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Jon Cattapan
Born
Melbourne,Australia
NationalityAustralian, Italian
EducationHighett High School
Alma materRMIT,Monash University
Occupation(s)Artist, academic
Years active1979–present
EmployerUniversity of Melbourne
Websitewww.joncattapan.com.au

Jon Cattapan(born 1956) is an Australian visual artist best known for his abstract oil paintings of cityscapes, his service as the 63rd Australianwar artistand his work as a professor of visual art at theUniversity of Melbournein theFaculty of Fine Arts and Musicat theVictorian College of the Arts.Cattapan's artworks are held in several major galleries and collections, including theNational Gallery of Victoria,theArt Gallery of New South Wales,Queensland Art Gallery,and theNational Gallery of Australia.

Early life and education

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Childhood and early adulthood

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Jon Cattapan was born in 1956 inMelbourne[1]to Italian parents.[2]Cattapan's family emigrated fromCastelfrancoin theVenetoregion of Italy afterWorld War II.[2]Cattapan was first taught to draw aged six by an older cousin on a trip to Italy.[2]

Cattapan's family initially lived in the inner city suburb ofCarlton,known as Melbourne'sLittle Italy,before moving to the suburb ofHighett[2]where Cattapan spent the majority of his childhood and young adult life.

Tertiary education

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Cattapan initially studiedcomputer sciencefor a year atRMIT[2]before instead deciding to pursue art and enrolling in aBachelor of Fine Artsin painting at RMIT.[3][2]He graduated from RMIT in 1977.[3]Cattapan went on to complete aMasters of Artsby research in 1992 atMonash University.[4]

Career

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Early career (1977–1989)

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Cattapan had his first group exhibitionCrisis Drawingsin 1978 with artist Peter Ellis at the RMIT faculty gallery[3]and his first solo exhibitionPaintings, Constructions and Works on PaperatRealities Galleryin 1983.[3]

Cattapan initially intended to complete postgraduate study in filmmaking after transferring from computer science to RMIT's School of Art however has stated this never happened "because I got right into the painting".[3]

Time in America (1989–1991)

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From 1989 until 1991 Cattapan lived in the United States of America[5]having a residencies at theAustralia Council'sGreene Street studio inManhattan[5]and atOhio State UniversityinColumbus,Ohio.[3]Chris McCauliffe has stated that "Cattapan's time in New York was a turning point, both personally and professionally"[3]and further described Cattapan's work at this time as "disjointed and emotional".[3]

An exhibition of Cattapan's work made between 1990 and 1991 titled365 Dayswas shown in 1992 at Realities gallery inToorak,Melbourne and Bellas gallery inFortitude Valley,Brisbane.[6]In the corresponding exhibition catalogue Cattapan's artworks are described; "brief moments in a modern metropolis are captured in small detail only to be displaced amongst a melange of information... there is constant movement across the boundaries of figuration and abstraction".[6]

Return to Australia and rise in prominence (1991–2008)

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After returning from America, Cattapan completed several major works includingThe Melbourne Panels[7]andPossible Histories.[8]Cattapan also states that during this period he undertook several overseasartist residenciesincluding a residency as a visiting artist atHongik UniversityinKorea,a residency inVeniceat theVenice printmaking studio.[9]

Service as the 63rd Australian war artist (2008)

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In 2008, Cattapan served as Australia's 63rd war artist, being deployed toTimor-Lesteon apeacekeepingmission with theAustralian Army.[10][11][12]Cattapan has described his title as a war artist as overly dramatic given the relative stability of Timor-Leste however has also stated that he feels privileged to have been a war artist and that "the experience opened up a very rich and meaningful artistic journey for me".[13]

In 2009, theABCaired a documentary following Cattapan's journey to Timor-Leste and the subsequent influence on his artistic process.[14]

Post Timor-Leste (2008–present)

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Cattapan was the recipient of theBulgari Art Awardin 2013.[10]The award, a partnership between Bulgari and theArt Gallery of New South Wales,was bestowed upon Cattapan for his artwork titledImagine a Raft (Hard Rubbish 4 + 5).As part of the award, the gallery purchased the artwork for $50,000 AUD and Cattapan was awarded and additional $30,000 AUD to travel to Italy to complete anartist's residency,which he intended to complete inRomeandVenice.[15]

Still influenced by his time as a war artist, Cattapan collaborated with fellow war artists Charles Green and Lyndell Brown on collaborative shows such asSpook Country.[16]Dan Rule ofThe Agedescribed these collaborations overall as discussing and resonating with the repercussions of conflict, especially the notion of accountability in relation to conflict occurring overseas.[16]

