THE TERRY JOHNSON STORY

Forty years ago Terry Johnson was travelling around Australia with his wife Nancy deciding what to do next. New Zealand looked tempting to the couple but they settled in Adelaide. Terry’s background was actually botany – he had a degree and that’s the work he was doing when he first moved to Australia from his home in North Carolina in the United States. But a botanist is not a role in high demand and so he studied a Diploma in Teaching at Adelaide University.

And were it not for a lack of accommodation this story might be about the science teacher turned artist from the Southern Grampians but thanks to a case of no room at the inn, Terry and his wife spent a school holiday vacation in Robe. “We had always wanted to visit Robe and so we came here instead and we just loved it,” Terry said. They basically never left and while Terry continued his teaching in this region, it very quickly became more and more about the art.

“I’d always loved art,” Terry said. “But there was no way my parents were going to let me study art at university – they wanted me to get a real job.” But he did sneak some creativity into his studies, majoring in botany but completing a minor in visual arts.

Eventually he snuck art teaching into his career in Adelaide as well. Quite successfully too, with his Year 8 class taking out a national art competition, winning a chance to travel with iconic TV personality Harry Butler.

And it’s as an art teacher that Terry was able to relocate to the Limestone Coast, taking up a position at Kingston Community School before deciding it was time to live the dream. “I had always wanted to open a restaurant and art gallery and it just seemed the right time to take the plunge,” Terry said. So while Terry set about establishing Wilson’s At Robe, Nancy continued her role in the library at Kingston.

“I’d dabbled on and off but once we had the venue I concentrated more on my painting,” Terry said. Wilson’s At Robe will celebrate its 30th birthday next year and Terry has been painting full time for the past 25 years. When the couple first moved, they brainstormed all sorts of names for their dream project but in the end it basically named itself.

They secured the iconic Wilson’s Saddlery building and in deference to the location’s strong historical connection with the community –Wilson’s it remained. Built in 1857, it’s believed it operated as a saddler between 1859 and 1919.

on The Block shop and was part of a winning room on the most recent season, while Sophia will be presenting a collection of ceramics all about the sea, its textures and beautiful range of coastal colours.

Woodsoak Wines owner Sonia Legoe will open the exhibition on February 26 at 2pm – the perfect choice given her close association with all of the exhibiting artists. “She is certainly a community leader in Robe and the Limestone Coast,” Terry said. “Aside from being Sophia’s sister-in-law and best friend with Lizzie’s sister, she is also my good friend and neighbour. Sonia is one of those people that can speak effortlessly and having her open our exhibition is special to all three of us.”

LOVE AFFAIR WITH ROBE: (Below from left) Terry Johnson work; the artists - Sophia Legoe; Terry Johnson & Lizzie Alsop; (top) Lizzie’s artwork in the winning Block room & (below) Sophis at work in her ceramics studio.

See Terry Johnson story below & profiles of Lizzie and Sophia will appear in the lead up to the opening.

It is a single fronted shopfront with bullnose verandah and attached cottage that is typical of the architecture of the seaside town in the mid 1800s. Its transformation to art gallery, aided by the open spaces and thick stone walls wasn’t too much of a stretch and it is as iconic now, rated as one of the best commercial galleries in South Australia, as it was as a saddler operation.

Terry is basically a self-taught artist but make no mistake, he’s not been short on professional development. “Every opportunity I get to go to a class or a workshop I take,” he said. “It’s always been of great benefit and it’s how I expand and develop.” Terry said there’s no doubt all artists naturally evolve the longer they create but there’s definitely a thread that runs through your work. “My work is all about colour – I love colour – and that will never change – that’s my thread,” he said. “I love to control and use colour to create a feeling or a mood. For me, colour is like a smile. When you greet someone and it’s welcoming, they feel good and I think of colour that way.”

At a glance, Terry Johnson’s work appears to err on the side of abstract but there are definitely elements of realism. “I certainly make use of perspective and direction of light,” Terry said. “I often mix objects that are realistic with abstract, exaggerated colours.” Terry said risk taking as artist only comes with experience and confidence though. “When you are at the beginning of your career you want to avoid criticism and play it a bit safer,” he said.

And Terry’s former career as a botanist has been a key influence in his artistic career and on a recent visit back to the United States to visit his parents, who are in their 90s, he was able to assure them it was a degree he still uses today. “I do a lot of botanical drawings and I really have incorporated it into my work,” he said.

While Robe is Terry’s home – he does have a home away from home – Port Douglas. It is an association dating back a decade when he took up an artist in residence there. “I’ve always craved to be by the coast so it’s not surprising I’ve settled in Robe and spend the rest of my time in Port Douglas,” Terry said. “I love the wonderful, tough coastal environment and both places are different in their own way with both being magnificent.”

Terry loves that his Robe gallery continues to shock and surprise after almost 30 years. “People expect a typical small country gallery and when they see one room and then another and they are always surprised by how big it is and the quality of the work we display,” he said. “As with anything it’s hard work when you start out to attract artists but now we attract artists from all over Australia.”

Wilson’s At Robe is a six roomed gallery with Terry priding himself on being a strong supporter of talent from this region.

And that’s what the exhibition this November is all about – it encompasses the work of a large group of artists under the umbrella of Celebrate Robe and opens on the 4th. It has been divided into categories and amounts to six exhibitions merged into one. The likes of Lois Hodge, Leo Greenfield, Rossy Reeves and JoJo Spook are part of the locally connected artists providing works for the much anticipated exhibition.

The move to the Limestone Coast has also seen Terry form a close artistic network with Claire Souter one of the artists with whom he consistently bounces ideas around and has worked alongside Robert and Anne Miles as well. But the biggest influence has been the environment in which he lives. “That’s all the inspiration I need,” Terry said. “I keep finding new places to work and you also find new ways to present the same thing.”