Hank Spirek’s art career spans more than five decades, during which he has worked and exhibited in countries around the world. The Rosebank Gallery in Millthorpe is hosting a major, comprehensive exhibition of work from throughout Hank’s career, aptly titled ‘The Last Dance’.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Hank has lived in five different countries and some 20 different cities and towns over his 78 years.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University in June 1969, where he majored in painting, sculpture and art education. After a year travelling, Hank began a Master's of Painting at Arizona State University, then spent the next decade exhibiting extensively through the Southwestern USA, including in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Scottsdale and San Francisco.

In 1979, Hank visited Australia and exhibited in Sydney alongside other artists, and later also exhibited in Montreal, Canada. He returned to Australia in 1986, where he has lived and worked as an artist for the last 30 years.

“It should be a fairly large exhibit of examples of my work, and it probably will be my last,” explained Hank.

“The fact is, I'm going blind; I'm finding it difficult to paint anymore and it's probably going to be my last one-person exhibition, so I wanted to make it a well-rounded one.

“There’ll be some 40 or 50-odd works of mine and a range of works are going to be shown; it’s not just going to focus on any one aspect of my art.”

Hank’s work throughout his career has regularly focused on wildlife themes, especially bird life, and on figurative motifs, particularly reworkings of works by the great masters. More recently, Hank has explored the creative intersection of music and art, as well as painting snippets of the everyday lives of people he observed on two recent trips to Morocco.

But with his failing vision, Hank’s art has increasingly become more politically pointed.

“I've never been the sort of artist who did ‘wallpaper’ sort of artwork. You didn't buy my work to match your curtains or your couches… You probably bought it for the emotions it explored and the power of the work,” Hank said.

“Now it's going to be hard for me to get images down the way I want anymore. So, I'm going to have to really focus on what can make a point.

“When I was learning my art in the 60s in the US, it was a very turbulent sort of time, a lot of riots, the Vietnam War and what have you… a lot of the work that was done at that time was related to that.

“I’m thinking I might slip back into telling the world what I think of it right now. It's a very hateful sort of time, and I guess I'd just like to make a point or two.”

Hank Spirek’s ‘The Last Dance’ officially opens at 5pm this Saturday, November 1 at the Rosebank Gallery. The opening will also feature music from Cellist Stephanie Li, Head of Strings at the Orange Regional Conservatorium of Music and Orange Youth Orchestra Conductor.

The Rosebank Gallery is located at 40 Victoria Street, Millthorpe, and opens from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.