‘SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY’ featuring Ross Laurie, Joanna Logue, Rhys Lee, Eliza Gosse, Judith Sinnamon, Ari Athans, Pia Murphy, Ces McCully

Congratulations to Pia Murphy who has been awarded a 2025 Visual Arts Fellowship to begin a residency in Montauk, New York. The fellowship was awarded through the Edward F. Albee Foundation and recognises the great talent of a range of artists bi-annually. The foundation aims to provide opportunities to a range of artists through a residency at ‘The Barn’, made possible through the abundant proceeds from the play ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, memorialising Edward F Albee’s contribution to the arts.

IMAGE:

Pia Murphy in her studio, courtesy Rhys Lee

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Eliza Gosse is exhibiting in Seoul this month, alongside three other international artists in an exhibition titled 'Naive Realism'. The show reinterprets still life painting through architectural scenes from the everyday. The four artists aim to remove meaning from historical objects in order to provoke personal memories and reflections from the viewer.

Eliza Gosse's contribution is two acrylic paintings on canvas, and two gouache paintings on paper, each titled in response to moments of solitude in her home.

The exhibition is open 27 December, 2024 until 2 February, 2025.

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IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

'Kumquats in the Courtyard' 2024

acrylic on canvas

137 x 112 cm

Image Courtesy the artist and Art Space Howha

Congratulations to Ari Athans whose work ‘A ripple and a rock’, made in collaboration with Urban Art Projects is now installed at Wentworth Point in Sydney.

This work is inspired by sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and shale which make up the ripple valley of Sydney Harbour.

Seeking to re-invoke the soft and natural elements of the area, ‘A ripple and a rock’ signals a place and a point of arrival along the urban coastline. The forms appear to have tumbled together and washed ashore, their shape framing the bay and supporting view lines across the water.

- Ari Athans


IMAGE:

Ari Athans

A ripple and a rock 2024

sandstone, cast aluminium, fabricated steel

dimensions variable

Eliza Gosse recently completed a week as artist in residence at Bundanon

‘I spent the week painting on ceramics taking inspiration from this landscape. The Boyd family have such a rich history with pottery so was an inspiring place to do so.’

The Artist in Residence program is a pillar of Bundanon, an organisation created to support creativity and learning in a unique cultural and natural landscape.

‘A place for the community to enjoy the bush and the river, and a place to be used as a forum where those from every facet from the arts and sciences could get together.’ - Arthur Boyd

This competitive residency program is made possible by the generous contribution of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd to the Australian public. Established in 1997, it has grown to become the largest program of its kind in Australia, hosting over 250 artists annually.

IMAGE:

Eliza painting ceramics at Bundanon

ELIZA GOSSE features in the Spring issue of STYLE. Eliza is included in a portfolio of Sydney’s most inspiring talent, a portfolio ranging from restauranteurs to textile makers. Read about Eliza’s practice in the most recent issue of STYLE, available now.

Eliza Gosse is a finalist in the Fisher Ghost Award with her work They Held Their Pose Longer After What Was Necessary.

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They Held Their Pose Longer After What Was Necessary 2024
oil on birchply cutout
167 x 100 cm

Aligned with his recent show at Edwina Corlette Gallery, Rhys Lee opens up to Tom Gerrard about his painting practice, upbringing, and the behind the scenes of his exhibitions.

LISTEN HERE

IMAGE:

Rhys Lee
Big Fight (Undefeated) 2024
oil on canvas
205 x 156 cm

Image used on the cover of this Bench Talk podcast episode.

Congratulations to Judith Sinnamon who is not only a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize for 2024 but has also been selected for the partnered Salon de Refuses for her portrait of Spencer, the protector of Wallum.

From the age of 6 Spencer Hitchen, now 13, has worked tirelessly to try to save the fragile coastal Wallum woodlands and heathlands of the Noosa Shire, that are so important for the survival of the black glossy cockatoo, from clearing and development.

The Salon des Refusés will be held at the Royal Queensland Art Society, Petrie Terrace running in parallel to the Brisbane Portrait Prize, 3 August – 10 November.

IMAGE:

Judith Sinnamon

Spencer - Child Protector of Wallum 2024

oil on linen

80 x 80 cm

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Congratulations to Judith Sinnamon who is a 2024 finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize for her portrait of Hannah Moloney from South of Timtumili Minanya, Tasmania.

Judith Sinnamon chose to paint Hannah because she helps people do something practical and hopeful regardless of what happens in the world. “The small act of hope by planting a seed and tending to it can be transformative in creating connection with nature, with each other and with the possibilities of a sustainable future.”

