James Gleeson

Synopsis

James Gleeson is Australia's foremost surrealist painter, and The Artist as an Evolving Landscape amongst his most well known works. At 88 years of age, he is also an established poet, art critic and historian.

The program explores his many influences - the paintings of Breton, Magritte and Dali, the poetry of T.S.Eliot and William Blake and the music Mahler and Wagner. Gleeson shares with the viewer the process of drawing, collage and painting that he uses in the creation of his works. By coincidence, two of the interviews with the artist occurred on days of significance: 17th March 2003, the day Australian troops were committed to the war in Iraq, and September 11th 2001, the day of the attack on the NY Trade Centre.

With war already a recurring theme in the work of Gleeson, these events inspire new paintings, the creation of which the viewer is able to share.