Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in the 2024 Redland Art Awards with his work 'Flight Path'.

The Redland Art Awards is a biennial contemporary painting competition open to all Australian artists, presented by Redland Art Gallery.

The finalists exhibition will be held at the Redland Art Gallery, opening Friday 6 December 2024.

IMAGE:

Belem Lett
‘Flight Path’ 2024
oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium
150 x 122 cm

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We are excited to share that Belem Lett is a finalist in two categories of the 2024 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award. Belem is a finalist in both the open and contemporary sections of this annual award with his works 'The Foot Of The Mountain' and 'Light Speed'.

The annual Fisher’s Ghost Art Award is now in its 62nd year, and there is over $60,000 in prize money to be won across the categories. The Fisher’s Ghost Art Award coincides with Campbelltown’s annual Festival of Fisher’s Ghost. Held over ten days, the Festival dates back to 1956 and celebrates Australia’s most famous ghost – Frederick Fisher.

You can see Belem’s works in the finalists exhibition which will be held at the Campbelltown Arts Centre from Saturday 26 October – Friday 6 December, 2024

IMAGES

'The Foot Of The Mountain’ 2023
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
150 x 122cm

• 'Light Speed' 2023
• clear coat, acrylic, gesso, wood putty, screws, wood glue, pine
• 73 x 57 x 53cm

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Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in this year’s Hornsby Art Prize with his 2022 work ‘Look At Yourself’.

Established in 2009, the Hornsby Art Prize is organised and sponsored by Hornsby Shire Council and delivered in partnership with the Hornsby Art Society. The non-acquisitive prize celebrates Australian Contemporary Art and has an overall prize pool value of $23,000, with the major prize being $10,000.

The Hornsby Art Prize Finalists’ Exhibition will be held at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, Hornsby, 25 October - 10 November 2024

IMAGE

‘Look At Yourself’ 2022
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
90 x 74cm

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We are delighted to share that Paul Ryan is a finalist in the 2024 Paddington Art Prize with his work ‘Landscape. Unidentified floating object’.

‘The indigenous people of the Illawarra when they first saw the tall ships of the British floating past thought it was their ancestors’ ghosts returning.’

The Paddington Art Prize is a $30,000 National acquisitive prize, awarded annually for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape. The exhibition of finalists will be held at the Art Leven Gallery from 10 - 20 October 2024.

IMAGE:

‘Landscape. Unidentified floating object’ 2024
oil on linen
123 x 122 cm

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It is with great delight to share that Belem Lett is a finalist in the 2024 Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award for his work ‘Wormhole’.

The Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award was established in 2009 and is organised by the Art Collection and Galleries Unit at Deakin University, Victoria. The award celebrates contemporary sculptures from artists around Australia.

The finalist exhibition will be held at at the Deakin University Art Gallery from 29 August – 11 October, 2024.

IMAGE:

'Wormhole' 2023
clear top coat, acrylic, gesso, wood putty, screws, wood glue, polyurethane glue, pine
53 x 66 x 52cm

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Congratulations to Belem Lett who has been selected as a finalist in this year's Gosford Art Prize for his work 'Snorkel'.

The Gosford Art Prize is a significant facet of the Gosford Regional Gallery’s annual exhibition program. The prize was initially organised by the community in the early 1970s. When the Gosford Regional Gallery opened in 2000, it became the new permanent home of the Gosford Art Prize. Both the main prize and the Ceramics Prize have grown in popularity and strength over the past 23 years, celebrating the diversity of practices from artists both on the Central Coast and from beyond our region.

Finalists are exhibited in all galleries, 24 August 2024 - 20 October 2024

IMAGE

'Snorkel' 2024

oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel

150 x 122cm

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Exciting news for Belem Lett who is a finalist in this year's Mosman Art Prize for his work 'Fire Walk With Me'.

The Mosman Art Prize is the longest running and most prestigious municipal art prize in Australia. Winning entries form the basis of the Mosman Art Collection, a valuable and historic collection that surveys Australian painting since 1947. The Mosman Art Prize is an acquisitive award of $50,000 sponsored by Mosman Council.

The annual exhibition will take place 10 August - 6 October.

IMAGE:

'Fire Walk With Me' 2024
oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel
150 x 122cm

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It is with great pleasure that we share the news that Belem Lett is a finalist in the 2024 Sunshine Coast National Art Prize for his work ‘A Love Song’.

The acquisitive Sunshine Coast National Art Prize is a dynamic visual arts award reflecting outstanding contemporary 2D and new media arts practice in Australia. The finalists exhibition will be held at the Caloundra Regional Gallery from 24 August - 13 October 2024.

Belem Lett’s work transcend representation and instead embraces gestural abstraction, delving into the interplay of light and colour. Lett transforms the canvas into a dynamic arena where paint and surface coalesce. Each stroke is laden with vibrant hues, embodying physical momentum that echoes the artist’s gestures and movements.

IMAGE

‘A Love Song’ 2024

oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel

150 x 122 cm
⁠

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Congratulations to Belem Lett who has been chosen as a finalist in the 2024 Waverley Art Prize for his work 'Body Language'. The Waverley Art Prize finalist exhibition is on from 6 July - 18 August at the Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Sydney.

READ MORE HERE

Image:B

'Body Language', 2024

Oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel

150 x 122cm

image courtesy Jessica Maurer

Congratulations to Belem Lett for his selection as a 2024 finalist for the The Vincent prize. Belem was selected for his work 'Pollinate' and can be seen at the finalists exhibition which opens this Friday 14 June 6-9pm at Scratch Art Space, Marrickville.

The Vincent Prize was established by art courier service Art Van Go for their customers that missed out on selection for The Archibald, Wynne, Sulman & the Salon des Refuses.

READ MORE HERE

Image:

Pollinate, 2024

Oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel

56 x 48 cm

It is with great joy that we announce the selection of Belem Lett as a finalist in the 2024 Muswellbrook Art Prize for his work 'The Mountains Await Your Return'

Since 1958, the Muswellbrook Art Prize has grown and evolved and is today one of the richest prizes for painting in regional Australia. Astute adjudication of the Prize over the years has yielded an excellent collection of modern and contemporary Australian paintings, works on paper and ceramics from the Post War period of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century, with the winning acquisitive works forming the nucleus of what is now known as the Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection.

