Eye to Eye: The Susan Taylor and Peter Jones Collection maps 25 years of committed collecting in Canberra, tracing how a shared passion for mid-century modern design evolved into one of Australia's most nuanced private holdings in conceptual and abstract art.
About This Book
Published to accompany the 2025 exhibition at the Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, this catalogue does far more than document a collection — it argues for the private collector as a distinct critical voice. The Taylor Jones collection is built around the intersections of non-objective painting, geometric abstraction, seriality, conceptual photography, and contemporary jewellery, with works by artists including General Idea, John Nixon, Robert Rooney, Maria Kozic, and Elizabeth Newman. Four substantial essays and an interview move across these threads with genuine intellectual weight, revealing how a collection shaped by sustained personal engagement can surface connections that institutional collections rarely make visible.
Key Features
- 124 pages of full-colour collection documentation and critical essays
- Essays by Peter Jones, Shaune Lakin (National Gallery of Australia), and Quentin Sprague; interview conducted by Drill Hall Gallery director Tony Oates
- Featured artists include General Idea, Maria Kozic, Peter Maloneyi, Elizabeth Newman, John Nixon, Robert Rooney, Janet Burchill, and Jennifer McCamley
- Published by Drill Hall Publishing, 2025
What You'll Discover
- How the collection developed from an initial interest in mid-century modernism into a sustained engagement with non-objective and abstract art across decades
- Shaune Lakin's account of conceptual photography in Australia from the 1960s, read through specific works in the Taylor Jones collection
- The relationship between sustainable fashion and conceptual art, explored through Susan Taylor's focus on contemporary jewellery
- Quentin Sprague's close readings of Robert Rooney and John Nixon as anchoring figures in the collection's intellectual structure
About the Author
This publication is edited by the Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University's dedicated exhibition and research gallery. The exhibition it accompanies was curated by Peter Jones, one half of the collecting partnership at the book's centre.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 124
- Dimensions: 23 x 23 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781764053808
- Publisher: Drill Hall Publishing
- Publication Date: 2025
Perfect For: Collectors, curators, and researchers interested in Australian conceptual art, non-objective painting, and the critical potential of private collections.