24/6/02

John Bellany milestone

The Scottish painter John Bellany will reach 60 this June, and there will be shows in Italy (Barga), Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, and Roger Bilcliffe, Glasgow. Not a bad result for a painter who nearly died of liver disease, and was saved by a transplant some 14 years ago. Whether Bellany is stretching himself to the outer limits, as with the Addenbrookes series of works done following his recovery, or benign works such as ‘Two Women’ (at Bilcliffes), his standard remains remarkably consistent. This correspondent remembers Bellany in Australia in 1983–84 – and Melbourne and Perth certainly never forgot. The talent is one for survival and steady development on old and new themes.