One of Australia's most respected landscape painters, Joe Furlonger (Cairns, b.1952) came to prominence in the late 1980s with a series of large-scale figurative paintings. Employing a highly physical method, he applied swathes of colour with vigorous sweeps of the brush. Furlonger won the Moët & Chandon Fellowship in 1988 and the Fleurieu Art Prize for Landscape in 2002; he is also a nine-time finalist in the Archibald Prize. There are no substantial monographs in print that explore the work of this Australian artist (whose 40-year practice includes painting, works on paper, ceramics and bronzes) despite the acquisition of his works by state and regional galleries, universities and private collectors.
This hardcover publication features a foreword by QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM, a thoughtful curatorial essay by exhibition curator Michael Hawker, an anecdotal piece by Simon Wright based on a field trip taken with the artist, and an essay co-authored by painting conservators Gillian Osmond and Ruby Awburn, based on a recent interview with the artist in his Samford studio. More than 65 works - from private and institutional lenders as well as works in the QAGOMA Collection - are illustrated in this full-colour publication, which follows the exhibition's general themes of 'The figure and the beach', 'The circus', 'Landscapes and seascapes', 'Mother and child' and 'Gold Coast Indy'. An exhibition history and select bibliography also feature.
Published for 'Joe Furlonger: Horizons', an exhibition organised by the Queensland Art Gallery ¦ Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) and held at QAG, Brisbane, Australia, 27 August 2022 - 29 January 2023.
