GA034 - Australian and International Art

38
50
JOEL ELENBERG (1948-1980)
Untitled 1969
oil on canvas
signed and dated lower right:
Joel Elenberg 1969
114.5 x 89.5cm
PROVENANCE
Gift from the artist to Wendy Lea,
thence by descent
$700–1,000
51
JOEL ELENBERG (1948-1980)
Rubicon River 1973
watercolour
signed and dated lower right:
Joel Elenberg 73
100.5 x 75.5cm
EXHIBITED
Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 1973,
cat. no. 30
$500–800
50
© Joel Elenberg. Courtesy of the Joel Elenberg Estate
Joel Elenberg (1948-1980)
Joel Elenberg was a self-taught artist whose work is
shrouded within a miasma of morbidity, influenced by his
lived experiences and generational trauma. His fascination
with the macabre burgeoned from an early age. He grew
up in Carlton North where the family neighbour was an
undertaker. He recalled peeking over the fence as a child
to watch people being embalmed. He had an inquisitive
mind and was well read, particularly about the Holocaust,
in which family members had been killed. As a teenager he
was rebellious and clever. Leaving home at 14 he drifted for
a time, hitch-hiking and living hand-to-mouth. He had no
formal academic education, however Elenberg, a tenacious
student on his own terms, could talk his way into anything.
He worked as an industrial chemist in Sydney for a time
in order to learn about pigments and evaluating colour.
‘Elenberg taught himself to paint and used to grind his own
pigments. He lasted only two days at art school after getting
in a fight with the director on the front lawn.’
From Elenberg's perspective the world was a rich melange of
fear, isolation and violence. He was in Israel in 1967 working
at a kibbutz when he witnessed the lead up to the 6 day war,
saying “It was really an incredible thing to wander round the
streets at that time, observing the whole brutal transience
of life.” This personal observation of man's inhumanity
influenced his work upon returning to Australia. His first
exhibition in 1969 at Australian Galleries drew considerable
attention as a talented new young artist with agency. His
drawings and paintings lay bare mans primordial darkness,
unflinching and direct. Lots 50, 52, 53, 54 & 55 hark from
this time in the artists oeuvre where Elenberg showcases his
superior natural draftsmanship bolstered by a unique visual
language which was raw and unrestrained.
Joel Elenberg carved his own path within the lens that he
saw the world, constantly experimenting and refining his
work to reflect his inner experience. In his 32 years upon
this earth, he produced an esteemed body of work that
remains powerful to behold. Sadly his early departure left the
Australian art world deprived of his refreshingly honest and
direct perspective of human mortality.
1. Wilson, Ashleigh, & Whiteley, Brett & Text Publishing. 2016,
Brett Whiteley; Art, Life and the Oher Thing, The Test Publishing
Company, Melbourne, 2016
2. Harry Marks, ‘Breaking Through’ The Saturday Review, The Age,
Melbourne, 9th October, 1971