Author(s): Bruce Heiser; Michael Phillips (Designed by)

Art

In turn provocative, empathetic, taciturn, and vulnerable, Jon Molvig remains one of his generations least understood artists.

Born in Newcastle, the artist settled in Brisbane in the mid-1950s where he was a key and influential presence and produced the most accomplished works of his career.

Molvig was particularly recognised for highly charged, energetic canvases influenced by European expressionism, but later, in the final decade of his life, the artist pursued sparser imagery, culminating in his final series of works — the Tree of Man (1967-1968).   

Meticulously researched and richly illustrated, Jon Molvig: The Tree of Man Paintings examines the background and symbolism of this misunderstood bracket of works produced just prior to the artist’s premature death in mid-May 1970.