Exhibition Portfolio

This page was completed Sunday 13th November, 2016 and contains all the main solo and group exhibitions that I engaged in over an art career from the late 1970s to 2004 when I gave up ceramics to concentrate on painting, please click on or highlight any image to open a larger image and more information – thank you:

ARTIST RESUME

ART EXHIBITIONS_SOLO SHOWS_Open above PDF for full resume activities:

2001—Creatures of Paradise, Port Douglas Gallery of Fine Art, Nth QLD, 3—25 August

Making a name for yourself in the visual arts demands having several reliable galleries or quality outlets. Some will prove worthwhile while others are problematic. When the former magnate Christopher Skase unveiled his new five-star Sheraton Mirage resort in 1988, Port Douglas was transformed from a nondescript far-north Queensland coastal village into a sophisticated tropical playground for the rich and famous. However, Skase’s financial empire collapsed, and his death in 2001 from lung cancer, by which time he was now one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives having fled to Majorca, Spain (after swindling his own employee’s superannuation fund) has left Port Douglas in a major financial and popularity slide. It has lost its status as a premium destination. Its community leaders and citizens have too many different agendas to confront the major challenges to restore the town to its former glory, particularly as competition exists in resorts everywhere in the world. The most remarkable historical fact about Port Douglas was the landing in 1932 July 17 by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith on Four Mile Beach during one his flights in one of his remarkable hand-built planes. So any of the galleries in the town were eventually going to have problems surviving the downturn. Another issue is the dreadful drive to the town along a tortuous coastal road which made transport expensive; it is a very pretty place but the limits on dealing with a gallery there just offered me nothing and these are the problems and tough decisions all artists must deal with. After all, it is a two-way deal, I supply the work and the gallery is expected to sell it; however, expensive or difficult to get to locations do not make for good business. The business mantra: position, position, position still has merit; while build it and they will come has always had a hit and miss proposition about it—such is my personal experience of Port Douglas and I hope things have improved since, but no use to me now. Some points about the show:

I made and packed 42 sculptures, sales were good, but as I attended the exhibition and looked around the village, my gut feeling was not positive, although I did send a couple more crates; I just became unavailable

I needed four transporters to get the crates there: truck from studio to rail, rail to Cairns-end of line, two truck services to Port Douglas as large transporters could not enter the main street complex where the gallery was

Small opening also made me wonder, gallery long since closed  

2001—Glazed Expressions, Flinders Gallery, Townsville (TSV), 20 April to 9 May

Some years will resonate because of personal or environmental incidents that changed everything; in this year the month of September became 9/11 when the world went mad. It was the scale of the event, an attack on land marks—Twin Towers Trade Centre of New York—that shaped the political and social landscape we endure today. This exhibition although in the earlier part of that fateful year was my 9/11; my world was collapsing. The pragmatic culture of previous decades was washed out of Australia after that event, but things had been soaking in others ways for some time for me. My mental graffiti were being sprayed over every day, a new tag demanded attention before the paint had hardened on a previous detail. People were getting up my nose, my business associations were stressful, my usually vibrant health found an off button, and the artistic mentoring needed by all artists had stopped; professional craft organizations were under stress as memberships declined.

Making a living had always been hard and now working for others in galleries and associations for their percentage cut, as well as changes in the businesses I had dealt with for the past decade was making me miserable; I was living 9/11 well before the event. Some details about this exhibition time:

For Glazed Expressions I made 77 sculptures ranging from native animals, fluffy dogs, and named cats to Empty Vessels with 3 framed canvas paintings

Opened the exhibition myself with an artist talk on making things

In 2001, I was also employed by the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery to teach a number of adult and children classes (under The Teacher in me Page)

Later in the year I would make a major mosaic for Townsville’s Public Hospital

I was supplying the Monte Lupo outlets with a lot of work, see ‘Ways of Seeing’

2000—Heavenly Nobodies, Fusions Gallery, Brisbane (BNE), 12 September to 8 October

This exhibition was my final show at the Queensland Potters Association (QPA) or Fusions Gallery; the time of the clay-worker was winding down. Many industries have changed or succumbed to technology and new ways of seeing work, from photography to local car manufacturing; it is discussed widely that many people are going to outlive their job usefulness in the next decades. The artisan lifestyle is unsustainable past small communities catering to tourism and in any case young people are more interested in participation hubs as found around larger cities, for example, Newcastle or the Collingwood Arts Precinct, therefore club memberships in traditional craft societies have declined. As well, an artisan like a potter has to be a designer, manufacturer, kiln or other machine repair expert, chemist, packer, box maker, self-promoter, sign-writer, teacher, motivator, self-healer, transporter, dealer, buyer, an OH&S expert, writer, photographer, self-critic, and Australian pottery did not receive the support as the British and Europeans craft guilds did. As well, the effects of global warming cannot be taken out of the ceramics industry and many of the financial restraints were a result of reducing carbon emissions, for example, extreme rises in electric and gas prices—from hundreds of dollars per quarter to thousands. In general, this was a time of rapid price increases in all pottery chemicals and materials, including services such as rail and road freight. As well, I remember the new rail company, now a private concern, was slow in delivery with the work arriving hours before the opening. Then there was the public, some admiring, some indifferent, and some so obtuse that I wondered if they thought owning a piece of my work meant owning me; then what were they doing to their own families and acquaintances? Sadly, my mentally-ill mother was interfering with members of the association; was I to be the dutiful son to a difficult, damaging and estranged parent or a valued potter supplying works that sold? People who play control games like to keep their victims as forever-children; I was confronted by a total stranger who discovered I was nearly 50 and not some curly haired, pot smoking youth because she had information I was such? I laughed in her face. Some other points about the exhibition:

The timing of the show was awful and reflected poor planning as the opening night coincided with the opening of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. After the success of my show at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery earlier in the year, this date was hastily commissioned by the QPA, it went over my head to check the date as sports has never been my thing. I lost all respect for the association’s management as it clearly was losing support from its members and I would quit it a year later as I had more reliable outlets that paid on time. I hold letters of my answered complaints promising to rectify the situation; however, the association was in such a precarious financial situation that it would have to change dramatically, and so it did.

The exhibition was opened by Mr Frank McBride the Director of the Brisbane City Gallery, lovely man who had collected several of my dog sculptures for the council’s collection and made a lovely speech. No photos were taken of the opening, typical really, you would think the manager at the time would have arranged some? Frank McBride continues to be an important art official and scholar.

I made 64 pieces; the catalogue was not proofread by me and contained a lot of mistakes!

The photography was poor, remember this is still before digital cameras, even colour photocopying was expensive:

2000—Worderleys, Dadaks and Heavenly Nobodies, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville City Council (TCC) TSV, 10 March – 9 April

I wish I could say I really enjoyed all of these exhibitions at this time but the gloss had worn off, some people in the arts organizations I had to work for or with were rude or smarmy. Some of them should have known better, others were petty and mean, and some were just plain mad. Narcissism was rampant and diminished my experience, looking back over these pictures is painful. So I present them anyway, but don’t ask why I don’t do the work anymore, I chose my sanity and if I run into some of the ‘actors’ from the past, I move quickly elsewhere. Nor is it anyone’s business why I didn’t just objectify it and cope better; I was under attack from several directions and frankly I had enough of the pretentious nonsense, read Pascal if you don’t understand. About this exhibition:

Subtitle was Robert Burton Creatures

Opened by Connie Hoedt Trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery, Southbank, Brisbane

‘Worderleys, Dadaks and Heavenly Nobodies’ consisted of 86 ceramics and 4 paintings; the title came from names I created for my fantasy animal and human sculptures

The exhibition was a complete sell-out

I gave 32 floor-talks to 625 school students

The gallery recorded 4 682 visitors (good for a small city then of 100 000)

Children’s and adult classes coincided with the event which are shown under ‘the teacher in me’ page; as well, I donated 2 sculptures for awards to a children’s competition held to celebrate the interest in my work

The exhibition was well recorded in various craft magazines and newspapers; the catalogue was written by Bernice Gerrand of the Australia Council:

Gerrand, B 2000, “Audacious Scale & Endearing Presence”, Craft Arts International, Issue 49, pp. 72-4.