In 2016 Cattapan was selected to feature in theMelbourne Art Tramsproject.[17]As part of the project aMelbourne tramwas wrapped in an artistic design of Cattapan's.[17]

Cattapan was the subject of the 2016Archibald Prizefinalist Benjamin Aitken's workPortrait of my mentor (Jon Cattapan and self).[18]Aitken stated that Cattapan had "become something of a mentor" and that the two artists have a "unique relationship" given their difference in tertiary education.[18]The two artists subsequently collaborated in 2018 on a series of ten paintings entitledCirclingwhich exhibited at the La Trobe Art Institute[19]

As of 2020he exhibits with Station Gallery in Melbourne,[20]Dominik Mersch Gallery in Sydney[10]and Milani Gallery inBrisbane.[21]

Career as an academic

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Cattapan started his academic career as a lecturer in painting, drawing andprintmakingat his Alma mater, RMIT, in 1982, before becoming a lecturer in painting in 1987 and leaving the university in 1989. Between 1992 and 1994 Cattapan was lecturer in foundation studies at theAustralian National Universitybefore becoming a senior lecturer at the Victorian College of the Arts.[3]Cattapan became anassociate professorat the Victorian College of the Arts in 2007[3]and is currently a professor in visual art within the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Art and Music at the Victorian College of the Arts[4]after the two institutions merged in 2007.[22]Cattapan also previously held the position of director at the Victorian College of the Arts.[2]

Influences

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Cattapan has credited his high school art teacher Ralph Farmer as helping him to initially find his path as an artist and as encouraging him to switch to the RMIT school of Art stating Farmer "turned me onto what a life in art could look like".[2]

For several years after graduating RMIT Cattapan's works were described as being typical to the whatart historianChris McAuliffe termed a "consistent accent" of RMIT graduates.[3]

Cattapan was interviewed in 2016 onJames Ballard'snovelThe Drowned Worldstating that after first reading it he understood it as "a very prescient book" which "has stayed with me".[23]Cattapan elaborated that he interpreted a strong sense of instability inThe Drowned Worldstating that in the book "everything is on the verge of sliding away".[23]Cattapan's series of workThe City Submergedcan be linked to his interpretation ofThe Drowned Worldthrough the series' watery washes and its focus ondystopia.[23]

Artistic style

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Early painting and prints

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In the late 1970s Cattapan became involved with thepunk rockscene inSt Kilda.[3]As Cattapan notes:

You had one café that everyone went to. The Galleon, upstairs inAcland Street.And if you went there, you'd be guaranteed to bump into half a dozen people from different sorts of art forms. So by osmosis, I suppose, you started to take on other people's ideas and predilections.[3]

This involvement with the punk rock scene led Cattapan to begin to explore notions of geographical and social territories.[3]McAuliffe has also noted that the punk rock scene legitimized Cattapan's more raw and emotional early style.[3]

Connections have been drawn between Cattapan's early works, with their exploration ofnight-lifeand prostitution in St Kilda, and the work of artistAlbert Tuckerwho explored similar themes in hisImages of Modern Evil series,also in St Kilda.[3]

Cityscapes and the urban landscape

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Cattapan's work has been described as taking on a data-scape style and as a crossover between data-visualisation and the visual landscape[24]and he has been noted for his interest in the post-modern city. Artist and criticJohn Conomosis quoted in theSydney Morning Heraldas saying "His swirling atmospherics suggest the romanticism of Turner's landscapes andWhistler'snocturnes ".[25]

Several of Cattapan's notable city-scape works are held in the collections of major Australian galleries includingPossible Historieswhich is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia[8]andThe Melbourne Panels,held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria[7]

War art and night vision

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During his deployment as the 63rd Australian war artist, Cattapan began to experiment withnight-vision equipment.In his words:

Using an amalgam of local and global environments to test ways of picturing gatherings or mapping territories has been at the heart of my practice. In Timor-Leste, that was brought to bear through the lens of the night-vision monocle I was given.[13]

The use of night-vision equipment was a continuation of Cattapan's previous interest in the nocturnal and in the use of digital technologies in his work process.[26]Cattapan's work during and after his deployment conveyed notions of surrealism and voyeurism.[26]By usingmono-printDrawings in conjunction with digital photographs, Cattapan'sCarbon groupcreate an imaginative retelling of events that he witnessed in Timor-Leste.[26]Cattapan also states that it was his intention to depict the Australian army's relations with the local Timorese people.[27]

