JOHN COBURN

Axia Fine Art, Melbourne
Private collection, Singapore; purchased from the above in 2000

Overall good condition. This work is framed with backing board and does not appear to be lined. No visible re-touching, confirmed by UV.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The late John Coburn was ranked amongst this country's most respected senior artists, and his abstract images, inspired by nature and religion are some of the most recognisable in Australian art.  He is well known for his large  public commissions, such as the curtains for the Sydney Opera House and the Seven Days of Creation series hanging in the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC. In 2003 Lou Klepac published a monograph on his work, and he was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, in 2004.  

In Desert Birds, Coburn returns to an earlier series of five works of the same title created during the 1980s.  Like much of Coburn's mature work, the present painting is an arrangement of abstract shapes derived from natural sources. Bird-like forms intermingle with rock-like forms in brown, grey and black, all floating above a red desert ground.  The image is ambiguous, delicately balanced between an identifiable 'view' and a 'pure' geometric abstraction.  Coburn's scenes seek inspiration from nature but are not direct depictions of landscape.  Rather, he uses nature to construct a personal shape-iconography, a kind of symbolic language, in which he speaks of the spiritual beauty of the Australian landscape.