Reflections Curatorial Process

NICOLE DURLING: I’m an intuitive curator, informal in my approach. When I was invited to participate in this project, I felt nervous if I could contribute something useful, something that would be of interest to John. I decided that uncertainty was the best place to start, as I often do with most projects of worth that I have worked on – starting from a place of openness, to listen and to learn. I needed to just let the process happen.

My first introduction to John was via a series of artworks that he had selected, by artists who inspire him and whose work he learns from, mimicking their style in his own studio. Rembrandt, Bacon and Picasso were amongst this first group of artists. Big, serious painters.

When we met via Zoom in January 2022, John’s humour and intelligence was easily identifiable through his thick Glaswegian accent. In our first conversation, we started to get to know each other by sharing mutual experiences, his of Australia and mine of Scotland. Looking to connect as humans, to find commonality.

Jennifer Gilbert from Art et al., and Valerie O’Regan, who has worked with John for 12 years at Project Ability, joined us both through this whole journey. John’s wife, Patricia (Tricia), joined the conversation occasionally too. Val facilitated the technical glitches and encouraged John to express his thoughts and Jen guided us through any uncertainty. I asked John to explain what he liked about his selected artworks. He spoke of technique, of layout, colours, patterns, subject (mostly portraiture) and how he loved oil paint, thick impasto oils.

I was amazed at how John looked at artworks, what he saw in them. He looked deeply into them, beyond the obvious, he was highly visually articulate. This is something he probably always had but may not have had a reason to apply it. Maybe it was unlocked in the recovery process from his stroke, forced for a period to observe the world, now John spends every day utilising this gift through his painting.

Ken WhissonThinking Back 2017–18 (detail) Courtesy of the artist’s estate and Niagara Galleries, Melbourne.

Next, I needed to figure out with John how we could make an exhibition together. I spoke to John that my job as a curator is to look for a theme or a link that ties an exhibition together, it could be an idea, or a particular artwork, a colour, or a feeling. My initial thought was that this project was going to be about painting, focusing on his love for oils. However, interestingly, the final selection is more diverse than that.

Every fortnight for a few months, Monday evening for me in Melbourne, Monday morning for John in Glasgow, we would meet on the screen again, joined by Jen and Val. I would have spent the time in-between selecting artworks to share in a presentation that I thought might be of interest to John. Often, I’d include works that reminded me of something we had spoken about the week prior, not always to include in the final project, but just to chat about. John reminded me of the pleasure of looking at and talking about art. He would tell stories about his father’s cat, Rattus Norvegicus, about his beloved family, places he had visited, and skipping school to go and visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum when he was younger. The artworks we shared and spoke about all triggered certain memories for John.

Over time, the project was anchored by the four artworks John selected from Submit to Love Studios. I selected Australian artists whose work I felt had a connection to John’s chosen four. I was always curious to hear if he responded to these works, and what he would see in them – nervous if they didn’t pass John’s visual filter. Val would also send through images of new artworks John had completed recently. As a painter, John is unrelenting and prolific. His backyard studio packed with his work, all in

various stages of completion. I knew we needed to include his paintings into this project. And I also knew we needed to include one of John’s favourite serious painters, being Francis Bacon.

The final selection of artworks, the online exhibition presentation, is comprised of five rooms, or five expressions of John’s personal and artistic interests. Spanning diversity of material, technique and subject matter, and all layered with John’s refined ability to observe the nuances of human emotion.

JOHN MCNAUGHT: I was nervous about being part of the project because I thought I wasn’t good enough, but now I think well it’s okay for you to like something or you don’t. You are always learning, I liked seeing the artists in Australia and England, I’m going to miss it – the people, the inspiration. It’s cracking how you get to know a painting. — John was supported throughout by Project Ability artist practitioner Valerie O’Regan, who reflects on the project:

This curated collection has become a visual journey of John’s life in the present. John is an adventurous and generous artist. The selected paintings reflect John’s curiosity, humour, eclectic love of art, his family, every day, and personal memories. For John, some of the artworks were an intuitive connection, while others over the duration of the project were discovered, revealed, and responded to. These intuitive moments of observing, reflecting, and engaging are echoed in John’s selected artworks from UK and Australian artists.