The finalists of the Brisbane Portrait Prize will be showcased at the State Library of Queensland from 3 August – 10 November.

IMAGE:

Judith Sinnamon

Little Big Acts of Hope 2024

Oil on linen

103 x 200 cm

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Congratulations Eliza Gosse whose portrait of Australian designer Emma Mulholland is a finalist in this year's Salon des Refusés. 'Emma and Norby on holiday' is now hanging at S.H. Ervin Gallery until 25 August, 2024.


The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the S.H. Ervin Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered into the Archibald Prize which were not selected for display in the official exhibition.

Each year the Salon des Refusés 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. The Salon des Refusés exhibition has established an excellent reputation that rivals the selections in the ‘official’ exhibition, with works selected for quality, diversity, humour and experimentation, and which examine contemporary art practices, different approaches to portraiture and responses to the landscape.

- S. H Erving Gallery

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

'Emma and Norby on holiday' 2024

oil on birch plywood

180 x 115 cm

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Ross Laurie's painting 'Long day blues - evening light' is featuring in Homegrown Wynne, a travelling exhibition of previous Wynne Prize winners.

The Wynne Prize is Australia's oldest art prize with the inaugural award being presented in 1897. It is now an annual competition of Australian landscape and figure painting, judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

In 2016 Ross Laurie's painting was a finalist in the Wynne Prize.

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IMAGE:

Ross Laurie

'Long day blues - evening light' 2016

oil on canvas

137.5 x 305 cm

We are delighted to announce that JUDITH SINNAMON is a finalist in the 2023 Brisbane Portrait Prize for her portrait of Nathan Appo.

Judith sought to capture Nathan's incredible warmth and generosity and a wisdom that comes from 65,000 years of continuous sustainable culture and land management with a deep love for country and humanity at its core.

The Brisbane Portrait Prize is all about celebrating Brisbane portrait artists and their sitters, while encouraging public engagement with the arts.

Judith is having a solo exhibition with us October 25.

IMAGE:

Judith Sinnamon

Nathan Appo 2023

Oil on linen

134 x 104 cm

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We are thrilled to announce that ELIZA GOSSE has been selected as a finalist in the 2023 Paddington Art Prize for her work 'Greenwell Point'

The Paddington Art Prize is a $30,000 National acquisitive prize, awarded annually for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape.

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

Greenwell Point 2023

Gouache on paper

28 x 28 cm

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Rhys Lee is featured in Issue 42 of Beautiful Bizarre.

Leesa Hickey, Director of Side Gallery in Australia, has selected 8 works in the market that she wishes to add to her personal collection. Amongst these 8 works is Rhys Lee's 2021 Polkadot Robe.

IMAGE:

Rhys Lee

Polkadot Robe 2021

oil on canvas

95 x 78 cm

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Congratulations to our artist Eliza Gosse who is a finalists in this year's Mosman Art Prize for her work 'We Climbed the Fence and Swam in Their Pool'. Exhibition open 23 September in Mosman, Sydney.

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

We Climbed the Fence and Swam in Their Pool 2023

gouache on paper

39 x 39 cm

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Judith Sinnamon is a finalist in the 2023 Archibald Prize.

‘Katharine often appears on the Insiders panel, where she brings a refreshing, cut-through perspective to the fug of Australian politics,’ says Sinnamon. ‘I feel tremendous gratitude towards Katharine and all journalists of strong conviction and integrity, who speak truth to power at a time of rampant misinformation and media mogul influence.’

Murphy has worked in the parliamentary press gallery in Kamberri/Canberra since 1996. She is currently political editor of Guardian Australia and the host of a weekly podcast, Australian politics. She is the author of On disruption, an analysis of the impact of the internet on journalism.

Sinnamon captures the award-winning journalist, with her colourful clothing and animated face, listening to the podcast Pod save America in her light-filled home.

‘During our sitting, I drew loose charcoal sketches and took numerous photos,’ says Sinnamon. ‘I then returned to my [Sunshine Coast] Hinterland studio and began the month-long process of rendering Katharine’s portrait – my first in the Archibald Prize.’

- Art Gallery New South Wales

IMAGE:

Judith Sinnamon

Katharine Murphy 2023

oil on linen

104.2 x 134 cm

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Eliza Gosse is a finalist in the 2023 Archibald Prize.

This dual portrait features Eliza Gosse and her husband, architect and designer Benjamin Jay Shand, who was the subject of her portrait 'somewhere near home' in the Archibald Prize 2022.