Profile Feature: Robert Burton 2003, “Wurderleys, Dadaks and Other Animals”, Australian Ceramics & Pottery Yearbook, volume 5, issue 6, pp. 66-9.

Tabloid Articles including The Townsville Bulletin, Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail

The exhibitions of 1999 were ended by my entering hospital for an emergency operation to remove a possible cancerous gland from my neck, something I endured on my own, it was frightening and the healing was awful. I was admitted into the old Townsville Hospital, North Ward  for surgery 3 days after a visit to a specialist? Let’s say they do not do that unless they think the worst; it was Christmas, it was awful, I survived. I had lived with a large goiter like growth for some years, such is life. Meanwhile . . .

1999—Hyatt Regency Resort Featured Artist, Coolum Sunshine Coast, QLD, Dec 20—Jan 31

This exhibition was held at a big resort formally owned by Lend Lease and Sekisui House Australia, now owned by Clive Palmer. Hyatt Regency Coolum features 324 hotel rooms, suites and villas organized in low-rise clusters amid a natural Australian environment of gardens, lakes and woodlands. I went to school at Nambour during the early 70s which is the major administration centre of the Sunshine Coast so when I was contacted through the QPA I took up an offer to have an exhibition. However, it was not so much an exhibition as a selling venue only and my interest was not sustained even though sales were good, but then selling my stuff was never a problem. Finding a really good gallery dealer was the issue. Some points about the show:

I made 44 pieces and had as many orders again

There was no official opening which was told to me after all the work was sent?

In 2001, I received a commission from the Hyatt to make several large scale table decorations based on fish which I have included here

1999—Burton’s Creatures, Fusions Gallery, QPA, Fortitude Valley, BNE, 27 July to 29 August

This exhibition surprised everyone, the unimaginative title for the exhibition was about connecting me to my creations. My pieces had started to filter into the Brisbane scene from 1996 after I was being noticed through the pottery association connection between Brisbane and Townsville. Pottery, ceramics, claywork, call it what you will, was still doable then. The 1940s to the 1980s were the big years for the industry in Australia. A little time spent researching will find many famous names, but the great British studio potter Bernard Leach (1887-1979) was the main instigator of fusing Eastern and Western artforms into clay which underpinned later Postmodern ideas of layering of meaning and including using various methods of manipulating clay to make the animal inspired sculptures that I was making. Animals have been made in fired clay for thousands of years; however, many potters were still immersed in traditional methods even in the 1980s. A new colour might explode onto the scene or raku firing might be all the rage for awhile but the art schools were still about throwing pots. So my stuff looked outrageous and some traditionalists hated it, and me? All good fun. Up to about 2004, prices for pottery equipment and materials was still affordable, regardless of the financial shakeups that were inevitably heading for the GFC of 2007-8. Since, pottery in any form has shrunk back to the major centres. Having a good gallery was the key and I was never lucky in that, even as late as 2004 I travelled to Melbourne where I did find a great gallery in St Kilda just to see it close within a month due to the massive rent increases that were replacing stock market profits. So when many of the pottery and craft associations diminished it was time to do something else. However, at this time in 1999 the world was still as it had been for some time, and it takes someone my age (62 at the writing of this blog July 2016) to see that. Some things had moved on: better housing and food outlets, more shops for everything, but the internet was still evolving and PCs were relatively expensive and slow. However, the world was speeding up and hinted at the now amazing exponential growth across most fields of technology, medicine, communications, and sadly exploitation too. Prince the entertainer who died tragically this year, wrote a song back in 1982, ‘Party Like It’s 1999’ and he was right:

 
“The sky was all purple,
There were people runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didn’t even care

‘Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
Oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999”   

The millennium was going to usher in the Y2K bug and bring the world to a halt, planes would fall out of the sky, utilities would fail and set off nuclear bombs, instead I had a sellout exhibition and was reintroduced to some old friends from art college days. Some points about Burton’s Creatures:

I made 38 pieces which included some of my best glazed Moon Dogs, as well I received around 20 commissions

The show was opened by my past lecturer from the Queensland College of Art Mr David Seibert who had suffered some dreadful car accident years before; nevertheless, he moved past it and is still one of the bravest men I know

The Queensland Potters association (QPA) was being run by a new in-crowd and in hindsight not for the best

I would do some workshops at the QPA

In October I was awarded a 1999 Townsville Arts, Cultural and Entertainment Award:

“an honour and a symbol of your excellence and contribution to Townsville’s arts   community”

—I wore the same suit as in the exhibition opening again for Worderleys, Dadaks and Heavenly Nobodies in 2000 and then retired it, never got so much use out of a suit, for once I got some crowd pictures too:

1998—Carnival of the Animals, Flinders Gallery, TSV, 11 July to 11 August

During January 1998 Townsville suffered through a flood, described as the worst devastation in the city since Cyclone Althea in 1971. Roads were impassable, as were the railways, the airport was closed, and the navigation aids were also out of order; as well electricity, water and sewerage were off in most of the city. Pollutants poured into the nearby flooded river and out to the sea with houses, cars, and boats and sadly one person was confirmed dead, after being washed off a flooded road in his car. The total damage bill was in excess of $100 000 000. On July 11, Cr. Deputy Mayor of Townsville Ann Bunnell opened my exhibition Carnival of the Animals at the Flinders Gallery Townsville City; it was a sellout? Amazing as I wanted to leave Townsville, Australia was entering a depressing conservative time, everything felt uncomfortable, work as usual for me saved my sanity, I stayed—I should have left.  About the show:

75 sculptures were made; however, another 38 pieces were ordered.

The exhibition name came from the music of the French Romantic era composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) for the ballet ‘Carnival of the Animals’, the score was being played by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music concert held concurrently and is an annual cultural event held in the local Civic Theatre. Some of my animal sculptures were displayed on the stage.

The work from this show promoted interest of my art for other exhibitions, I was very busy and working full time.

1996— “Feature Artist” for the month of February, Queensland Potters’ Gallery, BNE,  31^st January – 25^th February

I was invited after my successful 1995 exhibition, I was always a good seller, and this show was an attachment to another affair titled “Interactive Territories” which was a group show of five artists, some interstate. The Feature Artist or mini exhibition program ran parallel to a major show; it was included in all the promotion and publicity and benefited from the opening night while only paying a small fee of $50. All good, I have quoted from the only promotional material from the QPA—a letter from the gallery co-ordinator (sic) Jo Duke; however, I sold everything. So, nothing for my scrapbook and I didn’t think to ask at the time nor regardless of their professional proclivities did they bother to send me anything as a goodwill gesture. From my sales records, I sent: 4 x birds, 2 x cassowaries, 2 x chooks, 5 x rats which was followed up on the 15^th January 1996: 4 x dogs, a cat, 2 x standing birds, and 4 standing Heavenly Nobodies. (I was told these figurines were representational of me? Tells you a lot about the silly types I was dealing with.) They wanted mainly Birds, they didn’t get!

