Introduction and Acknowledgements

It is a privilege to present Robert Preston’s first retrospective exhibition, Inner Visions: Observation, Abstraction and Imagination, 1955-2021, at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery. This expansive exhibition celebrates 66 years of outstanding visual arts practice from one of North Queensland’s most accomplished and influential artists, right in time for the gallery’s 40th anniversary. Preston has had a long and fruitful relationship with Perc Tucker Regional Gallery and it is an absolute honour for me, as both the Creative Director and as an artist, to assemble this unprecedented selection of the artist’s work. Preston has an intimidating oeuvre which took, without exaggeration, some two years to pare down to what is hoped to be a somewhat concise (at more than 200 pieces) overview of an artistic practice of truly monumental achievement.

Preston first exhibited in Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in its second year of existence, 1982, in a group show curated by then-Director Norman Wilson, called The Tie Exhibition. Preston would exhibit in two further group shows in 1984 and then 1987 respectively, before his landmark survey exhibition in 1989, curated by thenDirector Ross Searle. Searle’s selection emphasized Preston’s development of his ‘tropical’ works we now know so well, as well as key works relating to his development as an artist. These works, sometimes referred to by the artist as his ‘fantasy works’ or ‘works of imagination’, were specifically created in response to the life, landscape, light and colour of North Queensland, with a much more vibrant and intense palette than his native England. This is now perhaps his most recognizable and beloved of his many visual approaches. Searle’s comprehensive catalogue has been an indispensable resource for this exhibition from the standpoint of research and locating and identifying work, which is why we have made the decision, with Searle’s blessing, to once again make this publication available in PDF form, via Perc Tucker Regional Gallery’s online platform.

Preston’s next solo exhibition at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery was 1992’s Between the Tides, featuring work from a very specific time bracket, 1971-1975, which represented a fundamental pivot in Preston’s work in response to the radical differences between England and his then-new home in North Queensland. Unlike the later works of imagination, which were by their very nature calm and meditative response to the environs of North Queensland, these works grappled with the new conditions of climate and geography, and a pronounced sense of dislocation. There was something unsettling about these works, a sense of apprehension, or even mistrust, of the new landscapes the artist found himself within. Additionally, the works of this time were a deliberate step away from the observational (rather than expressionist) methods espoused by Preston’s alma mater, the Camberwell College of Arts. The works exhibited in Between the Tides were, of course, germane to the later works of imagination in terms of a new approach to scale and intimacy, and an ongoing dialogue with spiritualism and the natural world. In this way, Between the Tides acts as a kind of coda to Preston’s Survey 1989 exhibition. Preston’s PhD culminated in an exhibition, The Mixing of Memory and Desire, shown at University of Queensland’s Customs House Gallery and in Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in 2000 and 2001 respectively. These assembled works were, as one would expect after close to a decade of rigorous postgraduate study, an incredibly considered demonstration of bravura artistic practice, showcasing works from 1992-2000. Though the exhibition covered an eight-year time period, Preston’s thesis is revealing of his practice on both a micro and macro level. Different aspects of his research can be zoomed in on, or applied across the breadth of his approaches, and along with the writings of Searle, Chris Saines and Anneke Silver of past Perc Tucker Regional Gallery exhibitions, forms an invaluable conceptual scaffold for approaching the artist’s vast oeuvre.

Beyond this, Preston has exhibited in many notable group exhibitions at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Umbrella Studio and Sydney Contemporary, however a career-capping retrospective has not been forthcoming, perhaps due to the intimidating challenge of weaving a consistent and holistic curatorial around a practice of such incredibly diverse strands. This challenge formed the core of the curatorial approach to this exhibition, particularly in terms of the practice of collage, and the idea of observation, which have formed the key nexus of theory and practice for the artist for decades, the idea of visual language being a fluid and adaptable phenomenon, akin to music and the written word, and a continued commitment to the rigors of observational drawing.

This exhibition brings together works from Preston’s entire career, including never-before-exhibited student, commercial, journal and compositional works, and key works from the artist’s major exhibitions, drawn from collections private and public, and the artist’s own archive.

Without the generous support of lenders, it is an exhibition which would not have been possible. On behalf of Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, I would like to thank Neil & Charmaine Binnie, Shannon Chadwick, James Brown, Asoka Ranjanee Preston, James Cook University Special Collection, Jim Cox, Tony Fitzsimmons, Jane Hawkins, Chris Mann, Ron & Bronwyn McBurnie, Stephen & Marg Naylor, Neil & Bronia Renison, Anneke Silver, Elizabeth Springer & Ken Nevins and Ross Searle & Cheryl Stock. If ever there was evidence of the idea of ‘the artist’s artist’, it is this list of lenders, an attestation to Preston’s level of practice. In a kung fu film, Preston would be the wise master, teaching the youthful and the impatient the virtues of discipline. In a video game, he would be that final, nigh-impossible boss, whom one must conquer in order to complete the game (and yes, I am filing these ideas away for future drawings as I write this).

I would like to thank the other contributors for their thoughtful writings contained in this publication. Thank you to Ross Searle for his insightful essay, and for his continuing commitment to Preston’s practice. Thank you to Chris Saines for his wonderful foreword, managing to submit it early among what must surely be one of the busiest schedules in the creative sector.

As ever, I am supported by a team of incredibly dedicated and wonderful people, all of which have contributed to this project in some way, but I would be remiss if I did not thank two extraordinary women in particular. Thank you to Jo Lankester, for all of her behind the scenes work in getting our many stunning works of Preston’s in the Collection of the City of Townsville prepared for the exhibition. And thank you to Chloe Lindo, who has been such a rock through this project, helping me out at every turn. This exhibition would not have been possible without her, as I would have had a nervous breakdown months ago.

Lastly I would like to thank the artist for the opportunity of working with him on this exhibition. It has been a true honour and an amazing learning experience for me personally, across a number of levels, including as a gallerist, as a curator and, most notably, as an artist. In order to better understand the intensive nature of Preston’s approach to studio practice, I read about Coldstream and particularly Uglow’s methods of measurement and observation. While it was a timeconsuming practice, the challenge was revealing and invigorating, and resulted for me in the most rapid and substantial levelling up in studio learnings for me since my first life drawing workshop at age 14, not to mention gaining insight into Preston’s own practice, which I know I will continue to learn from in years to come.

It has been a real treat, and the high point of my career as a gallerist.

Jonathan McBurnie

Creative Director, Townsville City Galleries