Date of birth
1919
Date of death
2019
Notes
Eric Aarons was born in Marrickville, Sydney in 1919. He lived a varied life, working at occupations including boot repairer, research chemist, political activist, science teacher, journalist, sculptor and author. He wrote three books: "Philosophy for an Exploding World: today's values revolution", Brolga Books, 1972; "What's Left?: memoirs of an Australian Communist", Penguin, 1993; and "What's Right?", Rosenberg, 2003. Aarons became known predominantly as a sculptor and the themes of his work reflected his lifelong struggle for the rights of working people. Major works of his are held at Campbelltown Art Gallery, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery. The following in a tribute to Eric Aarons published on the ArtsHub website in January 2020. "Widely admired for his sculptures in stone and wood, Eric Aarons is better known for the role he played in the Communist Party of Australia from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s. He rose to be in charge of party education, to be a leading theorist and author, however he was also a sculptor. His first exhibition was held in 1975, and later a major retrospective of his work at Casula Powerhouse Art Centre in 1999. Fellow artist Ian Millis paid the tribute on social media: ‘A life long communist and activist he was also a sculptor although his work rarely received the attention it deserved.’ "

Works in the collection