In the mid 70’s James Willebrant became part of the exciting
evolution of the Art Scene in Australia,
showing his work at the Australian Galleries in Melbourne
and with the Kym Bonython Gallery in Sydney.
These two galleries in particular were at the forefront of the revolution that
supported a new generation of Australian Artists and captured the imagination
of the Australian public. Willebrant and contemporaries such as Brett Whiteley,
Tim Storrier, John Coburn, Martin Sharpe and John Firth-Smith continued to
redefine, explore and celebrate the Australian Spirit/Experience as their
precursors such as Streeton, Roberts, Dobell, Drysdale, and Nolan had done.
Like many Australian artists Willebrant uses the Australian
landscape as an inspirational springboard for his exploration and celebration
of the Human Condition. His idiosyncratic response has seen the development of
a style and vision, the uniqueness of which is immediately recognisable. He has
nurtured and honed this original vision over many years; refusing to compromise
it’s integrity, and above all respecting the work and the life of each
painting.
His style has been variously labelled, Surreal, Naive, Pop Art,
and even Existential...but no label can really encompass or describe the
subtleties of this artists’ unique work. He paints the Australian landscape and
captures it’s amazing light. He celebrates nostalgic Australian popular
culture..... He paints the human form in this landscape and as we look at his
“everyman-everywoman” figures, caught in a particular moment of ‘being’, we are
brought back to some personal emotion, experience or memory.....Such a response
needs no label or critical thesis...It just is..the essence of Good Art. It
provokes, it stimulates, and it celebrates. It defines something about our
essence, which is beyond words.
In 1986 James Willebrant moved from Balmain to The Blue Mountains,
seeking new horizons, both literally and figuratively... The physically
beautiful and mentally challenging atmosphere of the mountains saw his work
expand both thematically and stylistically......And in the emerging artistic
renaissance of The Blue Mountains he has been able to relive some of the
excitement of the heady days of the Sydney Art Scene of the early 70’s.
In 2001 he purchased a country property West of the mountains and
established a second studio there… The new environment of ‘The Farm’ has
influenced the evolution of his style and vision…
“When
I moved my studio to our ‘Dark Corner’ Farm just West of the Blue
Mountains I expected the rural surroundings to affect and
influence my work, which it did, not so much visually but physically. The
textures of old weathered timbers found in the cattle yards, sheep pens and
paddocks, wires and objects scuffed out of the dirt, detritus of years of life
on the land, old boards, joists and noggins found whilst renovating the country
studio….
These inspired me to use different
media for my new work. There is a
newfound freedom in the technique of incorporating found objects into the
painted surface – the juxtaposition of these objects against the beauty of
rubbed gold and silver finishes renders the ordinary object more gemlike,
iconic and precious. The theme, the diving figure is an evolution of the
swimmer in the landscape which has featured in my work for many years – always
the romantic image of my childhood and the lifelong love affair of surfing the
beaches of the Eastern Seaboard. These nostalgic images intertwined with the
resurrection of a rural history have come together to create a personal
iconography.”
