James Gleeson is Australia’s foremost surrealist artist. His work looks beyond the visible, questioning the limitation of our senses through fleshy biomorphic, mechanical and illusionistic landscapes. Like the great surrealists before him, Gleeson penetrates the subconscious. In his words:

“Many of the depicted images are the end results of remembered dreams. Many others have floated into my consciousness so precisely detailed that they could only have been forced up by pressures in the subconscious level.”

‘I walk ahead of myself in perpetual expectancy of miracles’ is a quote from Anais Nin, a renowned writer of erotica, short stories and essays. Characteristic of surrealism, Gleeson incorporates not only text but drawing, ink wash and collage. He melds the erotic and foreign, concieving a dreamscape as intoxicating as an opiate.

An artist, writer, and curator, Gleeson is the subject of numerous monographs and important survey exhibitions. His works have entered collections of the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, significant state, regional, and tertiary institutions, as well as respected corporate and private collections across Australia and abroad.

For collections of important Australian art or those seduced by the wonderfully weird, ‘I walk ahead of myself in perpetual expectancy of miracles’ is a miraculous find.
 

James GLEESON (1915 - 2008)
'I walk ahead of myself in perpetual expectancy of miracles' 1976
Ink wash, charcoal, and collage on paper
Image Size: 69 x 51 cm
Dimensions: 107 x 84 x 2 cm
Signed: Signed and dated lower right: Gleeson 76; titled lower centre: … I walk ahead of myself in perpetual expectancy of miracles…
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art’s image As New, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to paint surface. Image is in Fine condition.

© James Gleeson / Copyright Agency 2024