Based in Melbourne, Australia, John considers himself a contemporary visual artist whose practice sits within the genre of botanical art yet rebels against its continued traditional representations and tropes. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, in solo and group exhibitions for the last 22 years in private and public galleries exploring these tensions along with the complex and dynamic interrelationships of man and nature/science and art. This has evolved into a commitment to painting as both a method and as a form of deeper inspection which continues to draw upon the power of close observation. Using rich luminous hues in gorgeously exotic and rare botanical specimens epitomise his work, however these are more than representational flower paintings. Closer inspection unearths a certain ambiguity of form and intent towards a dark and complex narrative which is born of the association between eye and hand, and sense and thought.
A visual and emotional duality is an overarching theme as his paintings inhabit a territory somewhere between scientific analysis and symbolic realism. The hyper-representation of the natural world is documented in such a way it creates a new contemporary reality. Each work is created masterfully as great attention is given to detail through exquisite painterly skills and ultimately reaches a greater audience. The creation of works of this nature always intrigues audiences regardless of age and they enjoy the creative process involved.
John has developed a distinctive iconography in his work, and his colour palette is extraordinarily vivid. A master of his medium, his perfectly executed watercolours remain true to the accuracy that is vital to botanical illustration yet they have a fluidity and sensuality that stirs the viewer to experience more than a mere marvelling of technique. A sense of unease is created by the recurrent use of certain motifs that are uniquely his own: floating subjects devoid of shadows, minimalist compositions, clever use of negative space, and notably the broken or torn branches of his specimens.
Gordon Morrison, Director, Art Gallery of Ballarat, notes that:
“As a trained botanical artist of the first order, John Pastoriza-Piñol is completely au fait with the Linnaean system, and can create illustrations which have a strictly scientific function, where aesthetics are a secondary consideration. However, his latest work takes us in a very different direction. These are not timid, frigid, shrinking violets or virginal mystic roses: Pastoriza-Piñol’s flowers are lush, potent, sensual celebrations of life.”
Background
John completed his docturmiento in Botany at University of Vigo, Galicia, in Spain. On returning home to Australia, he was encouraged to formally study botanical illustration at the Botanical Art School of Melbourne under the direction of Jenny Phillips, one of the most influential Australian botanical artists and renowned around the world. The transition from amateur to professional was relatively brief for John, prompting him to develop his own style and exhibit further afield. He began showing work at the Royal Horticultural Society winter shows in Westminster London. Immediately after his Gold medal winning show in 2005, John Adams, curator of Ebury Galleries in London, offered him his first ever solo exhibition of botanical art to coincide with the 2006 Chelsea Flower Show. The exhibition was formally opened by the then Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency the Honourable Richard Alston, and was attended by many fine art collectors. It was an extraordinary opportunity for John to exhibit at a prominent fine art gallery in the heart of London.
Success from the UK exhibition resulted in his work being selected for inclusion in the Highgrove Florilegium, a project created under the aegis of the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation that celebrated and permanently recorded the flora in the garden at Highgrove. His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, kindly invited John and others involved in the Highgrove Florilegium to visit the garden at Highgrove in July 2008. John’s work has been selected for inclusion in the Transylvania Florilegium presently being created under the umbrella of the Prince of Wales’s Foundation Romania to record in a permanent way the flora of Transylvania.
John was represented by Nellie Castan Gallery in South Yarra, Victoria, one of Australia’s most respected galleries committed to exhibiting emerging and mid-career artists. In 2012 he presented an exciting new body of work for his fourth solo exhibition at Nellie Castan Gallery. Titled Hermes-Aphrodite, the slightly provocative depiction of exotic botanical specimens alluded to the gender lines in our society which are becoming increasingly blurred, and the fact that our bodies are the site and subject of on-going debate and contention. Of John’s work, director Nellie Castan says it has “enormous appeal with many audiences and continues to enrich the quality of Australian contemporary art.”
Current
John’s work is now held in numerous public and private collections around the world including National Gallery of Victoria; Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London; State collection, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne; RMIT University and the Collection of Alisa and Isaac M. Sutton, to name a few. Along with private commissions, John is actively showing his work globally and has secured international venues in London, Paris, New York and Madrid. Being a recipient of many awards and accolades has afforded him international recognition. John teaches intermediate/advanced classes at both the Geelong Botanic Gardens and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and has expanded his teaching circuit to include interstate and international master classes demonstrating his unique approach to the art form.
In 2016, John was awarded a grant from The Australia Council for the Arts which included an arts residency in New York, where he created a new collection of paintings based on the work of Irving Penn which was exhibited at Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne in May 2017. The successful exhibition titled ‘Nubile Perfection’ was a reference to Irving Penn’s botanical photographs and the works inhabited a territory somewhere between scientific analysis and symbolic realism, prompting a reading that goes beyond the purely representational. Works in this exhibition highlighted the inherent hypernaturalism, quality of light and its penetration on the chosen subject matter. This exhibition was supported through the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body via the Arts projects for individuals grant.
For many artists, the global pandemic was an opportunity to be productive whilst in a forced lockdown situation. This slowing down was a way to pivot and take stock of works which may have commenced but not yet finished, which was exactly what John was able to achieve. The resulting paintings contributing to his latest solo exhibition ‘Botanicum Series II’ at Scott Livesey Galleries, Australia.
The Botanicum Series was a project following the success of John’s first solo exhibition in London 2006. This series of exhibitions would syncopate a lengthy art career and allow the artist to return to the genesis of his art practice with renewed skill and vision. Unlike the treatise offered to a Florilegium, a collection of plants from a particular garden or place site, the Botanicum Series is typically a collection of intimate studies of plants and natural history with a more contemporary art feel. These would be subjects the artist has an affinity towards or which have captured his attention.
He endeavoured to recrudesce similar subjects depicted in the first Botanicum Series I, 2007. This is a recapitulation with more complex studies that pursue a subversive narrative with floating objects, lack of shadows and use of negative space. This hyper-representation of the natural world with its Cerulean blues, Perylene Greens, Vanadium Yellows and Quinacridone Reds, creates a new contemporary reality.
The dates of the were August 6 – 27 2022 you can view the artworks online through the gallery website – www.scottliveseygalleries.com and an exhibition catalogue is available on request.
John is constantly planning exhibitions around the world as well as an intensive teaching circuit. For the updates on John’s activities please refer to the News & Events section.