READ MORE HERE

Finalists will be exhibited at the Muswellbrook Art Gallery from 2 April - 25 May 2024

Belem's next solo exhibition at the gallery is from 1 - 21 May 2024

Artwork:

'The Mountains Await Your Return' 2022

Oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminum composite panel

150 x 122 cm

BELEM LETT is featured in the latest edition of Art Edit.

Issue 36 draws on Belem Lett's exploration of preconceptions and how his manipulation of colour creates pieces of harmony.

Text by editor Rose of Sharon Leake and images from past exhibitions with Edwina Corlette Gallery, edition out now.

READ MORE HERE

Image detail;

'Limbo' 2022
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
56 x 48 cm

It is with great pleasure that we announce Belem Lett has been selected as a finalist in the 2023 Paddington Art Prize for his work 'This Land Is Slippery'

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

Image:

'This Land Is Slippery' 2022
Oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
150 x 180 cm

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Congratulations to our artist Paul Ryan who is a finalists in this year's Mosman Art Prize for his work 'The King'. Exhibition open 23 September in Mosman, Sydney.

READ MORE HERE

Image:

PAUL RYAN
'The King' 2023
oil on linen
138 x 122 cm

On Sunday the 30th of July, PAUL RYAN featured in the ABC Art Works episode focusing on album cover art. Hosted by Namila Benson, this episode of ABC Art Works allows Paul to tell us his story as an Australian painter and about his collaborations with American musician Bill Callahan.

Even though they've never met, Paul Ryan and Bill Callahan share a mutually beneficial friendship. Paul has painted several of Bill's album covers and Bill's music has inspired Paul's paintings.

Paul shows us his process and eclectic studio, personifying his practice and shining light on his emotive connection to the landscape so often seen in his pieces.

You can watch Paul Ryan's feature on the ABC iView website HERE

Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in this year's Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award for his work 'You Are The Centre Of The Universe'.

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.

Finalists will be exhibited in the Main Gallery at Hazelhurst Arts Centre in Sydney from 16 September to 12 November 2023.

Belem's next solo exhibition at the gallery is from 2 – 16 December 2023

Artwork:

You Are The Centre Of The Universe

Oil, gesso on Stonehenge paper 245gsm

228 x 168 cm

2023

Tim McMonagle's painting 'Plaza' is currently on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the 'brick vase clay cup jug' exhibition.

Guest curator Glenn Barkley selected the artworks in 'brick vase clay cup jug' by typing the words of the exhibition title into the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ online collection database, retrieving objects linked only by a word or medium. Unlike the typical approach to making an exhibition, where works are grouped conceptually according to meanings or historical associations, this selection process is non-hierarchical and echoes the random groupings seen in gallery storage. Usually guided by pragmatic considerations – maximising space and access or caring for the collection – these incidental groupings can create inspiring and surprising links between disparate objects, art-handling equipment and exhibition furniture.

Barkley has then taken cues from these search results, either aesthetic or conceptual, to cast a wider net through the collection, creating new connections – many of which are personal, visual, intuitive and emotional – between artworks.

- Art Gallery New South Wales

The exhibition is open until January 2024

IMAGE:

Tim McMonagle

Plaza (installation view) 2005

oil on linen

180 x 180 cm

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Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in this year's Waverley Art Prize for his work 'Smile'.

Belem is one of the 38 finalists chosen from over 700 entries. Recognising his striking choice of colour and form, Waverley Woollahra Art School credits his signature technique of forcing the eye to follow the shifting stark palettes.

The Waverley Art Prize celebrates excellence across the local arts community and greater Australian contemporary Visual Arts sector, ultimately showcasing the brilliance of early to mid-career Australian artists.

The Finalist Exhibition for this Waverley Art Prize is held in Sydney at the Bondi Pavilion until August 13, 2023.

Artwork:

Smile

oil, gesso and marble dust on aluminium composite panel

150 x 122 cm

2023

Belem Lett is a finalist in the 2023 Omnia Art Prize with his works 'These Peaks Watch Over You' and 'Eclipse'. The Omnia Art Prize is one of Australia’s premier art awards and exhibitions for contemporary art. Read more here.

Artworks:

These Peaks Watch Over You

oil, clear primer on brushed aluminium composite panel

150 x 120 cm

2022

Eclipse

clear coat, acrylic, gesso, wood putty, screws, wood glue, pine

82 x 42 x 28 cm

2023

Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in this year's Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize with his work 'Vertical Horizon'.

The Bayside Painting Prize is the only annual painting prize held in Melbourne, with specific focus on artists with a variety of approaches to the painted medium. The Bayside Painting Prize is one of the most generous non-acquisitive painting prizes in Australia. This allows the Bayside City Council to continue to promote artists to the Bayside community and support painters across Australia.

IMAGE:
Belem Lett
Vertical Horizon 2023
Oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
122 x 94 cm

READ MORE HERE

Belem Lett's bold artwork 'Move Me' (2022) is featured on the recent cover of Belle Magazine. Belem's piece celebrates the power of colour and is shown in an exclusive look inside interiors star Anna Spiro's home.

BELEM LETT
Move Me 2022
Oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
122 x 94cm

Congratulations to Belem Lett who has won the 2022 Omnia Art Prize for the most outstanding work in any medium.

The prize was judged by Charlotte Day, Director of Monash University Museum of Art. The exhibition is open until 30th May at St. Kevins College, Toorak.

READ MORE HERE

This Sun Burns For Us 2022
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminum composite panel
152 x 150cm

Congratulations to Christopher Zanko and Paul Ryan who are finalists with a collaborative work in the 2022 Sulman Art Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Sulman Prize is awarded for the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist.

Christopher Zanko and Paul Ryan's work is set against the backdrop of Wollongong in NSW. This painting is concerned with the vulnerability of the changing demographics of an area once defined by coal mining, steelmaking and allied industries.

READ MORE HERE

PAUL RYAN + CHRISTOPHER ZANKO
Bulli, Rock Steady 2022
oil and acrylic on wood relief carving
120 x 100 cm

Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in the 2022 Sulman Art Prize.

The Sulman Prize is awarded for the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist. Established within the terms of Sir John Sulman’s bequest, the prize was first awarded in 1936. Each year the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW invite a guest artist to judge this open competition. Finalists are displayed in an exhibition at the Gallery opening on the 14th of May.