In 1996, an article, Hoedt, C 1996, “Robert Burton’s Creatures”, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Issue 23, pp. 82-3, was published that I discuss in Regions and Rituals; however I include the layouts sent to be copy-read which show a different page presentation to the eventual article seen in R & R 1996.

I show an image of The Potters’ Gallery in my 1990—REGIONAL CLAYWORKERS exhibition but as everything overlaps and weaves together I will add some more history here, unfortunately my own photographs of the building taken at the time were destroyed in cyclone damage, although I enclose a found black and white image of the early church. The Potters’ Gallery building has a colourful history and was formally known as The Fortitude Valley Primitive Methodist Church which is now a heritage-listed former church at 483 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey and built from 1876 to 1900 by John Smith & Sons. It was also known as the Brunswick Street Methodist Church and then the Brunswick Street Uniting Church. The building served other functions too, including a school and a worker’s bank. However, after the Brunswick Street church was required no longer, it was sold to the Queensland Potters Association in 1982. The Association refurbished the building and added a steel-framed mezzanine floor which did not change the structure of the old building. In 1983 it opened the Potters Gallery on the premises to display and sell members’ work. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

In 2005 a major project was undertaken to construct a new gallery building on street level with the church building above it—this new addition was all built of glass. The new gallery opened in October 2008; unfortunately, after many difficulties it closed in September 2010. The gallery building operated as a French bistro restaurant, Lady Lamington, for a period, before being sold in early 2014. It has since re-opened as a private art gallery, the Brisbane Modern Art Gallery. Thus, ended the reign of pottery in a substantial building, with a long history into sad ignominy; the only thing left is a website called Ceramic Arts Queensland. There are many reasons why this happened: government regulations forcing associations to incorporate for reasons of insurance risks and removing the group from the original ideals, debt, changing public tastes, squabbling, mismanagement of resources, members, and most importantly the ceramicists—until the membership was depleted and the artisans had gone, everywhere!  

1995—Beast Wishes, Fusions Gallery QPA, BNE, 1^st March – 2^nd April

Dreadful title for an exhibition; they were silly days. Some people hated the 80s, I hated the 90s because they seemed wispy-washy to me. I was invited to have this show by the Fusions Gallery Director Bernice Gerrand who would years later write an article published in 2000, “Audacious Scale & Endering (sic) Presence”, Craft Arts International, Issue 49, pp. 72-4; however, pictures of this exhibition appeared earlier in the Craft Arts International (Japanese Edition) 1995. The typo for endearing to endering had not been picked up—so much for quality art publishing? I had been exhibiting and selling work at The Potter’s Gallery which became the Fusions Gallery since 1990. My records show that I sent five Standing Cassowaries, two Goannas, a Red-tailed Blue Pig, a Moondog, six Rats, and two large Headpots. Interestingly, the show was attended and opened by the then Queensland Governor Mrs Leneen Forde, Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), 29/07/1992–29/07/1997 who asked for and received one of my rats, one of the more unusual pieces to end up in the Governor’s Collection. She wanted something to amuse her husband?

1994—Foul Creatures, Palms Gallery Hyde Park, TSV, 19 November – 2 December

This was my first solo show in a Townsville commercial gallery. Directors Graham and Jean Garrett had opened a huge warehouse gallery with art supplies and picture framing at 22 Somer Street, Hyde Park, a suburb near the city heart. It was the most decent commercial gallery in the town since the close of the smaller, but important Ralph Martin Gallery that operated through the years 1972 to1988 in the main Flinders Street precinct of Townsville—again more art history fondly remembered by those that were there. I arrived in Townsville in 1987 after graduating from the Queensland College of Art. Googling Ralph Martin Gallery: Townsville, will take you to a James Cook University history blog. The other was of course the Potter’s Gallery already discussed, but that was an association partly supported by the TCC. The Garretts were decent people and I remember them with fondness, they always paid me on time. A point here, there are all sorts of unwritten histories slowly being recognized: Indigenous histories, Women’s histories, Queer histories, Artisan’s histories and Commercial histories too. I had done the Outproud Exhibition in August and I was being asked when I would exhibit outside of the pottery groups so this show was ready to happen. The title played with the constant description of my works as the ‘beautiful uglies’—foal suggesting foul. My style of ceramics was still considered radical at the time, potters made vessels, pots, useful things—beautiful because of glazes and reduction firing. At this time, I was still living in an ideal zone where artisans could hold a place, an artist could still make a name and a modest living in a regional area. There are plenty of older books discussing the twentieth century on artists, craftspeople, and artisans living this art lifestyle. I am not suggesting full-time artists do not exist anymore, but these days are different, it is much harder, less support is available and tends to be centred around the Art Hubs in Newcastle or Melbourne. Consider too that the visual arts have to compete with so much stuff that was not available before digital technology—a mobile phone in 1994 was like a house brick with an antenna that could whip out an eye in a turn. It is easy to fall into the cracks of time, something I do not regret, everything changes eventually and fades—we all will.                                                                                                                                                                                   Horses have always been a personal favourite motif and presented an interesting challenge to make a reproducible design. Other points about Foal Creatures:

The show was opened by Connie Hoedt who was a Trustee of the State Gallery and a noted potter and had been a long-time resident of Townsville

I made 19 exhibition pieces backed up by another 20 to 30 floor stock sculptures

At the time I was supplying work to Mission Beach, the QPA in Brisbane and other smaller outlets; I had little competition: the big retail emporiums had yet to develop, the internet was just invented, few people had personal computers, colour printing cost a fortune, there was no digital photography, video was still the way to record, art exhibitions were mainstream entertainment, newspapers were still the main source for news, people wrote letters, only four television channels to choose from—it was another era, simpler but busily changing everything nevertheless

GALLERY SHOWS_GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2004—Zood: a menagerie of imaginary animals, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, TCC, TSV, 5 March – 2 May

Attributed to the poet Ovid of Sulmo (43 ᴃᴄ-ᴀᴅ 17): ‘You can learn from anyone even your enemy’; only goes to show that unless you are prepared to give up something valuable, you will never be able to really change anything at all, because you will be controlled by things, people, and situations you cannot give up. I was becoming mechanical in my actions when I really wanted to grow something; I have always been a keen natural gardener. In 2004, I was fifty and was I bored and if you want to make enemies, try to change something! After I had organized stuff for this exhibition, I went to Melbourne for a holiday, to get the lie of the land, to find a really good artwork dealer, to do something new. However, one must keep in mind that you cannot control all of your own future. Call it what you will: destiny, calling, vocation or even job, whatever. It is not in your hands; it is in the hands of taste, irrational consumers, unreasonable conditions, whims, and the grace of Fortuna—ready to cut that life thread at any time. This record of my work is also a diary of my state of mind. The visit to Melbourne was good and coincided with the Caravaggio Exhibition at the State Gallery; however, I did find an exciting gallery only to find it would close weeks later. Pointless to discuss why people should be so unreliable when the question: what is perfect? Has the most irrational answer. Sometimes the investment in whatever, is not worth the effort; nevertheless, as with all sunk costs lessons are learned, experiences had—time to move on. I include in the photo gallery some sketches I made of my birthday trip. Points about Zood:

I invented the term for the show, based around my large painting alluding that we are all in a zoo, hence Zoo’d, probably should have been Zooed, but enough nonsense was spent discussing the event to consider grammar, in any case zoo is a noun not a verb

