NEWS
Tai Snaith is exhibited as a finalist in the Maquette: Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery with her sculpture Black dog slippery dip until 22 February. The inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award brings together 61 sculptures by contemporary Australian artists. One entry will be awarded $20,000 and will become part of McClelland’s renowned permanent collection, which is focused on modern and contemporary Australian sculpture. The title of this new sculpture prize refers to the scale of the entries—no more than 50 centimetres in any dimension. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, with the winning work…
Heidi Yardley’s ‘Femme en fourrure’ is exhibited in ‘Synchron City’ at Gippsland Art Gallery from 6 December to 22 February. Curated by special guest Cassie May, Synchron City leads visitors on a strange and immersive journey through contemporary art where artworks disrupt and question everyday life. The concept of ‘synchronicity’, according to Carl Jung (1875–1961), suggested that coincidences could be related to unconscious processes, mirroring internal states and potentially offering guidance or insights. Through our collective unconscious, memories, dreams and reflections bubble beneath the surface. In this world of inner and outer space, our relationship to the environment is…
Objective Wed 12 November 2025 until Sat 24 January 2026 Town Hall Gallery This bold new exhibition challenges traditional concepts of still life, showcasing a diverse range of artists who push the boundaries of the genre. With a focus on contemporary expression, the exhibition offers an exciting departure from the conventional, using painting, video, sculpture and installation to explore everyday objects and scenes in unexpected ways. The featured artists each bring a unique vision to the genre. Familiar objects are transformed through abstraction and everyday forms are elevated into striking visual experiences. Installations examine the relationship between nature and…
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Nicole Kelly is exhibited as a finalist in the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2023 The biennial Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award is a significant national exhibition that aims to elevate the status of work on paper while supporting and promoting artists working with this medium. Exhibition current to the 12 of November Image Nicole Kelly ‘Notes from the desert’ 2023 oil monotypes 172 x 198.5 cm
PROCESS: Karla Marchesi It’s funny that there is a psychological divorce as soon as my paintings leave the studio. My mind is already bubbling with beginnings of what to make next; what will follow from what came before. I’ve long held the view: work begets work – through the practice itself is where meaning resides. I hold the rigour of daily practice closely. For me it’s a promise of a life-long relationship, born of forgiveness. acknowledging that not all aims can be achieved in one painting, or one exhibition. My commitment is to material curiosity and time. Through an art…
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…
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…