READ MORE HERE

Bending Over Backwards 2022
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
150 x 125 cm

The main idea of this show is to speculate if Sydney, Australia, a sprawling conurbation of coastal and landlocked suburbs, has anything artistically in common with the metropolis of Los Angeles. I am also speculating that there is such a thing as Australian cool, which might reflect or correspond with a perception held that LA art is definitely cool. LA’s emergence as an important art city has been an ongoing matter for debate but has recently become cemented by the by appearance in LA of some major new art museums and international galleries.

Artists: Ron Adams, Polly Borland, Chris Dolman, Belem Lett, Adam Norton, Philjames, Genevieve Felix Reynolds

Durden & Ray, Los Angeles
19 March - 9 April 2022

Title: The River, 2022
Medium: oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
Size: 81 x 61 cm

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The Blake Prize is one of Australia's longest standing and most prestigious prizes which encourages conversation about religion and spirituality through art and poetry.

Belem Lett has been named as a finalist for the 67^th Blake Prize, 2022.

Title: Electric Dreams, 2021
Medium: oil on aluminium composite panel
Size: 152 x 150 cm

READ MORE HERE

David Roach, co-curator of the Clifton Contemporary Art Fair, talked to one of the high-profile participating artists, Paul Ryan.

Paul Ryan’s striking, often provocative paintings are sort by collectors both in Australia and internationally. Many feature the Northern Illawarra coast and escarpment as seen from the ocean.

READ MORE HERE

Paul Ryan is a finalist in Newcastle Art Gallery's Kilgour Art Prize 2021.

The Kilgour Prize is Newcastle's annual art prize for figurative and portrait painting. It awards $50,000 for the most outstanding work of art and a People’s Choice of $5000 to the painting voted most popular by the general public. Each year the Gallery receives hundreds of applications from across Australia.

'Three Imaginary Boys' 2021
oil on linen
138 x 153 cm

The Grace Cossington Smith Art Prize is inspired by the work of Abbotsleigh Old Girl and artist Grace Cossington Smith who made connections with her changing world through her drawing and painting.

Congratulations to Belem Lett for being finalist in three Grace Cossington Smith Art Prize awards for 2022.

Title: Wave Racer, 2021
Medium: oil on aluminium composite panel
Size: 110 x 80 cm

READ MORE HERE

The Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award is a significant national biennial exhibition that promotes excellence and innovation in the field of art on paper. This year, Hazelhurst received over 700 entries from artists throughout Australia.

Belem Lett has been selected to exhibit for the Art on Paper award 2022.

Title: Sunflower, 2021
Medium: oil, gesso on 12 sheets stonehenge paper
Size: 228 x 228cm

READ MORE HERE

Art, Activism And The Archibald

CREATIVE PEOPLE

Art has always been a vehicle for social dialogue, and a window into current political issues. When Sydney artist Julian Meagher met former professional soccer player, commentator and human rights advocate Craig ‘Fozzy’ Foster AM, he was inspired.

READ MORE ON THE DESIGN FILES HERE

Stefan Dunlop's work 'Splash II' has been donated to the Sunshine Coast Art Collection through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2021.

The Sunshine Coast Art Collection now numbers over 800 works, including winning works of the inaugural Sunshine Coast Art Prize in 2006 by one of the foremost Nyoongar artists, Shane Pickett (1957 – 2010).

"The prize’s main impetus is to build the Collection, but it’s also a great device for visibility of the vibrancy of the Sunshine Coast arts and culture."
- Collection Curator Nina Shadforth, 2021

IMAGES:

1/ Philanthropist Ferre De Deyne, Collection Curator Nina Shadforth and artist Stefan Dunlop

2/ Stefan Dunlop
Splash II 2017
oil on canvas
200 × 240.5 cm

Established in 2015, the Bayside Painting Prize is one of the most generous non-acquisitive painting prizes in Australia. The exhibition draws together a breadth of artists with varied approaches to painting. This allows the Bayside City Council to futher promote artists to the Bayside community from across Australia, providing painters with support to continue their practice.

Tim McMonagle's work 'Put Upon' 2020 is a finalist in this year's prize.

IMAGE:

Tim McMonagle

Put upon 2020

oil on linen

138 x 138 cm

READ MORE HERE

Established in 2015, the Bayside Painting Prize is one of the most generous non-acquisitive painting prizes in Australia. The exhibition draws together a breadth of artists with varied approaches to painting. This allows the Bayside City Council to further develop its collection and promote artists to the Bayside community.

Belem Lett's work 'Pineapples' 2019 is a finalist in this year's prize.

READ MORE HERE

WORDS EMMA-KATE WILSON

A few years ago, Sydney-based artist Julian Meagher welcomed the birth of his son and found himself working more instinctively. ‘I think I’m making better works because I am taking a lot more risks, I make so many more bad paintings that end up in the bin now than I used to,’ he comments.

When his daughter was born eight months ago, he went through a whole new level of sleep deprivation and heartbreak, with their little girl suffering reflux for six months. ‘Sleepwalking’ channels this energy, exploring the space between altered states, the subconscious and dreaming.

Alongside ultra-romantic pink and blue landscapes, complete with rainbows, built through active painting, raw brushstrokes and delicate fades, Meagher presents his sleeping family. The small and intimate portraits connect with the large glitchy, idyllic landscapes. ‘I’m trying to make sense of the complex human existence through the power and beauty of nature,’ he adds, ‘I feel like a rainbow next to a little sleeping baby is what we need right now … A hope that things will get better on both a personal and collective level.’

Meagher’s palette is deliberately muted, soft, subtle. He says, ‘I think painting is only good if you’re true to yourself. Painting is a kind of meditation for me in a way; I want the end result to slow down my breath rate.’

To construct his portraits and colour fields – which can be read as landscapes, abstracted, or the sky out of his studio window – Meagher applies thin layers and begins to remove the colour as it starts to dry. Working against the drying time of the paint stops the artist from ‘overcooking’ them. By revealing the linen below, the canvases hold luminosity, adding a watercolour effect evocative of the ocean-inspired landscapes. ‘We’ve all seen those storms out to sea; it’s in our collective consciousness,’ he explains, ‘most can associate strong memories and rites of passage with these coastline images.’