My efforts included no sculptural ceramics because kids could hurt themselves pulling them off their display boxes, 6 gouaches on paper, 4 small canvas paintings, and 4 monkey themed mosaics and a large diptych: We are all Zoo’d (2004)—it was an interactive show where kids could move easily, look at stuff and fill out books

Other exhibitors included established artists like Dean Bowen, Janne Bogomiagkova, and a group of Indigenous Aurukun artisans; however, as with the rest of this blog I only show my work: 

2003—Ways of Seeing, Flinders Gallery, TSV, Oct 17 – Nov 5

Once there was an organization called the Monte Lupo Studio established in 1991 and managed by the Society for Crippled Children Queensland that organized art practice, including pottery, to provide a career path for people with disabilities who wished to be gainfully employed in work of a creative and artistic expression. Monte Lupo had sales outlets in two of Brisbane’s largest shopping precincts: Garden City and Indooroopilly. Unfortunately, poor management decisions and difficult trading conditions saw the organization fold in 2004—another nail in the coffin for pottery as employment. I was bitterly disappointed to lose not only wonderful selling venues but also the possibility of joining the studio and moving back to Brisbane. Some information on the exhibition:

10 Monte Lupo Studio Artists made 64 pieces, a couple of large sculptures with most being decorated plates and pots or vases

I exhibited 62 sculptural pieces, 9 paintings with a large 4 section floor screen. There were 8 ink & gouaches on paper framed and a diptych 200 x 200 cm framed canvas

I flew Fiona Haynes, the Monte Lupo coordinator up from Brisbane to open the exhibition, sales were good; however, this show was the last I would have at the Flinders Gallery, a use by date was looming

I included the 12 Feng Shui animals of the Chinese Astrology as a way of expressing my anger at the world, the descriptions are fairly sarcastic and tend to the more negative aspects of the characters. The world was at war; the monstrous 9/11 attack had caused a planetary madness that would lead to ISIS and the incredible destruction that we endure now. Well this is the year it all started, the earlier attack in 1991 was nothing compared to the attack in March 2003; frankly, anyone with any feelings was being traumatized, it took a lot of reflection to find balance and I needed a break.

2001—Townsville Hospital Mosaic, Douglas TSV, Officially opened Wednesday, 21 November

The Townsville Hospital Redevelopment included an arts budget. Supporting local artists by directly involving them in decorating the interiors and grounds of publically funded building was a part of an art policy: Art in Public Places. However, it was left up to local governments to enforce, so it tends to be uneven in application. I was invited by the Arts Project Manager who was also Townsville’s Community Arts Officer Shannon Chadwick. The Townsville General Hospital in Douglas is a huge place, next to the university and therefore a major medical training and research facility able to cater to 5 000 people each week. A small support fee of $150 began the design process and I include a part of the starting rough sketch, letters, invitations, brochures and the final project here. There were 28 artists invited who included some famous names: Gay Hawkes, Ben Truppersbäumer, Peter Gillan and Hew Chee Fong. My piece was well in place before the official opening of the hospital by the then Labor Premier Peter Beattie on Wednesday, 21 November 2001 and still greets people to the outpatient’s immunization area in the main foyer, to the left from the main entrance, all good in a tough year

2002—Toys, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, TCC, TSV, 3 May—16 June

For an exhibition for kids, being involved in this show was like being buried in the sandpit. It was poorly organized from the beginning and when it was obvious not enough artwork was available I offered to make several extra pieces which I did, in about 10 days to meet the opening deadline—nevermore! A few working relationships were irreparably damaged. Welcome to the poor side of the art world, petty and mean spirited, which exists in order that new things are illuminated. Another way of considering bad situations like this is to ask who is taking responsibility? Who is covering whom? Eventually, I have seen it would have been best not to be too involved with helping fix others’ mistakes, better to let the chips fall as the axe cuts. Some points about Toys, although a group show I concentrate only on my pieces in this blog:

I made an initial group of seventeen creatures that were to fill a large cabinet, the same one that I filled with ceramic mosquitoes back in 1998, so I created a storm scene as viewed as a passenger in a plane.

I added another nine pieces to hang on some major empty walls     

1999—Northern Perceptions ’99, Flinders Gallery, TSV, 27 June – 16 July

More about the Flinders gallery, the director of the art gallery took over in 1992 after the Tonnoirs wanted to concentrate on their bookshop; Paul and June Tonnoir opened their bookshop in 1989. Initially they wanted to promote North Queensland artists and held thirty exhibitions before relinquishing the gallery side to Anne Carter in 1992. Eventually in 2006, I would leave the gallery; a year later it closed after Paul Tonnoir sold the building known as Solander House. It sadly became an abandoned building for many years which could be interpreted in different ways. This exhibition was to show off a collection of artists associated with the gallery: Tony Allingham, Vince Bray, James Brown, Robert Burton, Barbara Cheshire, Len Cook, Sylvia Ditchburn, Amanda Feher, Josephine Forster, Pamela Griffith, Kenneth Jack, Anne Lord, Ron McBurnie, Paul McCarthy, Jim Olsson, Robert Preston, David Rowe, Anneke Silver, Maggie Thompson, Ben Trupperbaumer, and Martin Willis—not to forget the Persian carpet industry of several cultures—however, there was well over 70 pieces produced; however, as with the rest of my blog I only showcase my works:

1999—Fish, The Contemporary Art & Design Gallery, BNE, 30^th July – 25^th August

The last of the trio group exhibitions at Mary Marks’ gallery in Woolloongabba, Brisbane before she closed-down to open at Tamborine (see Dogs). The theme for this exhibition also fell between two major commissions involving this aquatic creature, after all, consider where I live, Townsville is a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The first set of commissioned fish were a part of a shipment of artworks to decorate a hotel in Brunei in 1997; while the second shipment decorated the tables of the Hyatt Hotel Resort on the Sunshine Coast in 2001. As with all business deals, the visual arts are no different, I had no feedback other than being paid. So, I include some images of the commissions in this exhibition file.

For Fish at The Contemporary Art & Design Gallery, I created works that resembled the Brunei designs. Another major project involving fish as a design happened 22/09/1991 to 30/10/1992—Sponsored Artist for Art in Public Project TCC—so fish as a motif became as natural as my love of cats. This project all seemed fun at the time; however, with all public art it tends to be stuck in a time and dates badly, in retrospect I would have made some big heads buried in the ground. After the floods of 1999/2000, the strand was redesigned and my fish were moved to a new location where they rest to this day:

1998—Flight, The Contemporary Art & Design Gallery, BNE, 11^th September – 7^th October

Another group show in this trendy gallery, Mary Marks and Janene Gardner the directors had a history of involvement in the craft scene of Brisbane; eventually, when the lease was finished at Woolloongabba they closed to reopen Marks & Gardner Gallery at Secret Garden North Tamborine Mountain. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to send work to them. It needed too many carriers (no single service was available); Townsville is further from Brisbane than Brisbane is to Sydney, Tamborine is south of Brisbane, it was just not a viable option. I note from a search that the gallery closed permanently in 2015, so they had a good run. This was the middle show of three: Dogs, Flight, and Fish. From The Courier Mail (43) Wednesday 30 September 1998 the Arts writer Gerry O’Connor says:

‘The ‘almost manic’ component of the exhibition is the sometimes-astonishing work of one of Queensland’s foremost potters, Robert Burton, of Townsville.

