Juan Ford’s new works involve a form of subversive questioning of the conservative notions of painting.
Over the past five years Ford has developed strategies to engage with the canon of Australian art by novel and unclichéd means. He has focused on re-imagining how Antipodean landscapes interact with the human population and depicting the various elements of this strenuous relationship. Ford has become known for his daring expeditions into conservative modes of ‘traditional’ Australian painting – landscape painting, figuration, and botanical illustration. This exhibition highlights the figurative element, whilst incorporating elements of human refuse, native flora and landscape.
‘Painting is about life´s journey. It´s also about endless migrations, deprivations, thoughts of time when we were moulded by hardship and physical struggle and about how many still live this way.’ (Juan Ford)