Jan Senbergs
(Australia, Latvia 29 Oct 1939– )
- Title
- Kitchen at Smacka's, from the series Kitchen at Smacka's
- Place of origin
-
Melbourne →
Victoria →
Australia
- Year
- 1995
- Media category
- Drawing
- Materials used
- black pastel, on thick white wove paper (third and fourth panels of a quartet)
- Dimensions
-
153.5 x 115.0cm sheet; 153.5 x 232.0cm diptych overall; 153.5 x 464.0cm quartet overall; single frame dimension 165.5 x 126.5 x 4.2cm
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of the Trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation 1995
- Accession number
- 466.1995.2
- Copyright
- © Jan Senbergs
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Drawing did not begin to occupy Jan Senbergs seriously until the late 1970s after he stopped screenprinting and had completed a major sculpture commission for the High Court of Australia. His first exhibition of drawings, 'Port pastels', was in Sydney at the Rudy Komon Art Gallery in 1979. Drawing has since remained central to his practice. 'Kitchen at Smacka’s' is a panoramic view of Senbergs’ studio, a cavernous space in inner Melbourne, occupied in the 1960s and 70s by a nightclub named after its owner, Smacka Fitzgibbon.
The building was a prominent part of Melbourne’s jazz scene before Senbergs occupied it. In the first two sheets of the four-part drawing, the semi-circular dance floor can be seen, which Senbergs has retained; in the fourth sheet, the old bar is visible. Senbergs only submitted the third and fourth sheets of this quartet of drawings to the Dobell Prize. After it was acquired for the Gallery’s collection as the winning work, the artist gifted the first and second sheets of the quartet to the Gallery. A drawing of the interior of his previous studio in Middle Park, 'Studio interior' 1993, is also in the Gallery’s collection.
- Bibliography (12)
-
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Helen Campbell (Australia) (Author), Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, Sydney, 2012, 7, 24, 25 (colour illus.), 60.
'A fine harvest of drawings: legacy of an exceptional draughtsman' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 28-31., Look Nov 2011, Nov 2011, 30.
Patrick McCaughey (Northern Ireland; Australia, b.1943) (Author), Voyage and landfall: the art of Jan Senbergs, Carlton, 2006, 178-181 (illus.).
‘Drawing conclusions’ by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 17., Look Sep 2006, Sep 2006, 17.
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia), The Dobell Prize for Drawing: 1993-2004, Sydney, 2004, 9, 20, (illus.), 21 (illus.), 50, 51.
'Drawing a winner: a decade of Dobell prizes shows us how and why' by Hendrik Kolenberg, pg. 24-27., Look Aug 2003, Aug 2003, 26, 27 (illus.).
'Prize drawings: building a collection by competition' by Bronwyn Watson, pg. 24-26., Look Oct 2001, Oct 2001, 26 (illus.).
'Drawing at its best', by Judith Wright, pg. 15., Look Mar 1999, Mar 1999, 15 (illus.).
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Domain, 1997, 13, 132 (illus.), 133 (illus.). cat.no. 130
Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Expressive figuration, Sydney, 1996. cat.no. 48
‘Few mutterings but work a winning choice’ by John MacDonald, pg. 12., The Sydney Morning Herald 08 Apr 1995, 08 Apr 1995, 12 (illus.).
'Back to drawing board’ by Elizabeth Fortescue., The Daily Telegraph Apr 1995, Apr 1995. page number and publication date unknown
- Exhibition history (7)
-
Dobell Prize for Drawing 1995, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 08 Apr 1995–28 May 1995.
Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Dec 1996–02 Feb 1997.
Expressive figuration: drawings by Kevin Connor, Pam Hallandal and Jan Senbergs, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, 18 Apr 1997–01 Jun 1997.
Australian drawings from the Gallery's collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Dec 1997–15 Mar 1998.
Dobell Drawing Prize 1998 (Touring show), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Mar 1998–19 Apr 1998.
Dobell Drawing Prize 1998 (Touring show), The George Adams Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre, 24 Jul 1998–06 Sep 1998.
Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Drawing Prize, Grafton Regional Gallery, 15 Feb 2013–24 Mar 2013.