Burton lost his studio equipment in the Townsville floods and suffered a flood-caused illness but that has not stopped him presenting 10 pieces, the biggest display in the exhibition. His work is always well conceived, expertly constructed and often delightfully eccentric.

Examples of the latter are his cassowaries on long bush timber legs and fearsome, expressionistic Bloody Mozzies. His two Champion Chooks, Brisbane Ekka, 1998 stand out for displaying his technical skill.

Surely there is no one out there who still suffers the cultural cringe; who still thinks Queensland art has to be second rate? If there is, the work of these seven sculptors will help rid the idea.’

Isn’t that nice, sadly I believe it is not a widely shared sentiment. Certainly, the art hubs are not out in the regions and depending on blockbusters and generously funded events the major cities carry the mantle of the art hub only for a season: Melbourne most of the time, Brisbane during the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, and Sydney for the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes. There’s always something going on in the regions but it becomes old news quickly

1998—Between the Sea and the Shore, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, TCC, TSV, 24 April – 24 May

This was one of those odd shows where I was tested on my ability to cooperate with some quite peculiar people. The curator had certain ideas which was her prerogative, what was not, was the application of those ideas. I have never been to so many consultation meetings for an exhibition and in front of all the other exhibitors. I just wanted to get on with the job, others wanted artistic orgasms, we got a mesh-mash. Not all exhibitions set one on fire, I felt a bit damp, but needless to say enough heat was applied to boil my water. About ‘Between the Sea and the Shore’:

The curator was Helen Stephens, a writer (also since published children’s books), craft practitioner and independent curator working on a Visual Arts/Craft Fund of the Australia Council Partnership Grant initiated by the Perc Tucker Gallery, Townsville under the Director Francis Thomson

Fourteen artists contributed, some well-known, some little-known

This was the second in three craft based shows, the first Inter Alia, with the third to be held in September/October called Carried Lightly – the Weight of Tradition. This allowed a breadth of craft practice in the Torrid Zone to be shown

As with other group shows I have been in I am only showing my work in this blog:

1997—Dogs, The Contemporary Art & Design Gallery, BNE, Friday 13 June – 2 July

Directors Mary Marks & Janene Gardner established this trendy gallery in Woolloongabba (an inner suburb of Brisbane) to display and sell the wide variety of contemporary locally made craftwork still around in the 90s. The cheap imports of Asian craft were still relatively new to the Australian markets, although I remember a few emporiums in the larger cities starting in the 70s. They stocked all sorts of pieces from ceramics, glass, to recycled material sculptures or found-objects conglomerates, polished concrete pieces, some paintings, and hand-made jewelry. All very pretty and good for the local scene; however, it did put pressure on the Potters’ Associations to be more professional in their retailing. I was in three group shows of which Dogs was the first, followed by Flight (1998), and then Fish (1999); sales were good. However, I did not feel part of anything wonderful, artists are a jealous lot and I don’t remember any good times spent with other artisans creating stuff in shared spaces; plenty of sniping, smarmy types everywhere and frankly after the HIV/AIDS crisis topping the ongoing problem of my mentally deranged mother, I was exhausted dealing with insensitive people. I was still based in Townsville and trips by air were expensive and the trip by bus took a day, four hours by air, twenty by train and accommodation was sometimes awful. So-called friends who offered a night’s sleepover were crazy, cheap hotels and backpackers were mean, and on one trip I actually spent two nights on the streets (not that I told anyone). In 1999, Mary Marks decided to close down the shop, only to reopen in some impossible to find old lighthouse or something like that at Byron Bay, south of Brisbane. Transporting my pottery to the new site became too difficult as I needed three transporters, no one would insure the work, and in the end I just stopped bothering. I was already building huge crates and spending too much time on packing and sending, something some gallery owners need to reckon with; they wanted my artwork but the returns I was receiving did not compensate for the effort. It was making me cranky; a lot of hard work for what? As well, it is easy to concentrate so much on the artwork that the life behind it is forgotten, there were house moves, relationship problems, and health scares. It is ironic that loneliness still accompanied me, considering that so many thought I was doing well. Some points about the exhibition Dogs: I was one of eight artisans creating pieces from wood, clay, wire, found metal objects and cast bronze; my records show I sent eleven pieces, some were purchased by the Brisbane Gallery in the Townhall and remain part of the permanent collection

Plenty of newspaper coverage, but very corny copy, for example, ‘Hounds of Silence’ or ‘It’s a dog’s life’; it kills the humour in me, after all dogs have been a theme in art for thousands of years

1997—Images of Sustainability, Watt Space Galleries New Castle (NCL) NSW, 29^th May – 16^th June

This was the first exhibition where I saw my work online as I had no way to get to the venue in New South Wales, these were still early days for the WWW. I was contacted through the QPA when I was doing a seminar there, some brief details I enclose here, although another page on my teaching has more. The web-page has long disappeared and unfortunately I have no record of the fired platter because I decorated the piece while in Brisbane and it was carefully transported as green ware, that is, unfired clay, to New Castle! Mine survived, as some did not, were auctioned off, and disappeared into the ether? Nevertheless, a web search brings up many artists that have this exhibition on their resumes. The Watt Space Galleries Gallery is located in Northumberland House, in the Newcastle City Precinct campus on Auckland Street Newcastle NSW. Although I only had one piece represented in the exhibition, many of the other potters were extremely well known and the gloss rubs off, I was making a name for myself. The images attached include the original sketches I used to decorate the large 60 cm diameter platter with underglazes and it would have been covered with a clear stoneware glaze; I was told the piece fired well and sold quickly.                                                                                                                                                                                 The seminar was a so-and-so affair, and highlighted for me the problems that the QPA was having that would eventually overwhelm the principles which created the association in the first place. There was always someone who took it upon themselves to ‘put me in my place’ and the infighting and backstabbing was depressing. The lesson is simple, but fails to be engaged with even to today—if you want any group to stay together, make sure the procedures, training and enlightened management is there to maintain a healthy and engaging atmosphere. Overbearing behaviour won’t succeed, cliques won’t welcome newcomers, elitism doesn’t always create quality, and ruling through chaos is stupid.                                                   The Brisbane newspaper article I enclose here is one of the best I’ve ever had written on me and I was to have an interview on National ABC radio; unfortunately, the day it was all set up, 15 October 1997, a political turmoil erupted. The Australian Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot abruptly defected to the Australian Labor Party, resigning her Senate seat and leaving the leadership of the Democrats to her deputy, Meg Lees. Eventually, Kernot unraveled publicly under the stress, and she was portrayed in the media as a poor performer. Much later, she admitted to having an extramarital affair with Gareth Evans while she was leader of the Democrats; Evans was a Labor frontbencher and key advocate of her move to Labor. The whole episode stunk; I got pushed out of my five-minutes of fame on ABC National Radio and I did not get offered another time slot? So, in many ways the rot in the QPA was being echoed in the halls of power in Canberra and has left a taste of bile in me ever since—a has been pushing out a could have been.                                                                                                                      Starting from the Perc Tucker around the same time came a stupid article from the Townsville Bulletin using one of my pieces in their collection. In this article, visiting psychologist Professor Robert Solo makes obnoxious comments about Modern Art:

“And he will say in big words what any dummy already knows that a lot of modern art is garbage.”

There is the letter of apology I received after I complained, the gallery director was more concerned that I was not acknowledged as the artist than the insulting commentary? I was pleased to see 1997 end, I was getting kicked every time I stood up!   

