Biography

James Timothy Gleeson (22 November 1915 – 20 October 2008) was one of Australia's foremost artists. He was also a poet, critic, writer and curator. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, including serving on the board of the National Gallery of Australia. Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby and he attended East Sydney Technical College. As a young man, he was attracted to work of the likes of Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico and Max Ernst. At this time Gleeson became interested in the writings of psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, which would become major intellectual influences for his art.

Gleeson's themes generally delved into the subconscious using literary, mythological or religious subject matter. During the 1950s and '60s he moved to a more symbolic perspective, exploring notions of human perfectibility. Many of his paintings reflected on Gleeson's own homosexuality.

Since the 1970s Gleeson generally made large scale paintings in keeping with the surrealist Inscape genre. The works outwardly resemble rocky seascapes, although in detail the coastline's geological features are found to be made of giant molluscs and threatening crustaceans. In keeping with the Freudian principles of surrealism these grotesque, nightmarish compositions symbolise the inner workings of the human mind. Called 'Psychoscapes' by the artist, they show liquid, solid and air coming together and directly allude to the interface between the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind.

Gleeson's later works incorporate the human form less and less in its entirety. The human form was then represented in his landscapes by suggestions, an arm, a hand or merely an eye.

Gleeson died in Sydney on 20 October 2008, aged 92.