Joe Furlonger: Horizons

36 At art school in the 1970s, a young Joe Furlonger was ‘happy just to be painting’ — an activity enjoyed since childhood, and a counterpoint to his work on the family’s market garden farm and stints on fishing trawlers. He wasn’t too concerned that his early career preferences for oil paint and figurative compositions were viewed as old-fashioned against the prevailing trend towards performance and installation art. Now on the cusp of turning 70, Furlonger’s urge to paint is undiminished. In November 2021, we were fortunate to spend a morning with the artist in his Samford studio, on Brisbane’s outskirts, during which he was generously forthcoming in discussing his approach to painting. The exchange helped us to understand his choices in art materials, as well as the evolution of his practice, which has informed both our current and longer- term approaches to the care and presentation of his paintings. Furlonger’s unassuming studio — built on the same Samford Valley property as his grandmother’s family home — is an open-air lean-to abutting a large tin shed, fabricated from recycled timbers, salvaged window frames and sheets of corrugated iron. Entering the studio up a makeshift ramp, the site is reminiscent of Ian Fairweather’s (1891–1974) self-made ‘hut’ on Bribie Island, where the renowned artist lived and worked as a recluse from 1953 until his death. (Unprompted, Furlonger proffers published photographs of Fairweather’s studio, taken in the 1960s, 1 stating ‘this is the optimum in studio design . . . a really good bit of building . . . You can see what I’m aping in my own’.) Looking around, we see rolls of canvas haphazardly leaning against stacks of artworks, unstretched paintings in progress pinned to the walls, painted ceramic vessels (collaborations with potter Errol Barnes) holding paintbrushes, and copious piles of art books. Small studies painted on paper are scattered on the main table and floor. Open four- litre tins, the insides of which are coated with layers and layers of dried paint, sit next to containers of PVA (polyvinyl acetate) wood glue, dog shampoo, bags of Avista oxide pigment, smaller jars of artist pigment, and casually strewn newspapers. A single industrial fan provides minimal relief from the Queensland humidity. His grandmother’s throne- like chair sits almost in the middle of the room, facing the opening of the studio’s awning. From the chair, you can survey the whole studio; Furlonger’s spot for meditation and conceptual development. Joe Furlonger in his Samford studio, 2022