1996—Regions & Rituals, Queensland State Gallery (Gallery 3), South Bank, BNE, 28^th October 1996 – 28^th January 1997

As my work was so much around in Brisbane during the 1990s, then eventually some of the more helpful connections I had made would direct my work into the attention of the Queensland State Gallery, South Bank, Brisbane. At the time Connie Hoedt, formerly of the NQPA had been invited for a temporary tenure as a Trustee representing regional art on the State Gallery’s Board. As well, I was known to the Brisbane City Council Regional Gallery through its Director Frank McBride and Bernice Gerrand of the Australia Council, people who would contribute to my career at some time. Although I would not say mentor, that mantle lays with my oldest friend Mr David Seibert who passed away in 2016:                                                        Former Deputy Director Resources Qld Arts Department                                                Former Deputy Director Gold Coast College of Arts                                                          Former Senior Lecturer, School of Fine Arts, Qld Retired                                                  Head of Painting, Qld College of Art

From the Gallery’s media release:

‘Paintings, sculptures and ceramics by regional Queensland artists from the Gold Coast to the Atherton Tableland will be included in the Queensland Art Gallery’s first exhibition focusing exclusively on works produced by artists who live, or have lived, in regional Queensland. Initiated by the Gallery’s Regional Services program to acknowledge regional identity in art and within the Gallery’s Collection, Regions and Rituals will embrace a range of works identifiable with regional centres. . . Mr Morrell said works by artists from regional Queensland form a significant part of the Gallery’s Collection and many of the works in Regions and Rituals are recent acquisitions.’—Including my piece—

About the same time an article, Hoedt, C 1996, “Robert Burton’s Creatures”, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Issue 23, pp. 82-3, was published and I include the letter to Connie from the famous editor Janet Mansfield who was a force of nature in pottery, goodness knows what she thought of my stuff, but that’s connections for you? Like most quality technical magazines that have lasted through the decades, it is now a quarterly digital magazine

1995—Pork, Palms Gallery Hyde Park, TSV, 30 September to October 30

This odd little group show was put together by me in the hope of continuing some of the artistic comradery from the previous year? It didn’t. Never mind, I am great at mending my broken heart. If life was supposed to be taken seriously then wouldn’t the world be a just and reasonable place? This game we play is not something I understand that well, I grow things, I make and create, I work and I take pleasure in the beauty of nature and its creatures; but it will all end one day, the few that may escape in the far future cannot and will not represent all of us. So why all this vicious need to prove how horrible I am? Some people carry emotional baggage, some people do not cope well. Honestly so much time would have been saved if some people spent more time fixing their own problems rather than trying to fix me? These years before the millennium were busy and I put my trust into the wrong people; I am as intuitive as an earthworm, but you will not convince me that others have success through mind reading. Life is a lottery and being in the right or wrong place at any time has more to do with success in luck than all the Feng Shui, astrology, religion, voodoo, psychic readings, rich parents, pushy parents, nice addresses, or even hard work; it is potluck, a lucky break, a good connection. The ancients believed it was Fortuna, the goddess who spun the wheel of luck and that luck comes in two forms: good or bad. More about this exhibition:

I shared the venue with three others, but as with the other exhibitions I concentrate on my own work

The Palms Gallery was owned by Jean and Graham Garrett who worked hard to keep the gallery all together, until they would be washed out in the 1997 flood that inundated the building at 22 Somer Street, Hyde Park under three metres of sludge! So The Palms Gallery helped me establish myself for which I am grateful; Graham died of heart failure in 1999

I made 22 pieces including 4 Jurassic Pork and 4 of my first standing birds, and 2 oil paintings; 49 pieces counting all artist work

The local Townsville Bulletin did a great feature article with big photos, including a humorous Jurassic Pork border on the front page; the editor was very supportive:

1994—Positive Art Exhibition Queensland Aids Council & Umbrella Studio,TSV, 16^th December – 5^th January

This exhibition is only here because of the important issue of HIV/AIDS at the time. Soon after 1994, a new cocktail of retro-viral drugs would slow the deaths and the sense of urgency would dissipate, as would the tenuous alliance formed between the Queer and heterosoc communities. I never liked the Umbrella Studio in Townsville, I made ceramics—not real art? Some people were so hostile and rude to me; nothing to this day has changed my mind or interest in them, some things can never be forgiven! I have seen them at their worst; I have seen the skeletons in the cupboard. For this show, I had to make something quickly so I made two assemblage sculptures out of broken fired ceramics, found natural objects such as tree branches, stones and acrylic paint bound together with builder’s bog, an obnoxious smelling but versatile material used to mend cracks and gaps in the building trade. I was given so much flack by a certain Umbrella committee member over my pieces—he was so rude—so whose pieces ended up in the paper? Unspoken rule in small town arts: don’t be popular – I still avoid the Umbrella Studio

1994—Outproud Exhibition, Empty Building offered by the TCC, held during August as part of the Pacific Festival

The use of the word ‘community’ is loaded and suggests a dated idea for viewing gay individuals whose differences often mean their only common thread is being a sexual minority. This is not enough to create, let alone define a community whose diversity, social status, and requirements will not always align. The exception is formed from the powerful survival instinct of all life forms that will fight for existence under threat from other organized communities which for humanity means oppression resulting from acts of violence, repression, and ostracizing. This extreme ‘othering’ was the face of HIV/AIDS, and besides the well documented times of political reaction to extreme police and state repression, such as the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City and the 1978 Mardi Gras fightback in Sydney, was the most manifested solidification of desperate and dispirit people to form a community to overwhelm injustice and outright hatred from a misinformed and manipulated public. Those of us that survived that awful time have had their lives diminished through loss of friends, family, income, and rather like adults who have had rough, cruel childhoods, life is forever tainted and needs constant monitoring not to fall into despair about the state of humanity. The Outproud exhibition was my idea and I worked hard back in 1994 to see that it was a success. I had to deal with difficult and childish personalities who took delight in making my life unpleasant; however, the show was a great success and helped to raise the consciousness of those that saw the work. I have written ‘When Townsville was Fabulous’ under my short stories page and it can also be sourced from the Townsville Writers and Publishers website. Is there a Queer Community in Townsville now? There’s a pub, probably a club, always cliques and friends. Some would argue that is not a community, but then that is the problem, picking a fight is not the basis of any community. LGBTI (to enlighten Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) people have always been part of society, regardless of the protestations and threats of conservative elements and the shame is on their narrow interpretation of the world. 

I will let the photos tell their stories; however, as with the rest of this blog the images deal with my work. These are difficult memories for me. Some points around Outproud:

15 artists made 157 artworks which sold and raised many thousands of dollars for the AIDS Council

The show was opened by a Trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery, Southbank, Brisbane

In conjunction with the exhibition a number of other events took place including a theatre sports night, music night, a dance party, a Pacific Festival Parade float, and a film festival

The Townsville City Council and Police fully supported the event which was held during the Pacific Festival held in August 1994

News coverage was generally supportive except for the usual bigots and I have immortalized a couple here

Some of the photographs show people who have long since died

GALRIN (Gay and Lesbian Resource Information Network Inc.) folded about a year after this event as the ‘drug therapy cocktail’ was discovered which slowed the deaths, estimated by WHO (2014) at 34 million. Presently 36.9 million people worldwide live with HIV.  

