James Gleeson was born in Sydney, Australia in 1915. He pursued his studies at the East Sydney Technical College (1934–36) and the Sydney Teachers' College (1937–38), where he developed a keen interest in the psychoanalytic theories of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, propelling him to become Australia's foremost surrealist. In 1947 he relocated to London and joined the Abbey Arts Centre, outside the capital, where he collaborated with Australian sculptor Robert Klippel on the polychrome carving <em>Madame Sophie Sesostoris (a Pre-Raphaelite Satire)</em>, considered one of the most successful artistic collaborations in 20th-century Australian art. In 1949, he returned to Australia.
Painter James Gleeson was born on 21 November 1915 in Sydney, Australia, growing up in a small town north of the city, and brought up by his mother on her own, after the death of his father in the great flu epidemic of 1919. Gleeson often proclaimed he was ‘born a surrealist’, harbouring from childhood a conviction that the essence of reality extended beyond the superficial; his fascination was particularly engaged by the secretive life within coastal rock pools, where, as he observed, ‘Inside were fantastic creatures. They made me realise what I thought I knew about things was only the beginning’ (The Independent).
His formal education in art took place at East Sydney Technical College (1934–36) and then at Sydney Teachers' College (1937–38), under the mentorship of May Marsden, who nurtured his inquisitive nature. This period marked Gleeson's interest in the psychoanalytic theories of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, which, in turn, intensified his affinity for surrealism's exploration of the subconscious. Works by Poussin, El Greco, Brueghel, and Blake further ignited his fascination with classical figures and mythology, alongside a concern for humanity, agianst the backdrop of the Depression, the ascendancy of Fascism in Europe, and the looming Second World War. From the late 1930s through the 1940s, Gleeson delved into surrealism, creating poignant representations of war's brutality through his art. Influenced by Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, André Masson, Freud, and Jung, Gleeson took inspiration from poetry, dreams, and mythology to enrich his paintings, collages, and drawings. The Disposition of Lightning in Relation To A Lady-Mountain stands as one of Gleeson's initial forays into Surrealism. Upon its display at the first-ever Contemporary Art Society exhibition in Melbourne in 1939, it stirred considerable excitement and established Gleeson as the leading Surrealist in Australia.
His efforts to demystify surrealism in Australia included writing articles and lecturing throughout the 1940s, alongside a two-year educational journey across England, France, and Italy. Inherited wealth from his affluent aunt enabled Gleeson to travel to London in 1947, where he joined the Abbey Arts Centre, an artists' colony at 89 Park Road, New Barnet, just outside the capital, established in 1946 by William Ohly of the Berkeley Galleries in London's Davies Street. It was likely that Ohly's impressive collection of ethnic sculptures attracted Gleeson and fellow Australian artists, including sculptors Robert Klippel and Oliffe Richmond, to this hub. It was here that during 1947–48 Gleeson and Klippel created the surrealist polychrome carving Madame Sophie Sesostoris (a Pre-Raphaelite Satire), inspired by T.S. Eliot's ‘famous clairvoyant’ from The Waste Land. This wooden piece, a satirical commentary on the languid demeanour of women as depicted by Pre-Raphaelites, such as Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which Gleeson had encountered in London galleries, was a collaborative effort, with Klippel carving and Gleeson painting. Highly-coloured, it presented a naked woman emerging upwards from a container, while revealing, in the lower part, the dynamic inner workings of an organic machine. Their goal was ‘to suggest the vital inner structure of an apparently simple form, to suggest that by some kind of X-Ray magic one could look through the opaque skin and see all that lay within’ (Art Gallery NSW). By altering the figure's name and presenting her as a 'Pre-Raphaelite satire', they aimed to challenge conventional perceptions of internal and external realities. The sculpture, now housed in the New South Wales Art Gallery, is a testament to one of the most successful artistic partnerships of 20th-century Australian art, highlighted during their joint exhibition at the London Gallery in London in 1948.
Upon returning to Australia in 1940, Gleeson continued a distinguished career as a writer, poet, and critic, contributing to the Sydney Sun and Sun-Herald up until the 1970s and authoring works on William Dobell and Klippel. The 1960s saw him exploring themes from ancient Greek mythology, focusing on the concept of liberation through heroism. However, by the end of the 1970s, he shifted his artistic gaze towards incorporating elements of technology and futuristic machinery in his work. Reflecting on this transition, Gleeson noted, ‘Having experienced the idea of man as the measure of all things, I began to deconstruct that concept and link up with earlier thoughts about man being limited’ (Beyond the Screen of Sight, NGA). He played a significant role in the establishment of the National Gallery of Australia, which opened in 1982. In the decade that followed, Gleeson returned to his roots in painting, creating panoramic, imaginary landscapes. These works intricately wove together images of geological structures with biological elements, such as organs, bones, and connective tissues, portraying a vision of the subconscious both unsettling and eerily beautiful. Gleeson's work featured in UK survey exhibitions of Australian painting, including: Australian Painting, Tate Gallery, London (1963) and Recent Australian Painting, Whitechapel Gallery, London (1961). James Gleeson died in Sydney, Australia on 20 October 2008. In the UK public domain his work is represented in the British Museum Collection.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [James Gleeson]
Publications related to [James Gleeson] in the Ben Uri Library