Pallion is proud to announce its collaboration with acclaimed Australian artist Guido Maestri, who has created a bespoke sculpture for the Pallion Arts Program. Hand-built in clay then cast in bronze, and finished with silver embellishments, the work celebrates the synergy between Maestri’s artistic vision and the craftsmanship of Pallion’s artisans, including experts from subsidiaries Palloys and W.J. Sanders.
Maestri, based in Marrickville, Sydney, is a trained sculptor and boatbuilder. Known for textured, expressive works that reinterpret history, his practice spans busts, landscapes, and explorations of humanity’s impact on the natural world.
“Maestri’s sculpture is the embodiment of craftsmanship and creativity, symbolising Pallion’s ongoing dedication to showcasing Australian precious metals artistry,” said Andrew Cochineas, CEO of Pallion. “Precious metals have been used by civilisations for centuries to create art. Our aim through the Pallion Arts Program is to give Australian artists the opportunity to continue that legacy.”
Following Lindy Lee’s Abundance (2024), Old Man Banks is the second major commission in the Pallion Arts Program, which supports Australian artists working with precious metals to create a sustainable, enduring collection for all Australians.
Hand-built in clay and cast in bronze, Maestri’s sculpture is finished with a leaf-green patina and adorned with silver Christmas beetles, handcrafted from pure ABC Bullion Australian silver. The monumental bust portrays Joseph Banks in his later years — the colonial botanist whose naming conventions replaced millennia-old First Nations words, including wiriyagan, the Gadigal name for the Old Man Banksia.
When Joseph Banks stepped ashore at Botany Bay in 1770, he entered a place where a rich culture had flourished for over 65,000 years. The lands and waters already held names — gifted by the Gwegal people, the Traditional Custodians of this Country — and carried deep stories and connections. Yet, as Banks catalogued plants and animals for the empire, this depth remained unseen to him.
Today, Old Man Banks stands between Naala Nura and Naala Badu — the old and new buildings of the Art Gallery of NSW. No longer the hero of the story, he is a relic of history, a silent witness urging reflection on what has been and, more importantly, what lies ahead.
Banks’ legacy endures — but not in the way he might have intended. His story is marked by pain, a wound in history that cannot be erased. Clinging to his weathered skin, a Christmas beetle — once catalogued in abundance, now in sharp decline — becomes a quiet protest and a reminder of what has been lost.
Meticulously crafted in collaboration with Pallion, the silver beetles are designed to patina over time, embodying the idea that history is never fixed but a living dialogue between past, present and future.
In Old Man Banks, Maestri asks why we continue to elevate monuments to those whose power belongs to the past, and whether such symbols should endure at all.
A gift from the Pallion Art Collection to the Art Gallery of NSW, Old Man Banks reflects Pallion’s commitment to supporting artists and fostering art making.
