From the dust jacket of the monograph John Young:
"The values in Young’s work – a keen sense of form, a brave synthesis of content; a consideration of technology, its relationship to affection; and the melancholy inherent in the diasporic spirit – find their roots in his bi-cultural experience. Born of Southern Chinese parentage, in the then-British colony of Hong Kong, Young moved to Australia in 1967.
Equally engaged by theoretical concerns and the pleasure of painting, he read philosophy of science and aesthetics at the University of Sydney. His investigation of Western late modernism prompted significant phases of work from a bi-cultural viewpoint.
His evolving concerns with the discourses of the time, including postmodernism and post colonialism, and the ongoing tensions surrounding globalisation, have contributed to intriguing cycles of works. Young’s intellectual rigor, combined with a fundamental commitment to painting, make him one of the most fascinating and respected artists in Australia today."
The Lives of Celestials: John Young Zerunge
Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn Arts Centre, Boroondara, August 31 - October 20, 2019