Gosse describes this 2023 work – one of several recent portraits, all painted on board – as: 'a cut-out of our weekend at sunrise – just us and our fluffy robes.'

Robes are mandatory if you come to breakfast at ours. The coffee percolates as the muesli is garnished and the CD is chosen. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every morning could be spent lazing over several cups of coffee with a dash of honey and a side of strawberries?

While painting these portraits in my studio, I indulged in a few afternoons on the floor – tea and biscuits included – with the works propped up against the wall, as a sort of tea party with my wooden friends.

My studio mates will be glad to see these cut-outs gone; they say they came to life at night.

- Eliza Gosse

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

Breakfast At Ours

oil on board

two panels: 137.5 x 86.5 cm (left); 145.5 x 97 cm (right)

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Eliza Gosse was featured in The Design Files article 'Eliza Gosse's Paintings Capture the Nostalgia of Retro Architecture' by Christina Karras.

There’s a magical attention to detail within Eliza Gosse's architectural paintings.

She expertly captures the light-filled interiors and magical Modernist facades of homes inspired by designs of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s with a dreamy pastel palette that makes you want to leap right into them. All the while maintaining a beautiful ‘flatness’ about her work.

- Christina Karras, The Design Files

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Ari Athans was featured recently in the Qantas In-Flight magazine in an article written by Noelle Faulkner.

Ari Athan's work 'Strata Sample One' is featured in the current issue of Belle Magazine inside Anna Spiro's home.

IMAGE:

Ari Athans

Strata Sample One 2022

ceramic, wood and acrylic paint

57 x 20 x 20 cm

The Archibald Prize is a prestigious Australian portraiture art prize that has been running since 1921. The national portrait prize is entering a new century with 816 submissions entered this year, of which 52 finalists were announced on Thursday 5th of May. It is with great pleasure to congratulate Eliza Gosse who was selected as a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Art Prize.

Gosse depicts in her painting an architect and designer Benjamin Jay Shand.

He sees beauty in the most peculiar places, has great hair and likes to wear sunglasses more than is usual. I can say that because he is my husband. I don’t often paint people; however, Benj finds himself the constant muse for my sketchbook scribbles. And as this is my first large-scale portrait, it felt natural for him to be the subject...

- Eliza Gosse

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

Somewhere Near Home (Painting of Benjamin Jay Shand) 2022

oil on canvas

122 x 152 cm

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Congratulations to Eliza Gosse whose work has been included in a new exhibition at New South Wales parliament house 'National Art School in the NSW Landscape'.

The exhibit explores the relationship between people, land and culture across the state through artworks by 21 significant Australian artists who studied at the National Art School (NAS), which this year celebrates 100 years since moving into the former Darlinghurst Gaol site in inner-city Sydney. Featuring 27 major artworks in various media including tapestry, collage and ceramics, this show represents the enormous diversity of NSW’s landscape, environment and culture.

The exhibition is open at NSW Parliament House from 9 – 31 March 2022.

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The disparate textural layers of Aggregates in Construct blend the myriad forms and patterns of nature marked by the boundaries of human action. Ari Athans’ stacked, sculptural arrangements flow between the handmade, organic and industrial, marking the liminal points where the landscape rests upon and collides with the built world.

- Art Almanac, 2022

IMAGE:

Ari Athans

Ultra Surface 2022

ceramic, wood, vesicular basalt, acrylic paint

36 x 22 x 20 cm

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Emmanuel College within the University of Queensland commissioned a portrait of immediate past principal Dr Jane Thomson by artist Judith Sinnamon.

Eliza Gosse's work 'Spoonfuls of Milo at Kosciuszko' is a finalist in the 2020 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The Wynne Prize is awarded annually for 'the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists'. This open competition is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW.

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

Spoonfuls of Milo at Kosciuszko 2020

oil on canvas

150 x 120 cm

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Eliza Gosse's work 'A Triangle of Vegemite Toast Lay Forgotten Under the Mustard Chair' is a finalist in the 2020 Mosman Art Prize.

Established in 1947, the Mosman Art Prize is Australia's oldest and most prestigious local government art award. It was founded by the artist, architect and arts advocate, Alderman Allan Gamble, at a time when only a small handful of art prizes were in existence in Australia and the community had very little support and few opportunities to exhibit their work.

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse

A Triangle of Vegemite Toast Lay Forgotten Under the Mustard Chair 2020

acrylic on canvas

Rhys Lee has been featured in an article by Juxtapoz on his experience as a practicing artist in Australia during the covid pandemic.

