WORK OF THE WEEK: Greg Johns, Transfigure, 2006

Greg Johns
Transfigure, 2006
Corten steel
240 x 57 x 40 cm
94 x 22 ½ x 15 ½ in.
Edition 1 of 5

'In myth - where changes and the changeless meet - join together and dance.'
Greg Johns

In 2002, Greg Johns purchased 400 acres of land at Palmer, a small town two hours drive from Adelaide. It is a landscape of bare hills, sparse vegetation, rocks, boulders, steep escarpments and an enveloping sky of distant horizons. In the years since, Johns has placed the totemic forms of his sculpture in juxtaposition with this harsh, elemental countryside. The rust-red profiles of his preferred medium, Corten steel, speak of the ranges, the deserts, and the shores which visually define so much of Australia, and allow for striking colour, material, and form, to emerge from the landscape.

Born in Adelaide in 1953, Johns was educated at the South Australian School of Art, and has had solo exhibitions in Australia, Asia, New York and the UK, most notably Thirty Year Retrospective at the McClelland Museum, Melbourne in 2006. Johns is widely regarded for his commissions, including: Pattern 3, Pocheon, Korea, 2005; and Landlines, Gawler, Adelaide.

This year, Greg Johns celebrates 50 years of sculptural practice. A major retrospective of his work will open at Australian Galleries, Melbourne in June, and in Sydney, a 6 by 8 metre public sculpture titled Swaying Whisperers (Songs Of The) is due to be unveiled later this spring.

Greg Johns, Transfigure, 2006