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

'Lovelock' is the presentation of a new suite of paintings by Tim McMonagle that have been directly informed by a new suite of sound works, produced for this project by Paul Knight, who is resident in Berlin.

Transference. The change of elemental states. The search for a place not here nor there.

These were our early concepts for the exhibition. Be careful what you wish for. Despite an unpredictable year in all corners of the globe, the original framework for the project is in place: to commission work from one artist to inform the work of the other. The idea & process is elliptical and is revealed over a period of time in three sections.

The fulcrum is a set of paintings by Tim McMonagle. They will be made using source imagery around the idea of “A Place Between / Not here nor there”. We approached Paul Knight in Berlin to create source images generated by this diaristic photographic practice. Then the pandemic happened, and nothing was the same.

In isolation in Berlin, Paul had immersed himself in his music practice, making soundscapes without traditional song structures, using sources completely derived from synthetic sounds: purely electronic space. The fit with the original concept was perfect. We devised a limit of the 12” LP to set the duration of the material. The square of the LP cover echoes Tim’s exclusive canvas ratio, the square.

The six tracks are to be issued as source material to McMonagle for his body of paintings. Tim has always hankered to work with a non-visual source for a group of paintings & this serendipitous outcome has both artists exhilarated by the possibility of extending their practice.

- Greenwood Street Project

The final part of this work is the unification of the germinal sound work by Paul Knight. Tim McMonagle’s paintings, and documentation of the exhibition to be presented at Greenwood Street Project in early 2021 in an LP/catalogue.

LISTEN HERE

Stefan Dunlop's 2020 work 'Composition #1 with Bust' has recently been acquired by Artbank, Australia.

Artbank is part of the Australian Government Office for the Arts, in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and 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.

The Artbank collection was founded with an endowment of 600 artworks from the National Collection (now the National Gallery of Australia) and has since grown to include more than 10,000 works spanning media including painting, sculpture, video and photography. Through leasing works to individuals, companies and governments (at all levels), Artbank lives up to its policy principle of promoting broad access to Australian contemporary art. Through our leasing of artworks to Australian embassies and other overseas posts, we provide access to Australian contemporary art in approximately 70 countries across the globe.

IMAGE:

Stefan Dunlop

Composition #1 with Bust 2020

oil on linen

150 x 170cm

N\H artist Paul Ryan is a finalist in Australia's most anticipated art prize, the 2020 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman. The exhibition is on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until January 10th 2021.

Paul Ryan's painting "Three Imaginary Boys" is the artist's sixth finalist selection in the Sulman Prize. He is a 13-time Archibald finalist and five-time Wynne Prize finalist. Paul has won the Paddington Art Prize (2007 & 2010), Geelong Contemporary Art Prize (2012) and has been a finalist numerous times in the Mosman Prize, Moran Prize, Fishers Ghost, Kilgour, Tattersals and other major awards.

'Three Imaginary Boys' 2020
oil on linen
138 x 153 cm

In his podcast Alan Kohler tells the world that his three best non-share investments (that he actually owns) are:

1. A house in Richmond, Melbourne
2. A painting by Stefan Dunlop
3. A longines watch

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS

Paul Ryan is a finalist in the 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. In it's seventieth year, the Mosman Art Prize has developed in stature to become Australia’s most prestigious municipally funded art prize with a national profile. It regularly attracts over 900 entries annually and currently offers over $60,000 in prizes.

The 2020 Mosman Art Prize was judged by Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of Artspace, Sydney.

Congratulations to Stefan Dunlop who is a finalist in the 2020 Sunshine Coast National Art Prize with his 2018 work 'Pink, Green, Blue'.

The acquisitive Sunshine Coast National Art Prize is a dynamic visual arts award reflecting outstanding contemporary 2D and new media arts practice in Australia.

IMAGE

Stefan Dunlop

Pink, Green, Blue 2018

oil on linen

164 x 122cm

The Glover Prize has announced its 42 finalists for 2020. These finalists represent the Judges’ selection of the best artworks of the Tasmanian landscape, chosen from the entrants coming from every Australian state and territory. These 42 artworks will be on display at the Glover Prize Exhibition at Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale, Tasmania during March this year.

The judges for the Glover Prize 2020 are Queensland Art Gallery | Museum of Modern Art (QAGOMA) director, Chris Saines; Sydney artist, Fiona Lowry; Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) Senior Curator and Dark Mofo Associate Artistic Director, Jarrod Rawlins. The judges next task is to carefully narrow down the 42 finalists to choose the winner of the $50,000 cash prize. After its display at the exhibition, the John Glover Society Inc. will acquire the winning artwork for its collection.

Belem Lett's work Burn Baby Burn 2020 has been selected as one of the finalists. The exhibition commences on 6 March, running from Saturday the 7th of March, 2020 and continuing until the end of the following weekend on Sunday the 15th of March, 2020, at the historic Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale.

READ MORE HERE

Since 2001 The Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award has been a significant national biennial exhibition that aims to elevate the status of works on paper while supporting and promoting artists working with this medium.

With prize money totalling $26,000, the Award showcases outstanding art created with, on or about paper. Artists compete for the $15,000 major award; the Young & Early Career Artist and the Friends of Hazelhurst Local Artist Awards ($5,000 each); and the People’s Choice Award ($1,000), plus the Hazelhurst Preparator’s choice Residency Award.

Image below: BELEM LETT 'Mountains of Madness' 2019, mixed media on paper, 148 x 110 cm

READ MORE HERE

Administered by Bendigo Art Gallery and held every two years, the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize is designed to attract some of Australia’s finest contemporary artists, awarding a generous acquisitive cash prize of $50,000.

Belem Lett is a finalist in the 2019 award.

Image below: BELEM LETT 'Dip Me in the Water' 2019, oil on aluminium composite panel 163 x 122cm

READ MORE HERE

Sarah Cox previews Stefan Dunlop's painting practice in the latest issue of Artist Profile magazine.

Dunlop contextualises his work in today’s world of ‘fake news’ and post-internet art by addressing the Western art tradition with irony. He adheres to a critical approach based on an aesthetic discourse that employs abstract art as a response to digital technology. His response to the chaos confronting us today is to go back to the old-school order of paint on canvas, using collage and fragmentation to evoke the digital milieu’s oversaturation of images.

