Community
21 December, 2023
Artist leaves behind a gift
WHEN artist John Whitlock died earlier this year, he quietly left everything he owned as a parting gift to the Terang community.
Mr Whitlock, aged in his early seventies at the time of his death in July 2023, was an award-winning artist with more questions than answers lingering around who he was.
His background was in landscaping and construction but he chose to pursue art after the physical toll of his profession led to five surgeries on his hands and back.
Mr Whitlock was something of a recluse, content in his own company, proliferating hundreds of original pieces over the years.
He exhibited, solo or as part of a group, numerous times throughout the Melbourne area between 2006 and 2013.
From around 2014, his exhibitions moved to the south west across Terang, Mortlake, Camperdown and Port Fairy.
At the time of his death earlier this year, Mr Whitlock bequeathed all his possessions to the Terang Community Op-Shop including his accumulated artistic works; which included dozens of originals and hundreds of prints.
Terang Community Op-shop manager Andrea Balcombe contacted a local arts group, Arts.Comm, to collect the art, offering the opportunity to exhibit and sell the works if all proceeds would be used to directly benefit the Terang community.
“There is a certain mystique surrounding John,” Arts.Comm member Jo Kenna said.
“He exhibited locally, in cities, nationally and throughout the world, with his primary retail being the online sphere.
“Where many of his paintings were sold remains something of a mystery.”
Mr Whitlock’s work draws from the abstract expressionism style, primarily painted on enamel as the medium is effective for blending of colours to create “surprises” as he attempted to thoughtlessly operate as a conduit for the coalescence of colours, allowing the paintings to just “happen”.
Mr Whitlock showed a deep philosophical approach to his artistic endeavours, which he described as “an essence of academism”.
“The way I go about my business is to work hard, understand colour, and not be afraid to push the boundaries right over the edge,” a biographical statement on Mr Whitlock’s website reads.
“I am a strong believer in ensuring that my work is both different and original, to the point where I stretch the limits beyond the conventional.
“I describe my work as exotic, sensual, alluring but dangerous, with an instinctive approach.”
Ms Kenna said the work was both colourful and unique, with each piece sharing rough connections while remaining wildly different from the last.
Mr Whitlock was also known for painting over his own work, often on multiple occasions in an artistic act known as pentimento – derived from the Italian word for repentance.
The Arts.Comm group’s respect for Mr Whitlock’s talent and desire to posthumously do something positive for his community has inspired the creation of ‘John Whitlock’s Gift to Terang,’ an ongoing series of public exhibitions of his work.
Mr Whitlock’s work was first prominently displayed at this year’s Colour Terang Festival and is now on display at the old guide hall, Terang Post Office and Terang Information Centre.
Since taking ownership of Mr Whitlock’s collection, the art group has also organised a collaborative exhibition in which local artists will take a work of John’s and transform it in to a new work of art.
“We have about 15 artists currently doing this,” Ms Kenna said.
“Their work will be delivered in an exhibition at the Colour Terang Festival in 2024.”