Afgespeeld
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John Wolseley is one of Australia’s most important artists. He portrays the Australian landscape and its ecosystems from the roots of a tree to a whole floodplain; from trees, birds and fish to a tiny beetle.
Using a variety of techniques, he says he creates a kind of inventory or document of the state of the earth, revealing both the energy and beauty of it. To do that he physically immerses himself in nature, spending long periods at a time camping and observing the country from Tasmania to central Australia to Arnhem land.
Wolseley has had over 25 solo shows and the exhibition Midawarr | Harvest is currently travelling around the country. It is a collection of his works and those of aboriginal elder Mulkun Wirrpanda with whom he has developed a special bond over many years.
His work is held in most important Australian art institutions and of course many private collections.
But probably the most interesting part of our conversation is where he talks about literally collaborating with nature to produce his work.
To hear the podcast interview press 'play' below the feature photo above.
A short video with audio of John talking about his work and video of his Australian Galleries show can be seen on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel and is also below.
Current and upcoming events:
'Midawarr | Harvest: the Art of Mulkun Wirrpanda and John Wolseley', Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, opening 4 August 2018
'The Great Beetle Show', Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, October 2018
Show notes:
John Wolseley
John Wolseley at Australian Galleries
John Wolseley at Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery
Nomad Art Gallery
Mulkun Wirrpanda at Nomad Art Gallery
Midawarr|Harvest: The art of Mulkun Wirrpanda and John Wolseley - National Museum of Australia
Jakob von Uexküll
Seamus Heaney
Heartlands and Headwaters, exhibition by Wolseley at the National Gallery of Victoria
Lloyd Rees
William Blake
John Wolseley talking about watercolour on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FsnMSGU03w
'Distant glimpses of the great floodplain seen through a veil of trees and hanging vines' 2017, watercolour, graphite and colour pencil, ink, oil paint, dry pastel, abrasion, scratching out and nature printing, with collages of frottage, wood relief, linocut and intaglio, printed Japanese tissue papers on woven paper, 10m in length.
'Buwakul climbing a tree beside the flood plain on Garranari' 2016, watercolour graphite and rakushuishi atsukuchi (Japanese tissue), 222 x 140cm
'Insect life stories No 14: Kamarooka grey box beetle' 2017, three relief print from found wood, chine-collé over watercolour, edition 10, 53cm x 28cm
'Beetles in the salt - Lake Tyrrell' 2014 - 18, watercolour and etching on paper, 130 x 220cm
'Ephemeral water with new growth - Murray-Sunset National Park' (2009 - 2012), collection of National Gallery of Victoria, watercolour, charcoal and pencil, main panel 153.4 x 327cm sheet,