Continuing our mission to check with friends and favorite artists around the globe, we virtually traveled all the way to Victoria, Australia, to check on what's happening with Rhys Lee. Based in a small coastal town located southwest of Melbourne, the artist is a whirl of activity as he intensively works on new paintings.

- Juxtapoz

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Congratulations to Eliza Gosse who is a finalist in the 2020 with her work 'He Watched Cars Passing By Beyond The Cracks In The Curtains', 2020, oil on canvas, 120x150cm.

The Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize is an annual prize that was launched in 2017 to advance art and opportunity for emerging and established female artists in Australia. It is the highest value professional artist prize for women in Australia.

Artwork judging is overseen by Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize Patron and acclaimed artist, Jennifer Turpin and the winners will be announced 26 May 2020.

IMAGE:

Eliza Gosse in her studio, courtesy the artist

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To coincide with her exhibition 'Mini Mokes and Mini Skirts', Eliza Gosse is featured in the April edition of Harpers Bazaar magazine

The Museum of Brisbane has acquired Judith Sinnamon's portrait of Pamela Easton, one half of renowned fashion label duo Easton Pearson. This has been acquired in alignment with the museum's existing collection of garments, accessories, and ephemera from Easton Pearson. The Museum of Brisbane's collection is the largest collection from a single Australian fashion house held by a museum - as such, Judith Sinnamon's work is a wonderful addition to the collection.

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The Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize is an annual prize that was launched in 2017 to advance art and opportunity for emerging and established female artists in Australia. There are two prize categories, including a $35,000 prize — the richest professional art prize for women in Australia. Artwork judging will be overseen by Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize Patron and acclaimed artist, Jennifer Turpin, and announced at the exhibition opening on 31 May, 2019.

Eliza Gosse is a finalist with her work 'Your Yellow Brick Holding Up the Sky' 2019, oil on canvas 50 x 40cm

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Ari Athans is interviewed in the latest issue of Vault Magazine about the breadth of her creative practice - between sculpture, painting, and jewellery.

READ MORE HERE & PDF

Toby Orton from Plain Magazine features Eliza Gosse's work. He writes:

Delving into social issues of national identity and immigration, artist Eliza Gosse focuses on the post-war houses built for European migrants in her home country of Australia in the 50s, 60s and 70s. In her striking oil paintings, Gosse’s style combines clean, color blocked geometric forms that call to mind the utopian ideals of suburban planning with a ‘nostalgic
inflection’. The ‘Suburban Modernism’ that she has created is a response to her interests in design history, the initial impact of inexpensive post-war architecture on communities and the way that the design’s influence and meaning is viewed over time. In her paintings of the Australian (and to a lesser extent, American) suburbs she celebrates an era of design that mocks the unflattering stereotype of bland suburbia and celebrates the unabashed invention of the time.

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The Ideal Home presents a history of the 20th century Australian home told through household objects, furniture and design classics from the MAAS Collection.

For much of the 20th century Australia enjoyed one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world. This situation emerged following the landmark ‘Harvester Judgement’ of 1907, which enshrined a ‘living wage’, and enabled ordinary workers to purchase a home and support a family.

Post war affluence, technology, mass manufacturing and the ready availability of goods, created both a consumer base and desire. In this setting, suburbs grew and homes became our castles. Australians enthusiastically adopted international trends in architecture, interior furnishings and design. Labour saving devices liberated us from domestic drudgery and increased the time available for leisure. Indoors and outdoors Australians aspired to a lifestyle centred upon the comfort, style, amenity and function of the home.

The Ideal Home presents a history of the 20th century Australian home told through household objects, furniture and design classics from the MAAS Collection. See more of The Ideal Home including modernist design and artworks at MAAS Powerhouse, Ultimo.

The Ideal Home is a partnership between the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest.

The exhibition suite features works across the site from the following Australian artists:

• Cope Street Collective: Mathew Cooper and Colin Kinchela
• Karla Dickens
• Victoria Garcia
• Richard Goodwin
• Blake Griffiths
• eX de Medici
• Catherine O’Donnell
• Eliza Gosse

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The William Fletcher Trust (now the William Fletcher Foundation) was established in 1985 to celebrate the life and to commemorate the work of William Fletcher whose straitened circumstances, ill health and early death cut short his developing talents. In 1988, the Trust awarded its first grants for study to tertiary students of the visual arts. The William Fletcher Trust was incorporated in 2006 as William Fletcher Foundation following a generous bequest. Since 1988, grants totalling over $400,000 have been distributed to over 500 highly talented students of the visual arts, to assist them to continue their studies.

