PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Auckland Purchased from Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland, 2000

EXHIBITED
The Alumni, Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Auckland, 2008 The Alumni, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2008 - 2009 Measure of Strangeness, Artspace curated by Robert Leonard, 2000

ILLUSTRATED
Front cover, The Alumni, Peter Stichbury, published by Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Auckland 2008, with essays by Emma Bugden, Serena Bentley, Misha Kavka, John Hurrell published on the occasion of Peter Stichbury's survey exhibition

The title of Swoon (Stendhal Syndrome) invites curiosity and exploration. Stichbury's titles form an integral relationship with the content of his work. Stendhal Syndrome is a psychosomatic condition sometimes experienced by an individual engaging with art. Symptoms include rapid heartbeat, dizziness and a sense of being overwhelmed. Visitors viewing the artistic splendours of Florence have long been affected in this way. The staff at Florence's Santa Maria Nuova hospital are accustomed to tourists suffering from dizzy spells or disorientation after viewing the statue of David, artworks at the Uffizi Gallery and other historic relics of the Tuscan city. In 1979 the Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini named the condition after the 19th century author Stendhal, who had written about experiencing an overpowering sense of emotion following a visit to Santa Croce Cathedral in 1817.

Swoon (Stendhal Syndrome) is an iconic painting, as relevant today, in our age of instagram influences, as when it was painted twenty years ago. It appears on the cover of the book The Alumni, which accompanied the survey exhibition of Stichbury's work presented in Auckland and Dunedin in 2008.

In 1987 Peter Stichbury graduated from Elam School of Fine Art and won the James Wallace Art Award. Gathering ideas from magazines, the internet, popular culture and his childhood, the artist continues to develop a body of work exploring, interpreting and reflecting upon the nature of identity. Contrary to common opinion, Stichbury's stunning paintings, art prints and sketches of gorgeous waifs, nerdy yet strangely cool boys or professors aren't merely the musings of an artist obsessed with surface aesthetics. Whilst fascinated by appearances, his interest cuts deeper and a little darker. Stichbury's talent lies in making beautiful people look interesting and interesting people look beautiful and it's proving lucrative, at least for the collectors. Furthermore, the American market is taking notice, a fact reinforced by several appearances of his work at the influential annual ArtLA Fair and the burgeoning fanfare enjoyed through his NYC dealer, to the point where new works are rarely available in his home country.