rex Butler after he first saw it at the Biennale of Sydney in 1984. He has written on McCahon’s practice several times, most notably in Colin McCahon in Australia (2010) and Victory over Death: The Art of Colin McCahon (2021) with Laurence Simmons. He is currently working on a book on the American art historian Rosalind Krauss.

In this talk, Rex speaks at length about McCahon’s painting Victory over Death 2 (1970), which is held in the national collection, and why it continues to live on in its own 'victory over death'.

Art Talks are a free weekly program. Hear from artists, curators and experts on the works in our collection and exhibition program.