Meander artist recognised

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JULY 2016 | David Claridge

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THE QUEEN’S Birthday weekend in June saw Deloraine local, Tony Smibert, appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

This recognises his significant contributions to Aikido through a range of roles, and to the visual arts as a painter and water colourist.

As a recent commentator described it, “Smibert’s affinity for Japanese culture is present throughout all his interests, and his art is deeply informed by the study in Aikido.”

For more than 50 years, Tony Smibert has played a major role in establishing the Japanese defensive martial art of Aikido in Australia.

As the current president of Aiki-Kai Australia and the only non-Japanese member of the Senior Council of the International Aikido Federation in Japan, he teaches world-wide (May saw him leading seminars in the UAE, Belgium and St. Petersburg before travelling to Hong Kong) and he will return to London, Europe and Japan before the end of the year.

Mr Smibert and his wife, artist Carmel Burns, set up their studio-gallery in Deloraine over 30 years ago leading to over 50 solo exhibitions around Australia and overseas.

He’s also a Visiting Researcher at Tate Gallery in London, an author and specialist in British watercolour method from 1750-1850’s (particularly JMW Turner).

Today, with an established international reputation for watercolour, Tony is focussing on larger acrylic abstracts towards exhibitions in Sydney, Hong Kong and Melbourne later this year.

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores