Our fortieth treasure is by Townsville based artist, Ron McBurnie, one of Australia's leading contemporary printmakers. From the James Cook University Art Collection comes John Coburn's Studio by Ron McBurnie.
Eric Nash answers the question "why is this significant?"
The personal underpins Ron McBurnie's practice – friendships and stories explored, and layered with moments of social observation, and contemporary and art historical references.
The etching, John Coburn's Studio, is a microcosm of sorts for McBurnie's practice; both its creation and significance to the James Cook University Collection are personal and layered.
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| Ron McBurnie, John Coburn's Studio, 2002, hard-ground etching, aquatint and roulette on rag paper, 53.5 x 81.5 cm. James Cook University Art Collection. ©Ron McBurnie. |
Having forged a highly successful career while being based in Townsville for over three decades, McBurnie has made a rich contribution to the arts community through his printmaking and, just as importantly, his stewardship of multiple generations of new printmakers. In part (and coming back to the personal), JCU's acquisition of this etching is noteworthy as it recognises the caliber of the institution's own roll call of teaching artists.
Professionally and personally, formally and informally, McBurnie has frequently fostered connection between the city's resident artists – often his students – and an expanded network of renowned Australian artist peers.
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| John Coburn in his studio. Photograph courtesy of Ron McBurnie. |
Those peers provided a leaping-off point for this particular series of etchings, Artist's Studio, which would span a decade and provide unprecedented access to the studios of twenty-six artists – such access often reserved for close family and friends. Early participants also provided recommendations of other leading artists who may be receptive to being involved, which saw the series expand.
While not an explicit objective, the series celebrates the contribution of significant north Queensland artists to the national artistic conversation. The subject of this particular work, John Coburn, is of course one of north Queensland's most recognisable artists. The Ingham product (whose work, Sentinel, is itself a treasure of the JCU Collection), is depicted seated in his studio, working with palette knife on one of his iconic, geometric abstractions, taking advantage of the natural light from a nearby window in his small, inner-Sydney apartment.
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| A selection of Ron McBurnie's works from the Shaw Collection of Australian Art and Culture, and the North Queensland Collection, JCU Library Special Collections. |
Reflective of the personal qualities of McBurnie’s practice, he doesn't simply draw Coburn onto the plate, but rather into the entire process, and in doing so gives viewers a more direct and honest impression of Coburn's work setting and methods. Growing from an initial meeting, then a studio visit where McBurnie would document the studio onto the etching plate, the work was progressed during a second session to develop the portrait, and was finally resolved when Coburn's own hand rendered the canvas in progress. A nod to the romantic and mystical nature of Coburn's work, McBurnie also deliberately 'changed the tonality of the light within the room to create a suggestive range.'
John Coburn's Studio by Ron McBurnie is an important record of two north Queensland artists, in this moment acting in blurred roles of subject, sitter, and collaborators.
Over the course of 2020, JCU Library's Special Collections will be unveiling 50 Treasures from the collections to celebrate 50 years of James Cook University.
Author Biography
Eric Nash is an arts professional, artist, writer, and curator with qualifications in Visual Art (Majoring in Painting), Arts Administration, and Management, and a wealth of experience in the gallery sector.
Appointed in 2019 to lead the Benalla Art Gallery, Nash was previously the General Manager for the country's leading photography gallery, the Centre for Contemporary Photography. Nash has also developed training programs for Victorian peak body, the Public Galleries Association of Victoria, and has strong ties with Townsville having worked for Perc Tucker and Pinnacles Gallery for nine years, including as Curator from 2013 to 2016.
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