1993—Arts Expo Civic Theatre, TCC 9^th – 10^th October & Out Proud Arts Expo Bronx Nightclub, TSV Showgrounds, 17^th – 30^th October

These are in the group exhibitions because they were important for me professionally and socially. I have always been aware of the value of amateur and professional groups and my experience has shown that any group will travel between these poles, depending on the leadership, group dynamics, funding arrangements and social relevance of the time. A charismatic leader will pull a group out of moribund circumstances while another will insist on riding a dead horse. I’ve met charming types, serious folk, party people, narcissist marauders, drunks, pompous idiots, and smarmy hangers-on all taking on leadership roles. I’ve always was a second in command type and too wary to take on the leadership of a group; in any case I am also a loner and we don’t inspire comradeship—people find loners too odd to understand and some people fell over themselves to show how much they disliked me.  Nevertheless, I have always done my bit to see the show through when others were thin on the ground, or too busy? Later in 1999, I would be presented with a Townsville City Open Arts Award for all the bits and pieces of volunteer and community work of which these two shows were an example, others include up to the presentation.

The early 1990s in Townsville were lively with community works, there was a sense that something could be achieved and generally people came out to support the efforts of clubs, groups and causes. The world is now different. IT, ICT and the WWW has changed the way people in progressive societies organize their time, interact with culture, and engage with others. The late 1990s saw a sharp decline in club memberships everywhere, oddly while the world’s population dramatically increased? This game-change saw the demise of a lot of community arts organizations, while others have had to upgrade to websites, blockbuster events, pursue private, business and government funding, or watch as the new kids-on-the-block pushed new agendas that had little to do with traditional craft and art values. Some of these changes were inevitable and sensible, others were destructive, while some were so obtuse that I’m not surprised at the bitterness some people carry. Pottery has had to change to face issues of civil environmental health and safety, governance and insurance rates have demanded a professional approach that undermined the amateur and exploratory foundations of associations, raw materials and power costs have driven many small operations into financial crisis, for example, no one makes gas kilns in Australia anymore, the myriad choice of commercially available clays has collapsed, pottery equipment is now very expensive, and the once popular pottery associations have shrunk. Australia never valued the professional status of its artisans in the same way the Asian and Europeans have, unless you have been very lucky, the business of studio pottery in Australia is impracticable. Being a potter is hard work, rewards are intermittent, and public tastes have changed.  

So, at the time, events like the Arts Expo at the Civic Theatre, TCC attracted a lot of local media coverage and people visited in droves, what else was there to do on a warm Summer’s day in 1993? As the publicity from the TCC suggests:

‘All too often, we as artists have to fight for recognition and respect both within our immediate community and within government. This occurs because the Art community (writers, performers, fine artists, musicians, etc.) never pull together to change the low profile of Artists. ARTS EXPO is our chance to change this!’

There was little hostility to the presence of Out proud at Arts Expo as shown by the local media which showed John Bonello of the Queensland Aids Council holding my cat and the advertising of the Out Proud’93 Festival to be held at The Bronx Night Club—read my story When Townsville was Fabulous 2014  to get an idea of the changeable air towards the Queer community during the age of HIV

1990—REGIONAL CLAYWORKERS an exhibition by potters living north, south, east and west of Brisbane by John Carroll Special Projects Officer – Arts Division, The Potters’ Gallery, Fortitude Valley, BNE, 25^th June – 25^th July

Well, as you can see someone thought this show was important because the title is all capitalized—nothing to do with me—other than being in it. I cannot find anything on the curator John Carroll, who he was or presently is, although the title is impressive. From a page sent to me of the QPA July newsletter Stephanie Outridge-Field reviews the exhibition and says:

‘There is nothing more interesting than seeing a range of attitudes and techniques in a group show. Sometimes the reason for such a gathering is not always clearly understood, but in this case the geographical parameters make the group gathering more interesting.                                                                                                                                                                                                   The diversity of the work which includes teapots, trees on stands, and towering pots, speaks of the power of the individual maker to make personalized statements in clay. An “isolated” location can sometimes be an advantage when clarifying ideas – there isn’t the competition for your attention that can sometimes exist when seeing lots of other people’s work all the time. . . Robert Burton’s sea of faces with their hard-edged features reminded me of a “conversation pit”, or maybe the verbal activity of Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, with the humans back in the leading roles. . .

I enjoyed this work for it’s (sic) diversity and the individual statements of the makers. They were all strong and powerful expressions in clay.’ (5)

—Stephanie’s comments on isolation were paraphrased from my artist statement made in the Out Of The North catalogue which was the biggest ceramic news of the time:

‘Working in isolation gives me the time to work in series, distractions are at a minimum and I work obsessively, raging at complacency.’ (22)

1989—Seeing Green Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, TCC, 23rd August – 20th September

In this exhibition I started to learn how manipulative arts ‘elites’ could be-I should have been warned-but I kept going, I would travel a different path if I had a choice, but as in life how many people can hope to plan the perfect life. Write your

heart’s desire on a small piece of paper, screw it into a ball and throw into a small box 20 metres away in a dark room with a wind blowing-good luck! Welcome to life. This exhibition was simple enough, create artworks that had a focus on the environment. I created my first set of tall standing birds; however, at this stage I was using driftwood for the legs instead of the clay legs that would be made later.

1989—Fusion Arts, Upstairs for Art, Magnetic House TSV, October

A busy year for me and the fine arts in general in Townsville; a little research will reveal many Townsville based artists were creating all sorts of events, including the start of the traveling exhibition ‘Out of the North’ and displaying in the local Perc Tucker Regional Gallery to selling work in Upstairs for Art, the biggest private gallery to open after the recent close of Ralph Martin’s Gallery in the business part of Flinders Street, Townsville’s main street. Originally owned by Paul Tonnoirs who dealt primarily in secondhand and antiquarian books, he established a roomy art gallery on the upper floor of Magnetic House at 147 Flinders Street East which was rented out to Anna Zantiotis (a southern fly in) which he sold later in the year for major money—he was a business man with a canny sense of timing. Immediately, he would open the Flinders Gallery at 693 Flinders Street, the western end of the street. Meanwhile, the Upstairs for Art did not last much past a year—Anna not having a great sense of timing. Nevertheless, I did have a part in a good mixed show filled with the town’s art notables and others, nearly every local artist has this gallery on their resumes. Pottery still meant something, the local association held big events and my work looked exciting against the usual stoneware pots of the time, I was still painting on a large scale, and had finally recovered from the trauma of my twenties—well at least put it aside. About the exhibition:

Other exhibitors included Edward Cowrie (noted watercolourist), James Brown (painter), Anne Lord (pastels and paintings), Anneke Silver (painter), Jandy Pannell (ceramics)

119 pieces are recorded in the catalogue

Here are some of my pieces:

1989—Queensland Craft Guilds 89, School of Arts, BCC, BNE, 2^nd – 7^th July opening 1^st June

Just one or two pieces in an important show or place is as good as a forty-piece exhibition when you are starting out in an art career. There’s little to show for this group exhibition because photography was still a professional job and the easy mobile snaps taken today where still on someone’s drawing board—no mobile phones yet. The Queensland Craft Guild was settled into the same building I had my graduation exhibition in. A beautiful large wooden building, the Brisbane School of Arts is heritage-listed at 166 Ann Street, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1865 to 1985. It is also known as a former Servants Home. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Eventually, this Guild would become the Craft Council and move to Fortitude Valley, after they had to compete against and absorb the various associations and craft clubs that underpinned the social life before the internet, mobile phones and the growing change in tastes, demographics and interests of the public. Some points about the show:

21 groups were represented, including Lace makers, Woodcarvers, Embroiders, Leathercrafters, Bookbinders, Jewelers, Glass Artists, Quilters, and Spinners

4 Potters’ groups were represented: Brisbane, Mackay, Gladstone, Townsville

I was one of three to represent the North Queensland Potters Association

The Crafts Council of Queensland receives financial assistance from the Queensland Government through the Minister for the Arts and from the Visual Arts/Crafts Board Australia Council, The Federal Government’s Arts Funding and Advisory Board

1989 to1991—Out of the North Touring Exhibition, reaching 17 Regional Art Galleries in Eastern Australia including Tasmania, curated by the Australian Nation Gallery (ANG)

This was an important exhibition. Imagine two years out of art college and my work was to be included in the biggest touring or travelling pottery exhibition ever held in Australia.