Post-war art style

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In 2014, art criticSasha Grishindescribed Cattapan's work as "accessible, but simultaneously also mysterious and hinting at a different level of existence".[28]Grishin has also noted Cattapan's interest in information systems and surveillance technology.[28]After returning from Timor-Leste, Cattapan began to experiment with dripping paint in the background of his works.[29]Eyeline magazine interpreted this as a reaction to the instability of the 21st century and offered multiple different suggestions of the purpose and meaning of this change in technique.[29]

Awards

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Major collections

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Cattapan's work is held in a large number of public collections, including:[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abc"Jon Cattapan".Milani Gallery.Retrieved10 March2022.
  2. ^abcdefghDalgarno, Paul (27 September 2017)."Jon Cattapan: a portrait of the artist as a new director".ART150: Celebrating 150 years of art.Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2021.Retrieved3 January2021.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopMcAuliffe, Chris. (2008).Jon Cattapan: possible histories.Carlton, Vic.: Miegunyah.ISBN978-0-522-85498-5.OCLC182731302.
  4. ^ab"Prof Jon Cattapan".findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au.Retrieved19 November2020.
  5. ^abGrishin, Sacha (2012). "Jon Cattapan's Local Truth's".Australian Art Collector.No. 60.ISSN1440-8902.
  6. ^abCattapan, Jon (1992).Jon Cattapan: 365 days.Chris McAuliffe, Natalie King, Realities. Toorak, Vic.: Realities Gallery.ISBN0-9588880-3-5.OCLC27620284.
  7. ^ab"Works | NGV | View Work".www.ngv.vic.gov.au.Retrieved4 July2021.
  8. ^ab"National Gallery – Search the Collection".searchthecollection.nga.gov.au.Retrieved4 July2021.
  9. ^"About | Jon Cattapan".www.joncattapan.com.au.Retrieved3 January2021.
  10. ^abc"Jon Cattapan".Dominik Mersch Gallery.Retrieved20 November2020.
  11. ^Blenkin, Max (1 September 2010)."War Memorial displays latest war artists".The Age.Retrieved3 January2021.
  12. ^"Jon Cattapan – War Artist".Radio National.26 April 2013.Retrieved5 January2021.
  13. ^abCattapan, Jon."Art of war: where conflict meets creativity".
  14. ^"Milani Gallery".www.milanigallery.com.au.Retrieved6 January2021.
  15. ^abHarford, Sonia (12 April 2013)."Sweet win for artist seeking refuge in discards of modern life".The Age.Retrieved3 January2021.
  16. ^abRule, Dan (29 August 2014)."In the Galleries: Christian Capurro's homage to Dan Flavin and mutual works by Lyndell Brown, Charles Green and Jon Cattapan".The Age.Retrieved5 January2021.
  17. ^ab"Jon Cattapan, artist, on his Melbourne art tram".findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au.Retrieved3 January2021.
  18. ^ab"Archibald Prize Archibald 2016 finalist: Portrait of mentor (Jon Cattapan and self) by Benjamin Aitken".www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.Retrieved3 January2021.
  19. ^Annett-Thomas, Karen (10 May 2018)."Archibald finalist's work featured at La Trobe Art Institute".Bendigo Advertiser.
  20. ^"Jon Cattapan".stationgallery.com.au.Station Gallery.Retrieved21 November2020.
  21. ^"Jon Cattapan".Milani Gallery.Retrieved20 November2020.
  22. ^Gill, Raymond (26 August 2009)."Culture clash".Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved6 January2021.
  23. ^abcClement, Tracy (23 November 2016)."Jon Cattapan: Soon it would be too hot".Art Guide.
  24. ^Weise, Kyle (2015). "Jon Cattapan Data-Scapes".Eyeline.
  25. ^"Jon Cattapan".Sydney Morning Herald.13 June 2002.Retrieved5 July2021.
  26. ^abc"Perspectives: Jon Cattapan and eX de Medici | Australian War Memorial".www.awm.gov.au.Retrieved3 January2021.
  27. ^Blenkin, Max (1 September 2010)."War Memorial displays latest war artists".The Age.Retrieved3 January2021.
  28. ^abGrishin, Sasha (5 December 2014)."Velocity: Sasha Grishin review of exhibition at ANU".The Age.Retrieved5 January2021.
  29. ^ab"Jon Cattapan | eyeline contemporary art magazine australia".www.eyelinepublishing.com.Retrieved5 January2021.

Further reading

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  • McAuliffe, C. (2008).Jon Cattapan: Possible histories.Carlton, Vic: Miegunyah
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