Jon Campbell was born in Northern Ireland in 1961 and arrived in Australia in 1964. His experiences of living in the suburbs of Melbourne from childhood have greatly informed his practice. References to the Australian vernacular abound, spanning images of the classic backyard to unmistakeably local slang.
Read MoreRunning parallel with Jon Campbell’s art practice has been an involvement in music projects, notably with his bands King Jerklews, Adawo, gloss enamel and most recently Olympic Doughnuts. The culture of live music is ever present in Campbell’s artworks, including an ongoing series of Setlist paintings based on actual band setlists Campbell has collected from gigs he has attended or performed in over the years.
Campbell has been exhibiting since the 1980s. His work has been included in many group exhibitions, including Making it New: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, (curated by Glenn Barkley), Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2009); Shilo Project, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2009-2010); From Walden to Vegas, La Foundation Nationale des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques, Paris, (2009); and Terra Nullius - Contemporary Art from Australia, ACC Galerie Weimar, Germany (2009). Campbell also received the Melbourne Art Foundation Artist Commission, exhibited during the Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne in 2010 and subsequently donated to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Campbell’s work is held in many notable public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, Monash University Museum of Art. MUMA, Melbourne, and Artbank, Australia.
