Reviews
Review by Janice Orchard October 2012
john Alcock is one of those unique characters in the art world who refuses to be put in a pigeonhole.His talent for painting is equaled to his expertise in promoting what he does and I always look forward to email regarding his latest work and links to his bushie johns website
Review from Vanessa United kingdom 6 - 1- 2013
Indeed this excellent work this man emits an energy that so positive and kind and is engaging without the slightest arrogance that other artists carry around , I believe he quite likely one of the great abstract artist of his generation . A true visionary by Vanessa
John Alcock--"Reflections on a sunburnt land" exhibition -16.6.2012
By Janine Good June 2012
When you meet John Alcock for the first time, you get the impression that he's a bit of a bushman, with his leather Akubra, his beard and loud cheerful voice always ready with a story, he'd be more comfortable sitting around a campfire beneath the stars than indoors. He calls himself an 'Aussie Bush Artist'. You'd possibly think that he paints with earthy textural works in keeping with his rugged appearance but instead you are surprised to find that he paints colourful, symbolic works full of light and life with qualities reminiscent of Buddhist mandalas. This is no coincidence, as he is fiercely passionate about the Australian environment and protecting its diverse and delicate ecosystem.
His paintings draw us into a world of light-refracting crystal forms of rich colours that float in space. Through various symbolic compositions, they describe a multitude of climatic and seasonal events. But in their bold graphic forms, there is a delicacy of touch that interprets the fragile forms of Australian flora that he observed as a child, at play in the Mallee where he grew up. In this harsh environment, he observed the fragile balance of nature and how vulnerable it was to the forces of extreme weather; yet how it could regenerate so efficiently with the arrival of favorable conditions. Maybe this is a metaphor for his life?
Despite John's sometimes random approach, there is an order to his paintings - repetition with subtle variations - elements we see in the Australian natural environment. This is where he is at home, immersed in his rich colours, with songs of Australian pride blasting through his ears from another 'true blue' Mallee boy, John Williamson. These 'down to earth' songs are often the inspiration for John's paintings, encouraging him to tackle some of the difficult environmental issues and struggles that we as humans have, co-existing with this difficult environment.
In this exhibition, you will see depictions of the harshest extremes of nature. John wants to draw our attention to what is going on outside, in the great Australian outdoors, with its never-ceasing state of change - from drought to terrifying bushfires, to flood and regeneration, even solar eclipse and climate change. There are also the most delicate changes of season that bring explosions of colour with the blooming of wattle and new growth. Some works capture the glow of early morning, while others, the deep colour of fading evening light. These works want us to feel the spirituality of the Australian bush.
John's paintings are quite original. In an Art Historical context you may make associations between his work and Australian artist John Co burn's or even an Australian version of English designer William Morris, but where Co burns's botanical symbols are organized in a grid-like format, John's have a unique brightness of colour reminiscent of the strong Australian light of open inland landscape. This is all irrelevant because John doesn't refer to other artists' interpretations, his are pure reflections of how he perceives his environment.
John's images are often multi-layered because he is not trying to create a design, his works have layers of symbolic meaning, about life as a human being. They are statements about our existence in this ancient land we inhabit and he want us to be persuaded by his artworks to be as passionate about is as he is.
-Janine Good
By Janine Good June 2012
When you meet John Alcock for the first time, you get the impression that he's a bit of a bushman, with his leather Akubra, his beard and loud cheerful voice always ready with a story, he'd be more comfortable sitting around a campfire beneath the stars than indoors. He calls himself an 'Aussie Bush Artist'. You'd possibly think that he paints with earthy textural works in keeping with his rugged appearance but instead you are surprised to find that he paints colourful, symbolic works full of light and life with qualities reminiscent of Buddhist mandalas. This is no coincidence, as he is fiercely passionate about the Australian environment and protecting its diverse and delicate ecosystem.
His paintings draw us into a world of light-refracting crystal forms of rich colours that float in space. Through various symbolic compositions, they describe a multitude of climatic and seasonal events. But in their bold graphic forms, there is a delicacy of touch that interprets the fragile forms of Australian flora that he observed as a child, at play in the Mallee where he grew up. In this harsh environment, he observed the fragile balance of nature and how vulnerable it was to the forces of extreme weather; yet how it could regenerate so efficiently with the arrival of favorable conditions. Maybe this is a metaphor for his life?
Despite John's sometimes random approach, there is an order to his paintings - repetition with subtle variations - elements we see in the Australian natural environment. This is where he is at home, immersed in his rich colours, with songs of Australian pride blasting through his ears from another 'true blue' Mallee boy, John Williamson. These 'down to earth' songs are often the inspiration for John's paintings, encouraging him to tackle some of the difficult environmental issues and struggles that we as humans have, co-existing with this difficult environment.
In this exhibition, you will see depictions of the harshest extremes of nature. John wants to draw our attention to what is going on outside, in the great Australian outdoors, with its never-ceasing state of change - from drought to terrifying bushfires, to flood and regeneration, even solar eclipse and climate change. There are also the most delicate changes of season that bring explosions of colour with the blooming of wattle and new growth. Some works capture the glow of early morning, while others, the deep colour of fading evening light. These works want us to feel the spirituality of the Australian bush.
John's paintings are quite original. In an Art Historical context you may make associations between his work and Australian artist John Co burn's or even an Australian version of English designer William Morris, but where Co burns's botanical symbols are organized in a grid-like format, John's have a unique brightness of colour reminiscent of the strong Australian light of open inland landscape. This is all irrelevant because John doesn't refer to other artists' interpretations, his are pure reflections of how he perceives his environment.
John's images are often multi-layered because he is not trying to create a design, his works have layers of symbolic meaning, about life as a human being. They are statements about our existence in this ancient land we inhabit and he want us to be persuaded by his artworks to be as passionate about is as he is.
-Janine Good