Julian Centofanti
It’s hard to put into words what Julien meant to not only myself, but over three decade’s worth of artists in inner northern Melbourne. He owned, ran, taught at, and created his art at the Carlton Arts Centre (CAC), at 189 Nicholson Street. He took it over after the previous owner, Branko, passed away. We instantly clicked; he became, basically, the brother I never had. He was a passionate fellow artist, and he was an eloquent, creative, and constantly dependable friend; he was also an extremely generous man, who gave a lot of his time helping people who used pottery as therapy. It was him that suggested that I enter a painting into the Archibald prize, back in 2000, permanently giving me the annual itch to submit. Julien’s skills at sculpting and pottery, and his legendarily welcoming and effective ways of teaching those skills to others, helped give life and character to many of my own sculptural pieces, whether from an embryonic conceptual idea, or a finishing touch in the glazing stage. He was also passionate about tea, strictly drinking it only from old-fashioned, quintessentially English tea cups. He was thus also well-known for leaving a trail of teacups in all the cafes in Fitzroy, so that he could come back any time and use them again. He also regularly wore one red and one black sock; when asked about it, he would simply reply, “why not?