Joe Furlonger: Horizons

14 ‘Keep moving.’ That could be Joe Furlonger’s mantra. Moving from one medium to the next, moving between his chosen subjects, he is always looking for that new approach. The assured, spontaneous transfer of observation to paper is at the heart of his 40-year practice, which ranges across painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture. Throughout, the human figure, land and seascapes have continued to inspire him, and through them, he explores and evokes the surrounding world and the feelings that emanate from his experience of time and place. Few in contemporary Australian art can match Furlonger’s dedication as a draughtsman; insistently engaged with the creative impulse, he draws every day, using pencil, charcoal, brush, pen or pastel to make his mark, whether for preparatory studies or stand-alone works of art. His oeuvre asserts the central value of drawing and drawing again — of coming to an understanding through repetition. I think that artists want to record something of their place and time no matter how they go about it.