Dunlop’s oeuvre has evolved from creating observational-based work and still lifes to figures in landscape. Early on, his work comprised monumental heroic figures painted in warm colours and bold gestural strokes. His recent work, in contrast, uses less structured, looser forms.

- Sarah Cox, Artist Profile, 2019

READ MORE HERE

Tim McMonagle intimately confronts both the fragile and robust nature of life. With an obsession for mark-making and the act of painting, he depicts humanised landscapes with whimsical contradictions of impasto and swathing washes. His paintings require a closer inspection, as dangling branches and wailing trees act like entwined torsos to question humanity’s relationship to the environment. Artist Profile spoke to McMonagle in his Melbourne studio for Issue 46.

- Ellinor Pelz, Artist Profile

IMAGE:

Tim McMonagle

Magnificent Pavlova With Bananas 2019

oil on linen

77 x 77 cm

READ MORE HERE

RocoColonial

4 May 2019 - 30 Jun 2019

RocoColonial is a major artist-initiated project by Gary Carsley and presented by Hazelhurst Arts Centre in partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.

ARTISTS: Brook Andrew | Tony Clark | Peter Cooley | Deborah Kelly | Belem Lett | Jennifer Leahy | Danie Mellor | Marc Newson | Técha Noble & Romance Was Born | Joan Ross | Justin Shoulder | Esme Timbery | Jenny Watson | Louise Zhang

CARTOUCHES: Renjie Teoh

Rococo and Colonial are often considered to be disparate, undisputable categories that neatly divide periods of time. This separation offers little opportunity to consider parallel histories - how similar or different things might be happening elsewhere or at the same time. RocoColonial is an exhibition that examines the overlap between Rococo and Colonial and begins by acknowledging that both can be intrinsically related and link Australia to a wider, speculative world of multiple, concurrent histories.

READ MORE HERE

We are delighted to see works by Sally Anderson, Belem Lett, Lucy O'Doherty, and Amber Wallis in the new exhibition 'The Whiteley at 20: Twenty Years of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship', as previous finalists of the award.

Established by Ms Beryl Whiteley in 1999 in memory of her son, the 'Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship' provides young painters with the opportunity to travel through Europe to develop their artistic practice. Since its inception, 20 young painters have followed in the titular artist's footsteps.

The exhibition features works by Sally Anderson, Alice Byrne, Mitch Cairns, James Drinkwater, Petrea Fellow, Becky Gibson, Nathan Hawkes, Alan Jones, Nicole Kelly, Belem Lett, Lucy O’Doherty, Wayde Owen, Timothy Phillips, Tom Polo, Ben Quilty, Karlee Rawkins, Samuel Wade, Amber Wallis, Natasha Walsh, and Marcus Wills, alongside the four paintings that won Brett Whiteley the Italian Government Travelling Scholarship.

The exhibition presents not only the works that won the scholarship, but features works from each artist's residency at the Cite Internationale des Art, Paris and recent work.

The exhibition is open from 22 March - 5 May 2019 at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney.

READ MORE HERE

Founded by Doug & Greta Moran and family in 1988, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is an annual Australian portrait prize supporting Australian artists. The prize has encouraged both excellence and creativity in contemporary Australian portraiture by asking artists to interpret the look and personality of a chosen sitter, either unknown or well known. With a first prize of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) it is Australia’s richest art prize.

After receiving a record-breaking 482 entries this year and careful deliberation from the judges, the Glover Prize has announced its 42 finalists for 2019. These finalists represent the Judges’ selection of the best artworks of the Tasmanian landscape, chosen from the 482 entrants coming from every Australian state and territory, as well as a number of submissions from New Zealand, Italy, and the United Kingdom. These 42 artworks will be on display at the Glover Prize Exhibition at Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale, Tasmania during March this year.

The judges for the Glover Prize 2019 are Art Fairs Australia CEO and director, Barry Keldoulis; Sydney artist Joan Ross; and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) director, Janet Carding. The judges next task is to carefully narrow down the 42 finalists to choose the winner of the $50,000 cash prize. After its display at the exhibition, the John Glover Society Inc. will acquire the winning artwork for its collection.

Belem Lett's work The River Runs/The People Come has been selected as one of the finalists. The exhibition commences on the March long-weekend, running from Saturday the 9th of March, 2019 and continuing until the end of the following weekend on Sunday the 17th of March, 2019, at the historic Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale.

READ MORE HERE

After receiving a record-breaking 482 entries this year and careful deliberation from the judges, the Glover Prize has announced its 42 finalists for 2019. These finalists represent the Judges’ selection of the best artworks of the Tasmanian landscape, chosen from the 482 entrants coming from every Australian state and territory, as well as a number of submissions from New Zealand, Italy, and the United Kingdom. These 42 artworks will be on display at the Glover Prize Exhibition at Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale, Tasmania during March this year.

The judges for the Glover Prize 2019 are Art Fairs Australia CEO and director, Barry Keldoulis; Sydney artist Joan Ross; and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) director, Janet Carding. The judges next task is to carefully narrow down the 42 finalists to choose the winner of the $50,000 cash prize. After its display at the exhibition, the John Glover Society Inc. will acquire the winning artwork for its collection.

Julian Meagher's work Democratic Mountain has been selected as one of the finalists. The exhibition commences on the March long-weekend, running from Saturday the 9th of March, 2019 and continuing until the end of the following weekend on Sunday the 17th of March, 2019, at the historic Falls Park Pavilion in Evandale.

READ MORE HERE

Stefan Dunlop's work was featured on the highly regarded Design Files blog.

'The 45-year-old came to his practice ‘in a round about way’. He tried out a range of jobs and a degrees not associated with art, before landing in New York for six months, where he enrolled in the New York Studio School. ‘This is what really kick started my painting career,’ he recalls. ‘Now I work in splendid isolation on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.’

- Elle Murrell, Design Files, 2018

IMAGE:

Stefan Dunlop in his studio, courtesy the artist

READ MORE HERE

Paul Ryan is a finalist in this year's Mosman Art Prize with her work 'Yeah The Boys' 2018.

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.

As an acquisitive art award for painting, the winning artworks collected since 1947 form a splendid collection of modern and contemporary Australian art, reflecting all the developments in Australian art practice since 1947.