So, a few facts and figures concerning ‘Out Of The North’ (my idea for the title)

Organizing body: North Queensland Potters’ Association

Curator: John McPhee, Senior Curator of Australian Art, Australian National Gallery (ANG)

Coordinator: Connie Hoedt, President of the NQPA

Selection date: November 16, 1988

Number of works: 40

Total cost of exhibition: $50 000

Number of artists: 13, including 5 Indigenous artists using traditional designs on clay

Commencement of tour: October 1989

Total of exhibition venues: 13 Regional Galleries in 5 states (Eastern Australia)

Duration of tour: 2 years

Brief Report on research: On a small Australian Council art’s grant of less than $3 000, coordinator travelled 4 000 km and documented work in remote areas. As well, grant paid John McPhee’s airfares to select work.

Sponsors included the Queensland Premier’s Department $17 500 for Qld tour, crating and catalogue production. The Rothmans Foundation for the Arts $5 000, and the Utah Foundation $2 000 allowed the exhibition to tour New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

Purpose of tour, need and benefit: To expose the work of artists living in isolation to a wider audience and create opportunities for feedback and exhibitions. To provide a much needed stimulus for northern artists. North Queensland covers an area of 600 000 square kilometres above a line drawn from Sarina to Camooweal on the Northern Territory border, and includes the Torres Strait Islands.

A lot more could be said but as this is my blog I am highlighting my pieces; did it make me famous? Only to a few, the isolation continued until the internet opened up the north’s art and crafts to a wider audience, around the millennium, by which time the world was changing dramatically. The GFC that had started earlier than the major collapse of 2008 had changed conditions for artisans like myself: rising rents in lieu of collapsing stock market returns, loss of easy credit or the ancient practice of ‘start-ups’, rising costs in materials, gas, power and transport, and the decline of small gallery outlets in the face of the massification of everything! The time of the Australian artisan, particularly in regional areas, had passed.

1989—Vases, Flowers and Foliage, NQPA, TSV, 12^th March – 18^th April

These years were busy. I had a couple of house moves, I was teaching, mainly children at the NQPA and exhibiting in all sorts of places. The small gallery at the North Queensland Potters Association was busy and relatively important, pottery was still big business. Across Australia there were several clay pits and companies, every major city had a pottery supply store or even a couple vying for business. Petty jealousies and power games were part and parcel of the craft, eventually it would crash and burn-but not yet. It was still fun and I was enjoying myself.

1988—Fish & Man, North Queensland Potters Association (NQPA) TSV, 17^th April – 7^th May

I took the opportunity to come to Townsville because I wanted to escape my ever annoying mother who felt it her job to dominate me to an early grave. ‘You’ll be nothing without me!’ She nagged and nothing with you I thought. In the latter part of 1987 I joined the North Queensland Potters Association that was at the time a dynamic and interesting place. Complete with kilns, workshops, a sales area with a sizable gallery and a large membership. People still joined clubs back then, volunteerism was something you did socially, there was no internet, or mobile phones and people went to gallery openings or arts events-it’s was what you did if you wanted a social life. As well, I came under the influence of Connie Hoedt who as the president was slick and sophisticated and would involve me in the association’s activities. She was a prominent potter with pieces in the ANG, noted for a typically blue and white delftware decoration echoing her Dutch heritage mixed with iconic Australian flora. A love/hate relationship that would eventually burn out; nevertheless, important to my artistic development for which I am grateful. Fish & Man was my first major show since Brisbane and featured my growing interest in ceramics which had started in art college. Although a shared exhibition my work tended to dominate.

1987—New Artists for Queensland Graduation Exhibition QCA, School of Arts, Brisbane City Council, BNE, 1^st March – 12^th March

This was not my first exhibition; however, what is not understood by many is that photography was a difficult business up until the late 90s. Present digital technology makes recording events easy, in the past all photography had to use film which was expensive and unless using quality cameras, often grainy or  focused badly. A professional art photographer was expensive and used black and white film because colour publications were rare or only used colour sparingly. In fact, photography is a real instance of the radical social and technological change that has occurred over the recent decades, who uses film today? Kodak was once a household name, all gone now. Therefore, records of my early works are of poor quality or do not exist because people just did not have the means to record images or events as easily as today. The gallery here displays my art college graduation exhibition pieces but not the event itself, no photos were taken. Nevertheless, the three years at the Queensland College of Art in Brisbane was the happiest time in my life, nothing has come together so well. Not only that I was at a real art college which do not exist anymore, but the friends, the lecturers, the time itself was amazing. For some people the 80s were awful, for me I was young and having a ball. I am still friends with the past Senior Lecturer of Painting who opened my 2000 exhibition Heavenly Nobodies. Life was good, you could smoke in the studios, bands played in the breaks, and everyone partied. 

The beginning explains why I followed the art career path I did. The Early Years of my art career came out of a desperate need to find my place in a hostile world. In 1978 I was in the wrong place at the wrong time in Sydney and was stabbed as a victim of a hit and run robbery. I was coming back from a free night concert at the Opera House and was robbed at knife point by four youths; one stabbed me in the back resulting in a flooded left lung which clotted needing a thoracotomy—the sods were never caught or charged. As well, I was also operated on—badly—by the most arrogant pig-ignorant doctor for melanoma; I have had a suspicious opinion of doctors ever since. I had a couple of small one-man shows as marked on the following list, the rest were group shows. After my near death experience, I made the colossal mistake of returning home to the Sunshine Coast leaving Sydney behind. There’s another story in that too, but I do not care anymore. I have done the best with what I had at the places I found myself. Life is neither fair nor reasonable and those that say otherwise are either extremely rich or stupid. I believe there is beauty in this world regardless of the careless way it has treated me and making art remains a worthwhile endeavour.        

1983—New Artists, Spring Hill Gallery BNE

1982—Island Arts and Crafts, Squatters Craft Gallery Bribie Island Qld

1981—Erotic Arts, Springhill Gallery BNE

1981—Feature Artist, Baguette Gallery Racecourse BNE (one-man show)

1981—Robert Burton, Boston Gallery Clayfield BNE (one-man show)

1980—Out Proud, Campaign Against Moral Persecution (C.A.M.P.) George Street BNE

1978-1981—Yearly Weyba Art Group Exhibition, Noosa Shire Gallery and other venues

Because it is before the easy media age the photographs I have are generally of a poor quality and so much information has been lost over time, and things that should be remembered are mixed and mashed because paperwork has perished or been lost. I therefore represent this period from 1978 to 1983 (I started art college in 84) with twenty-four of the better pictures I have. The photo descriptions are often incomplete, it is not that I do not remember the paintings, but without the paper trail I cannot describe the places, galleries or dates with any detail. As well, I am presenting all these early exhibitions together whether one-man or mixed, and as with anything small shows have been left out, I did not own a decent camera in those days:  

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