The Arts Society of Tasmania
Molten Light
An exhibition of works by Members of the Society. Continues until 28th February 2010.
John Lendis
When I paint, my paintings become like islands: they are places of reprieve, bridges a natural place within us where everything is beyond our control, where time stands still, if only for a very brief moment.These new paintings follow naturally from my series of works about Jane Franklin and her journey to the West Coast. They continue in their use of her as a metaphor for a much wider human relationship with the landscape. When Jane left Australia, she began to forge new relationships with an entirely imagined landscape. Her journey wove her mind across the oceans stretching out before her and lying between herself and the world of Europe. As I set off to undertake new work in England and Canada, I too find myself unravelling in a dream of fog and travel to distant shores.
The paintings in the upcoming exhibition ; Ancanthe: Lady Jane and the Sleep of Reason, encompass a geography of their own own, a place of joinings and separations. of lost connections, a world where stories disappear from view, only to re-surface in another place and time, in between worlds.
It is in these places that,, we are able to forge links that are new, rejuvenated, something more.
My own memories and experiences fuse with the wider story of Colonialism and its ruin as it plays out across the margins of history and the perimeters of the world. Gentle parodies of Colonial pastoral painting emerge as memories; everywhere crossed and constructed by my own highly developed iconographic forms and sensual surfaces.
These dream-like images, dredged from memory become fused with narratives of contemporary society, a personal response to the environment and formal painterly concerns. Ultimately I try to work with landscape as with identity,The paint transforms our experience of the external world into a place seen inside ourselves with a sense of deja vu: it is the visceral memory of a landscape of the soul.
In 2006, I received a Masters in Fine Art (Painting) from the University of Tasmania and began exhibiting at Fishers Galleries in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand. In July 2007, I am travelling to the UK with my wife and children to paint works for a solo exhibition in 2008 at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University. This exhibition will coincide with a 3 month Artist in Residency at the Institute. An exhibition in Toronto is also scheduled for 2008.
Selected Curriculum Vitae
Education
| 2006 | Master of Fine Arts, School of Art - Hobart, University of Tasmania |
| 1996 | Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours), School of Art-Hobart, University of Tasmania |
| 1995 | Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), School of Art-Hobart, University of Tasmania |
| 1995 | Awarded Mt Nelson Prize in Art for greatest proficiency by an undergraduate student, University of Tasmania |
| 1994 | Placed on the Dean's Roll of Excellence, University of Tasmania |
Selected Solo Exhibitions
| 2007 | The Mapmakers Dream, Fishers Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand |
| 2007 | Ocean, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney, Australia (upcoming) |
| 2007 | St Sebastian and the Wounded Forest, Fishers Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand |
| 2007 | St Sebastian and the Wounded Forest, Fishers Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand |
| 2006 | St Sebastian and the Wounded Forest, Examination Exhibition, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart |
| 2005 | Sarah and Jane, The Salamanca Collection Gallery, Hobart |
| 2005 | Telling tales of Lady Jane, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney |
| 2004 | Dreaming of The River, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney |
| 2004 | The River, The Salamanca Collection Gallery, Hobart |
| 2003 | Silent Spaces, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney |
| 2002 | South Wind, Autore Gallery, Melbourne |
| 2002 | Traffic, Bett Gallery, Hobart |
| 2001 | Trespass, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney |
| 2000 | Searching for the Moon, The Salamanca Collection Gallery, Hobart |
| 2000 | Observing Imagination, Charles Hewitt Gallery, Sydney |
Selected Group Exhibitions
| 2005 | Solitude: Arts Tasmania Island Residency Awardees, Salamanca Art Centre, Hobart |
| 2005 | Novobirisk International Biennial, Novobirisk, Russia |
| 2003 | Ten Days on The Island Exhibition, Tasmania |
| 2003 | Novobirisk International Biennial, Novobirisk, Russia |
| 2002 | Synergy, CSIRO-Bett Gallery, Hobart |
| 2001 | Ten Days on The Island Exhibition, Tasmania |
| 2000 | Solitude, CAST-Carnegie Gallery, Hobart |
Selected Reviews and Commentary
| 2006 | Dr Roslynn D. Haynes, 'John Lendis: The Mythic Journey Through Wilderness', Chapter21'Picturing Wilderness: Creating the Image,' Tasmanian Visions: Landscapes in Writing, Art and Photography, pages 335-337, Polymath Press, Tasmania, 2006 |
| 2005 | Joerg Andersch, Review, The Mercury (Nov 05) |
| 2004 | Joerg Andersch, Review, The Mercury (30/10/04) |
| 2004 | Kane Young, 'River Touches Tassie's Roots', The Mercury (29/10/04) |
| 2004 | Danielle Wood, 40 Degrees South (December 2004) |
| 2004 | Preview, The Sydney Morning Herald (May 04) |
| 2004 | Lisa Tonks, Art and Antiques in NSW (April/May 04) |
| 2004 | James Kerr, 'In Touch', The Mercury, (29/10/04) |
| 2002 | Peter Timms, 'New Paintings by John Lendis', The Australian Newspaper (25/02/02) |
| 2002 | Helen Tyzack, ' John Lendis: Traffic', Eyeline Magazine (Autumn 04) |
| 2000 | Tim Cox, 15 minute interview, ABC Radio (March 2000) |
| 2000 | Joerg Andersch, 'Spirituality at Centre of Search' The Mercury (15/4/00) |
| 2000 | Bruce Montgomery, The Weekend Australian (19-20/2/00) |
Awards and Grants
| 2006 | Arts Tasmania Loan to develop New Zealand exhibitions practice |
| 2004 | National Association for Visual Artists - Grant |
| 2004 | Arts Tasmania - Grant |
| 2002 | Australian Postgraduate Research Award |
| 2001 | Arts Tasmania Grant (Joint) |
| 2000 | National Association for Visual Arts - Grant |
| 1997 | Arts Tasmania Wilderness Residency |