NEWS
Wendy Stavrianos campaigns for the soul of the earth and our embodied connection to it; exploring a psychological connection between nature, body and mind has sometimes been political, but mostly philosophical. When I emailed Wendy about this article asking for explanations from her that would assist an understanding of her practice over several decades, she began by saying “throughout my practice I engage with the Metaphysical”. The works present an abstract and poetic exploration of psychological states of mind in relation to the experiences and representations of the body and nature. She writes: ‘Tracks through the landscape, threads that connect…
Nicole Kelly is a finalist in the Grace Cossington Smith Art Award 2024 . The award is sponsored by Abbotsleigh school and commemorates one of its alumnae, Grace Cossington Smith, who is known as a pioneer of modernist painting in Australia. The Grace Cossington Smith Gallery is a public gallery developing a collection with a focus on learning about art and through art. . Nicole Kelly ‘Into blue’ 2023 oil on polyester 117 x 107 cm
Sally Anderson is a finalist in the Grace Cossington Smith Art Award 2024 . The award is sponsored by Abbotsleigh school and commemorates one of its alumnae, Grace Cossington Smith, who is known as a pioneer of modernist painting in Australia. The Grace Cossington Smith Gallery is a public gallery developing a collection with a focus on learning about art and through art. . Sally Anderson ‘Nat Silk’s Seatown Still Life, PB Nude Quilt, Bromeliad Washdown’ 2023 acrylic on polycotton 153 x 137cm
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Eleanor Louise Butt’s painting ‘Unfolding Abstraction, thinking three-dimensionally’ exhibited in Nicholas Thompson Gallery’s Spring1883 presentation has been acquired by Artbank . Artbank is part of the Australian Government Office for the Arts. For 40 years Artbank has supported Australia’s contemporary art sector. Established in 1980 by the Australian Government, Artbank’s two core objectives are to provide direct support to Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and to promote the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. . “This painting refences abstract forms from my small bronze sculptures, as well as gestures from a pencil drawing…
It is with great sadness that Nicholas Thompson Gallery marks the passing of Celeste Chandler. In addition to being an exceptionally talented painter, Celeste was intelligent, humourous, generous and a delight to work with since joining the gallery in its first year. She was passionate about art, devoted to her family and inspiring in her battle with her illness. She will be greatly missed by so many. Our thoughts are with Andy, Anouk and Celeste’s family. Melbourne based, Tasmanian born painter Celeste Chandler completed a Masters degree in Fine Art at the University of Tasmania (2003) and a PhD at…
In Conversation: Virginia Cuppaidge and Una Rey at Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Sydney Contemporary Art Fair 2023. Virginia Cuppaidge (at left) and Una Rey at Nicholas Thompson Gallery’s booth, Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, 2023. Photo: Lisa Slade Una Rey_After an illustrious career in New York, artist Virginia Cuppaidge chose to make Newcastle, Australia, her home. I was privileged to see her amazing survey show The Nature of Abstraction in 2019 at Newcastle Art Gallery.[1] I’ve been watching her work and had been exposed to it prior [through the University of Newcastle collection]. It’s a great opportunity and a privilege to speak with you today, Virginia.…
The art of restoration with Virginia Cuppaidge Making art since childhood, as a teenager Virginia Cuppaidge set her sights on travelling to New York City to see the Abstract Expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman in person. In 1969 she touched down in New York with a suitcase and a pink mini skirt, and stepped straight into a 48-year love affair with the city that never sleeps. “I bought a loft in an old block building on Grand Street in SoHo,” remembers Cuppaidge. “It wasn’t called SoHo then and when I arrived, it was just old factories and…
… the spirit of Spring: the mix of kitsch… and old-world luxury… Downstairs at Nicholas Thompson, for example, the suite was excessively crammed with works—to good effect. Heidi Yardley’s sexy lady paintings (Babylon and Design for Scandal, both 2023) were placed on chairs that had been draped with the room’s silky curtains. Think sleazy boudoir. Rhys Lee’s amazing Happy Couple on a Windy Day (2021), with whiffs of German neo-expressionism, balanced happily on a bentwood.
At the sneak peak of Spring1883 at Melbourne’s Windsor Hotel, one gallerist declared the event “the art fair that artists love”. Rather than meaning something insular, they meant the spirit of fun and community when around 30 of Australia’s top commercial galleries (and a couple from New Zealand), situate artwork within the old grandeur of the Windsor Hotel rooms. Art Guide editors Tiarney Miekus and Sally Gearon have curated their top picks: Nicholas Thompson Gallery: The Circle Room A few galleries at Spring have a glamorous circular lounge area, and Nicholas Thompson Gallery makes impressive use of the space, housing…
RHYS LEE “PAINT KNOWS…” Words SAŠA BOGOJEV Rhys Lee is a visual artist living and working in Aireys Inlet, Victoria, known for melding ethereal forms with a playful touch of street art—fusing representation and abstraction—through lively oil and acrylic colour palettes. In the wake of several upcoming intercontinental exhibitions—showing in galleries across Athens, London, Melbourne and Brussels—Saša Bogojev caught up with Lee to discuss their street art origins, tackling new mediums, practicing self-honesty, and the necessity of the “artist’s ego”. SAŠA BOGOJEV How did your journey toward becoming an artist unfold? RHYS LEE It was something I’ve always done as far as I…
“It is this feeling of the familiar that pervades Archer’s work and lends the whole a sense of the uncanny, with insects, decayed bird corpses (showing the fragility of a wing) and the human/inhuman aspect of the masks. That said, her work is joyful and exuberantly rich with humanity.”
Nicole Kelly is exhibited in the Salon des Refusés 2023 at S.H. Ervin Gallery until 23 July . The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the S.H. Ervin Gallery in 1992. Each year the selection panel is invited to go behind the scenes of the judging process for the annual Archibald Prize for portraiture and Wynne Prize for landscape painting and figure sculpture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, to select an exhibition from the many hundreds of works entered in both prizes but not chosen for the official award exhibition. In 2023, 59 works were selected for…