READ MORE HERE

Miranda Skoczek, Julian Meagher and John Aslanidis are finalists in The Kings School Art Prize 2018.

The King’s Art Prize is a $20,000 acquisitive award presented to the best contemporary artwork created by an artist resident in Australia and represented by a commercial gallery, supporting both the artists and the fine arts industry. Entry is by invitation only and the finalists are selected by an appointed Art Prize panel.

READ MORE HERE

John Aslanidis, Belem Lett and Bridie Gillman are finalists in the 2018 Fisher's Ghost Award through Campbelltown Arts Centre.

The Fisher’s Ghost Art Award is part of Campbelltown’s annual Festival of Fisher’s Ghost. Held over 10 days, the Festival dates back to 1956 and celebrates Australia’s most famous ghost – Frederick Fisher.

The Open section of the Art Award is acquisitive to the Campbelltown Art Centre permanent collection and the artist is awarded prize-money of $20,000. Over the years, the prize has been won by some of Australia's most well respected contemporary artists.

READ MORE HERE

Belem Lett has won the UNSW Print Prize as part of the 2018 Paddington Art Prize with his work River Reflection (After Boyd) (pictured).

The Paddington Art Prize is a $30,000 national acquisitive prize for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape, now in it’s 15th year. In addition, UNSW Art & Design offers a selected artist the opportunity to create a limited edition print and a $3,000 prize.

Congratulations to Julian Meagher who is a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize 2018.

The Paddington Art Prize is a $30,000 National acquisitive prize, awarded annually for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape. The prize encourages the interpretation of the landscape as a significant contemporary genre, its long tradition in Australian painting as a key contributor to our national ethos, and is a positive initiative in private patronage of the arts in Australia.

Of his entry 'Wapengo Lake Tideline', Julian says

I wanted this work to chase the spontaneity and freedom of a watercolour. It was painted at a time of great change just before my son was born. A time of giving in to forces far greater than me, of tides, cycles and connection to country.

READ MORE HERE

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. The Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s most high profile and respected awards which attracts hundreds of entries each year and the S.H. Ervin Gallery’s ‘alternative’ selection has become a much anticipated feature of the Sydney art scene.

Julian Meagher's work 'Wapengo #1' was selected in 2018.  Wapengo #1 is from a series painted after a recent residency on the Sapphire Coast where Meagher spent a month with his pregnant wife Beejal in Mimosa Rocks National Park. He says:

‘I wanted these oil paintings to chase the spontaneity and freedom of a watercolour. They are unashamedly romantic, painted at a time of great change just before my son was born. A time of giving in to forces far greater than me, of tides, cycles and connection to country.’

READ MORE HERE

Julian Meagher is a finalist in the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Archibald prize, the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. His work is of Man Booker prize recipient Richard Flanagan.  Meagher says:

'Richard Flanagan’s novels are published in 42 countries and have received numerous honours and awards, including the 2002 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2016 Athens Prize for Literature.

‘He is one of my favourite novelists but it is his writing and interviews on literature, the environment, art and politics that particularly make him one of Australia’s most important voices,’ says Julian Meagher. ‘Herb, Richard’s writing partner, was pretty insistent that he be included in the painting.’

Born in 1978 in Sydney, Meagher still lives and works there. This is his third time in the Archibald Prize. He has also been a Wynne finalist.

READ MORE HERE

Paul Ryan was awarded Highly Commended in the Winner Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales with his work 'Kembla, Mount Kembla".  Ryan says:

In 1922, DH Lawrence and his wife Frieda came to Thirroul, about an hour south of Sydney, by train. It was here that he wrote the novel Kangaroo, in which he described ‘the town that slid down at the bush-covered foot of the dark tor’. I have lived beneath this dark tor for most of my life. It is omnipresent, it shields us and acts as a gilded cage. In summer, spring and early morning, it captures the sun and glows. But in winter, it stands against the western sky as a dark fortress, blocking our escape and most of the afternoon sun. This a painting of a deep love of place. Paul Ryan, 2018

READ MORE HERE

Tim McMonagle is a finalist in the 2018 Wynne Prize for landscape painting at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

In my painting 'Shadow captain' I was interested in capturing an imagined anthropomorphic nature. In the changing low light of dawn or dusk the large eucalyptus seems to twist and contort, fastened to the ground where it is anchored.'

- Tim McMonagle, 2018

IMAGE:

Tim McMonagle

Shadow Captain 2018

oil on linen

50.5 x 50.5 cm

READ MORE HERE

Julian Meagher is featured in the May/June edition of Vogue Living magazine.

5 x 5 – the Artist and the Patron

24 March 2018 – 20 May 2018

The artist-collector relationship has existed for millennia, manifesting in multiple forms with varying outcomes. During the Renaissance, the patronage of the Medici family enabled Raphael and Leonardo DaVinci to focus solely on art. Just outside Melbourne, during the mid twentieth century, at their home Heidi, John and Sunday Reed invited a young Sidney Nolan inside their world, creating a consummate creative union. In Sydney, Judith Nielsen has helped usher contemporary Chinese artists from emerging to legendary status. Each partnership has yielded significant outputs reverberating throughout different cultures.

5X5 recognizes the cultural significance of these types of pairings by exploring the trajectories of five artists and their parallel collector relationships:

• Amanda Love / Tracey Emin
• Dr. Dick Quan / Uji ‘Hahan’ Handoko Eko Saputro
• Lisa Paulsen / Patrick Hartigan
• James Emmett / Julian Meagher
• The Private Collector / Nigel Milsom

Marking a twenty-five-year relationship, artist Julian Meagher and collector James Emmett have the longest standing association of all the collector-artist pairings showcased in 5X5. Their journey begins when they went to high school together. The pair would become closer friends when Emmett’s partner, Peter Wilson commissioned Meagher to paint Emmett’s portrait during their university years (included in this exhibition).

The works included in this exhibition span the entire period of the Emmett and Meagher’s art collecting/ art making histories. Interestingly, Meagher admits that some of these earlier works are no longer representative of his current practice, revealing the temporal nature of collecting. Often new acquisitions redefine the collection or an artist’s output as a whole by casting new light on past works or acquisitions and suggesting possible directions for the future. Nevertheless, this relationship timestamps their shared experiences as they developed into their adult selves.

