Above photo of Jan Senbergs by Riste Andrievski
Click play for my podcast introduction to this interview and scroll down for the transcript.
Podcast listeners click here and scroll down for transcript.
Watch the YouTube video of Jan Senbergs' studio and work here
Links
Jan Senbergs' website
Jan Senbergs on Instagram
Jan Senbergs at Niagara Galleries
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PDF version of transcript for tablet/desktop
With over six decades of work as a painter, printmaker and draughtsman, leading artist Jan Senbergs has exhibited in over 50 solo shows and has been the subject of three survey shows including a major retrospective curated by the National Gallery of Victoria in 2016. A rare accomplishment.
His art evolved from early masterly screenprints to large scale paintings and with subject matter as varied as urban and natural landscapes, industrial themes, surreal structures and forms and aerial map-like works.
This episode has been a long time coming. Covid threw out our plans for an early 2020 meeting but two years later we met in Jan's inspirational studio in Melbourne. His voice has been affected by some health issues and so this episode is coming to you by way of transcript (below) and an intro on the podcast.
As I was setting up my audio equipment on the day of the interview, Jan and I chatted about the time he had spent in London in his 20s. We talked about other Australian artists who were there at that time. That’s where the recording of the interview began.
Jan Senbergs
I was the younger artist who came into that area and I didn't know anybody. I didn't want to bother the local Antipodeans (laughs) so I usually went out by myself. I headed for the National Gallery on one occasion and ran into Arthur Boyd heading there too. We travelled together on the bus from Pimlico to Trafalgar Square. It was very nice because we walked through the Gallery making comments. It's lovely to do that with another painter. We walked past one room and Arthur stopped and said, 'There's a good painting in this room.’ It was a big dog watching over a dying nymph, by Piero di Cosimo. He was such an interesting painter. Afterwards, Arthur suggested we go and have a drink, so we went across the road and had a couple of beers and then he said 'You'll have to excuse me, but I've got to go back home. I've got a few duties there.' We shook hands and I never saw him again.
Maria Stoljar
You never saw him again?
JS
No, but what was nice about it was the generosity of the older person to somebody younger who had just arrived.
MS
How lovely. But you knew a lot of famous Australian artists like Fred Williams, for example. He was a friend of yours, wasn't he?
JS
Yeah, I knew Fred. When I first started showing around, I mixed with some of the older artists. At that time there were hardly any younger artists around. And because I hadn't gone to an art school, I was very isolated. It's quite different for artists today. Now there are thousands of young people trying very hard to make good art after their schooling. It's a different atmosphere. Schools pump out all these people with hopes and ambitions. That’s the reason it's good to know some of the older painters.
MS
Yes. Like John Brack?
JS
Yes, John Brack was one … Len Crawford, Fred, Roger Kemp – these were heavy-duty Melbourne blokes.
MS
It's amazing that you, in your early 20s, were hanging out with those people.
JS
Yeah, it was actually. Because I couldn't get into art school so I’d started working in a silkscreen printing company, which was a terrible bloody job (laughs).
‘Modern monument in colour ‘ 1975, Colour screenprint, 56.6 x 81.2cm (image)National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
MS
Why? Was it heavy work or just dirty work?
JS
Dirty work.