In 2018 the grant was awarded to Eliza Gosse.

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With an annual prize pool worth $12,000, the Waverley Art Prize is open to painting, drawing print & mixed media.

Eliza Gosse's work "Lone Ficus on New South Head Road is a finalist in the 2018 Prize.

Eliza Gosse's work is included in the 2018 Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize. The theme of the prize is resilience. Gosse's work depicts a house in the suburbs of Melbourne designed by Russian architect Antol Kagan and is part of a larger series that investigates the architecture of post WWII refugees in Australia.

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Work from Judith Sinnamon's Coastal Banksia series has been recently featured in a Frank Vedelago designed Queensland renovation in Paddington.

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Ari Athans' work has been selected for Redcliffe Gallery's 15 Artists Exhibition 2017.

This annual award plays a pivotal role in the growth of the Moreton Bay Regional Council Art Collection. The $8000 acquisitive prize exhibits 15 Artists that reflect the collection’s focus of culture, identity, spirit and sense of place.

Artists selected for 2017 are Ari Athans, Glenn Barkley, Sue Beyer, Megan Cope, Hannah Cutts, Jeremy Eden, Martin Edge, Ian Friend, Stephen Hart, Barbara Heath, Abbey McCulloch, Kate McKay, Stephen Nothling, Graeme Peebles and Nan Dingle.

The exhibition runs from 1 September - 28 October 2017.

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Ari Athans work 'Felsic Plume' has been selected as a finalist in the 2017 Moreton Bay Art Award. This annual acquisitive award exhibition is supported by the Moreton Bay Regional Council. The Art Award offers two acquisitive prizes of $7,500 and two supplementary $1,000 prizes for a Local Artists and a People’s Choice Award.

The Moreton Bay Region Art Award has featured prominent and emerging artists for the last 24 years, and is now an important feature in the cultural landscape of the region.

Dr Campbell Gray, Director of the University of Queensland Art Museum is the 2017 judge.

IMAGE:

Ari Athans

Felsic Plume 2016

enamel on mild steel

30 x 70 cm

To coincide with Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art's exhibition O’KEEFFE, PRESTON, COSSINGTON SMITH 'Making Modernism', Judith Sinnamon has been invited to conduct a series of still-life workshops throughout May and June 2017.

O'Keeffe, Preston and Cossington Smith were renowned for their modern adaptation of traditional approaches to still life. In this special hands-on workshop working with oil paints, participants will be invited to join Judith Sinnamon for an exploration of the still life genre and experiment with light, colour and form to depict Australian native flora.

Judith Sinnamon is an artist based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Judith studied painting at the Queensland College of Art in the early 1980's. The surrounding coastal flora informs Judith's art practice in both her still life and landscape works. She exhibits regularly with the Edwina Corlette Gallery.

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Thank you Margie Fraser for featuring Judith Sinnamon's recent exhibition 'Downtown Yangon' on her More Margie blog.

Judith's paintings reflect her experience living in Myanmar. Margie writes about Judith's journey painting in a foreign place, far from the familiar Queensland coastal landscape.

Yangon is an extreme environment, intense. The sounds and smells are so full on. People, people, people. Going from trees to people was probably a most logical thing for me. One of the first things that struck me were the melodic calls of the women hawking in the streets, sounds floating up to us on the 7th floor of our new home on 37th Street.

- Margie Fraser, More Margie

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Dr Ashley Crawford - a freelance cultural critic based in Melbourne - has written a glowing essay on the progression of Rhys Lee's art practice.

Lee’s passport is stamped with a variety of exotic locales; he has been to Anger, he has stopped over in Love, he has traversed the landscape of Fear and, jet-lagged, he has experienced the Delirium of insomnia.

Like all adventurous travellers, Lee is a voyeur of the unknown. As this book opens we see him astride in alien locales, sheltering in a snow-capped tent in Scandinavia, peering over a swimming pool in a sweltering Havana. And there, early in his travels, are the first tentative sketches, faces – whether faces in the street or self-portraits is nary an issue; in many ways all of Lee’s work are self-portrayal. In 1999, the eyes stare out, Klimt-like, a mixture of defiance and trepidation. That same year, Lee discovers his trademark harshly-cropped skull in Haircut (1999). By 2000 the die is cast in a more assured self-portrait complete with sketchbook, a portrait of the artist as a young man.

IMAGE:

courtesy NBB Gallery, Berlin

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