Click here to view the Catalogue

Tides and cycles

By Christopher Barker, Tuesday February 13, 2018

For Sydney artist Julian Meagher, 'Inlet/Outlet' is a new type of beast.

Not so much in its challenge to Australia’s contemporary cultural identity (something he is largely known and regarded for), but for translating those ideals to landscape works inspired by the far South Coast of New South Wales Australia. The result, a 21-piece exhibition at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery, chases freedom, the tide and slow looking. The effect on him, profound as it may be, is outlined in our interview below. 

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Julian Meagher's three week residency at the Myer House at Blithry Inlet on the south coast of New South Wales and the resultant solo exhibition at Bega Regional Gallery is profiled on the Artist Profile blog.

'Sydney artist Julian Meagher's latest exhibition 'Inlet Outlet' is the fruit of a 2017 residency with Bega Valley Regional Gallery (BVRG). A pilot project for a long-term partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and BVRG, the inaugural residency signals 'another key step in the development of the arts in the region and provides the opportunity for visual artists to draw from the unique natural environment of the local region, connect with regional communities and expand their practice outside of metropolitan studios', says BVRG Director Iain Dawson.'

VIEW THE ARTICLE HERE

In April 2017 Bega Valley Regional Gallery welcomed prominent Sydney artist Julian Meagher as inaugural artist in residence. A pilot project for a long term partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the BVRG, the residency offered the opportunity for visual artists to draw from the unique natural environment of the local region, whilst connecting with regional communities and expanding their practice outside of metropolitan studios.

Meagher spent time at the beautiful Sir Roy Grounds-designed Myer House set on Bithry Inlet in the pristine Mimosa Rocks National Park and Inlet Outlet showcases the artistic fruits of that stay.

Exhibition on until 10 march 2018

READ MORE HERE

Byron Bay's Byron at Byron Hotel recently completed a renovation which included a suite of works by Julian Meagher.

Designed by well known interior designer Luchetti Krelle, art takes pride of place within the newly renovated walls, with finalist of the 2015 Archibald Prize, Julian Meagher commissioned to paint a series of still life paintings featuring Australian natives for the hotel. 

READ MORE HERE

Paul Ryan features in an ABC podcast on Books and Arts. 

In her introduction Sarah Kanowski says:

'Paul Ryan lives and surfs on the south coast of New South Wales, and the beautiful landscape of the Illawarra features in many of his paintings.

He's also an accomplished portraitist (and many time Archibald Prize finalist) and has an abiding interest in depicting figures from colonial Australia.

Paul Ryan listens to music while he paints and has collaborated with American musician Bill Callahan.'

Paul discusses the methodologies of his practice and the prominent themes in his work surrounding colonial Australia. 

Download and listen to the full podcast here.

Belem Lett has been selected as one of five finalists in the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Prize for 2017.

The Glenfiddich Artist in Residence Prize is now celebrating its fifteenth year. This program invites Australian artists to work and live for three months at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. The program offers the artist a residency prize valued at $21,000 as well as the opportunity to collaborate with other international artists in the historic and scenic Scottish highlands. 

The finalists exhibition was held at the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair 2017.

Image: 'Jenny I'll Meet You At The Grocery Store'  2017, oil on aluminium composite panel, 165 x 244 cm

Read more here

Congratulations to Belem Lett who has been names as a finalist in the Salon des Refusés 2017.

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 the final exhibition.   

The 2017 selection panel comprised James Dorahy art advisor, Michael Reid Galleries; Elisabeth Hastings curator & author, ‘Kevin Connor’ monograph; and Jane Watters, Director, S.H. Ervin Gallery.

The exhibition is at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, housed in the historic National Trust Centre on Observatory Hill, The Rocks in Sydney.

Read more here

Congratulations to Julian Meagher and Vipoo Srivilasa for being finalists of the 2017 National Still Life Award at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

The acquisitive Award offers a major award of $20,000 as well as a People’s Choice Award of $5,000. This years' judge is Lisa Slade, Assistant Director of Artistic Programs at Art Gallery of South Australia. 

Finalist works exhibited Friday 24th November 2017 to Saturday 20th of January 2018 at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

Paul Ryan is a finalist in this years 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. In it's seventieth year, the Mosman Art Prize has developed in stature to become Australia’s most prestigious municipally funded art prize with a national profile. It regularly attracts over 900 entries annually and currently offers over $60,000 in prizes.

The prize will be judged by Kristen Paisley, Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Australia.

The Mosman Art Prize exhibition will be open to the public for viewing from Saturday 23 September until Sunday 29 October 2017. Details here.

IMAGE: Cook and Hounds, 2017, oil on canvas

Hosted by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) in Sydney on 18 August, you now have the chance to learn life drawing from some of the best in the business, with a one-off class led by Archibald Prize finalists. 

Supporting NAVA, the 15-person only event will see past Archibald finalists Jasper Knight, Julian Meagher, Dean Brown and Oliver Watts give out tips via way of a life drawing class, discuss their work and also tour their Darlinghurst studio. 

“One of the things I like most about life drawing is the communal nature of it. Oliver, Jasper and I spent many of our teenage years together at life drawing classes. I'm looking forward to getting the band back together! Art can be a lonely pursuit so it is magical when you can bounce ideas and create work alongside your peers. NAVA plays a key role in our community and I think it is fitting to be able to support it in this way,” says Julian Meagher, who was selected as a 2015 Archibald finalist for his Daniel Johns portrait. 

Visit NAVA to book. 

Paul Ryan is a finalist in Newcastle Art Gallery's Kilgour Art Prize 2017. 

The Kilgour Prize is Newcastle's annual art prize for figurative and portrait painting. It awards $50,000 for the most outstanding work of art and a People’s Choice of $5000 to the painting voted most popular by the general public. Each year the Gallery receives hundreds of applications from across Australia.

The Kilgour Prize will be on display 5 August - 15 October 2017. For further information, please click here.

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a national contemporary acquisitive award presented by Sunshine Coast Council. The Award is open to any artist who is an Australian resident, working in a 2D medium.

Forty finalists have been selected for an exhibition at the Caloundra Regional Gallery and the winning work will be added to the Sunshine Coast Art Collection.

