Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

ARCO Coal is the Gallery's leading corporate supporter, having sponsored exhibitions in each of the years 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991-an achievement unequalled by any other. This latest example of the company's generosity has made it possible to make a beautiful addition to an already beautiful building; and here I would like to recognise the contribution of our own staff member, Joe Devilee, who designed this ARCO Gallery, and the Gallery's own skilful team of artisans who constructed it. Moreover, for me personally, this new gallery and its contents have meant the fulfilment of a long-cherished ambition. When I made my first speech six years ago– just after being appointed Chairman of Trustees, I made the point that, in view of its geographical position, the Queensland Art Gallery should begin to take serious account of the arts of the countries of Asia-neighbours no longer in the Far East but in the Near North-and in this I was supported wholeheartedly by the other Trustees and by the Director. In practical terms, 'taking account' has meant exchanging exhibitions with both China and Japan; it has meant having a dialogue with artists leading up, to the Asia– Pacific Triennial due to take place in September; and it has meant involving corporate Japan, which has resulted in the setting up of the Exhibitions Development Fund, with more than half a million dollars donated by six Japanese companies. But perhaps most important of all, it has meant the decision to establish a small masterpiece collection of Japanese art. The question was, what should that collection comprise? Just as in Greek mythology, Theseus needed a thread to guide him through the labyrinth of King Minos, so we needed a thread to guide us through the labyrinth of Asian art; otherwise, where were we to start and where to stopl We therefore decided to confine ourselves to something that would be finite, achievable, donatable and, even if no donors were forthcoming, affordable by the Gallery itself. Our choice was storage jars from the Six Old Kilns of Japan: Seto, Echizen, Tokoname, Bizen, Tamba and Shigaraki. Six pieces alone would then make up a masterpiece collection, unique in the Southern Hemisphere, and rivalled by only a very small number of galleries throughout the entire world. What is more, with the Six Old Kilns we would be touching not only the ceramic heart of Japan, but its historical and cultural heart as well: • The earliest of the kilns, Seto, has given its name to the Japanese word for ceramics itself-setomono-'things from Seto'; • Shigaraki, the youngest, has inspired poets to write about the distant mountains where the kilns themselves are situated-- Shigaraki no toyama; • Echizen will remind Japanese historians of the Namboku wars which raged around it in the fourteenth century; • Tamba and Bizen are close enough to Kyoto to remind all of us of what has been the centre of Japanese aesthetics and culture for a thousand years; • And all the kilns have played their part in something which is quintessentially Japanese: the tea ceremony. Indeed, one of the most famous of the tea masters, Sen no Rikyu, kept his tea in a Tokoname jar. 32