Angela Goddard is the judge for the Sunshine Coast Prize 2017. Angela is the Director of Griffith Artworks, responsible for the Griffith University Art Collection and the Griffith University Art Gallery, Brisbane. Angela was previously the Curator of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). Winners announced 31 August.

IMAGE:

Tim McMonagle

In The Middle 2016

oil on linen

122 x 122 cm

READ MORE HERE

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a national contemporary acquisitive award presented by Sunshine Coast Council. The Award is open to any artist who is an Australian resident, working in a 2D medium.

Forty finalists have been selected for an exhibition at the Caloundra Regional Gallery and the winning work will be added to the Sunshine Coast Art Collection.

Angela Goddard is the judge for the Sunshine Coast Prize 2017. Angela is the Director of Griffith Artworks, responsible for the Griffith University Art Collection and the Griffith University Art Gallery, Brisbane. Angela was previously the Curator of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). Winners announced 31 August.

Image: Julian Meagher | The Ashes Fall - The Wine Spills | 2016 | oil on linen | 152 x 122 cm

Read more Here.

The Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a national contemporary acquisitive award presented by Sunshine Coast Council. The Award is open to any artist who is an Australian resident, working in a 2D medium.

Forty finalists have been selected for an exhibition at the Caloundra Regional Gallery and the winning work will be added to the Sunshine Coast Art Collection.

Angela Goddard is the judge for the Sunshine Coast Prize 2017. Angela is the Director of Griffith Artworks, responsible for the Griffith University Art Collection and the Griffith University Art Gallery, Brisbane. Angela was previously the Curator of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). Winners announced 31 August.

Image: Paul Ryan The Sea Was Angry That Day My Fiends 2017 oil on linen 123 x 123cm

Read more Here.

Arts writer Phil Brown reviews Paul Ryan's exhibition 'Happy Days in the Colony' in the current issue of Brisbane News.  Read the review HERE

Carrie McCarthy has written a thoughtful piece about Tim McMonagle's recent exhibition at Edwina Corlette Gallery for her brilliant blog Cultural Flanerie. The article coincided with Tim's first exhibition at the Gallery which continued his exploration of our majestic native gum trees.

There is something eerily familiar about the trees that have begun to sprout up in Tim McMonagle’s work in recent times. An artist who has spent almost two decades disseminating human nature’s foibles and absurdities through his whimsical compositions, McMonagle has increasingly found himself compelled to consider the curious lifecycle of our majestic native gums.

- Carrie McCarthy, Cultural Flanerie

IMAGE:

Install view of Tim McMonagle 'Recent work', image courtesy the artist

READ MORE HERE

Influential French blog site La Blogotheque recently featured a profile on Paul Ryan in his Thiroull studio. Paul has been painting American musician Bill Callahan’s album covers for the last five years. He talks about the role music plays in his art in the second episode of the blog's interview series “Music is my radar”:

Read and watch here.

Paul Ryan was recently interviewed by Steve Lopes for Artist Profile magazine:

'Paul Ryan’s gutsy paintings pack a punch that has won him many fans over the years. Ryan is not afraid to experiment with subject matter. A 13-time Archibald finalist, he regularly collaborates with other artists and also musicians, and often chooses to deal with confronting topics. He is happy with the choices he has made in his art career, and the apparent ease of life in his comfortable seaside studio belies the “collateral damage” that painting can bring to a life devoted to art.'

Read the full article HERE.

Edwina Corlette Gallery is delighted to announce the representation of Paul Ryan.

Born in Auckland in 1964, Paul Ryan has had regular solo exhibitions since 1988. Based in Thirroul on the New South Wales coast, Ryan's work looks at the Australian landscape and history, in particular as it relates to the area near where he lives.  

A finalist in the Archibald Prize 13 times, he has also been a finalist in the Wynne Prize three times and the Sulman Prize four times. He won the 2010 Paddington Art Prize for landscape painting and the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize in 2012. 

Paul Ryan's first exhibition at Edwina Corlette Gallery will be in 2017.

Museums & Galleries of New South Wales is delighted to announce five residencies have been awarded through the Artist or Curator Residency Program for 2017. Generously supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, each residency of $11,250 will provide artists and curators the space and time to immerse themselves in a unique place, community or collection within a regional gallery, boosting their creative process.

Bega Valley Regional Gallery, New South Wales

In partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Services, Bega Valley Regional Gallery will host contemporary painter Julian Meagher on a month long residency within the south east NSW region. Over the month long residency Julian will deliver three workshops and one masterclass.

Read more here

Belem Lett is a finalist in the inaugural Birmingham Prize. The overall winner will receive a $20,000 cash prize generously donated by Elaine Bermingham. 

The Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting is a unique triennial art prize which aims to celebrate excellence and innovation in the watercolour medium. This non-acquisitive prize is open to all Australian artists and selected finalists will be exhibited in the Webb Gallery, located within Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art at South Bank, Brisbane. All finalist artworks will be available for sale to the public.

Tim McMonagle's work 'Ken Pearler' recently featured in the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art's exhibition 'Painting. More Painting'.

Presented in two chapters across ACCA’s four exhibition galleries, Painting. More Painting was a big-picture focus on contemporary Australian painting, featuring the work of over 70 living Australian artists.

Conceived by ACCA Curator Annika Kristensen and Associate Curator Hannah Mathews, and developed in collaboration with ACCA’s new Artistic Director/CEO Max Delany, Painting. More Painting brought together a range of painting practices that reflected the medium’s enduring importance and its recent return to the centre of much public debate.

READ MORE HERE

Julian Meagher has been selected as a finalist for the Shirley Hannan Bega Portrait Prize at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery. The prize is a $50,000 non-acquisitive award for realistic portraiture. The winner will be announced by the judge Dr. Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, Friday 17 June.

View Julian’s available works here.

Congratulations to Stefan Dunlop who is a finalist in the Caloundra Regional Gallery's Sunshine Coast Art Prize. The prize is a national contemporary two-dimensional award with an acquisitive prize of $25,000 plus a studio residency at Montville Country Cabins. The winner will be announced on 1 September 2016.

IMAGE:
Stefan Dunlop
Stairs 2015
oil on linen
147 x 117 cm

READ MORE HERE

Belem Lett has been selected as a finalist in two awards – the Sunshine Coast Art Prize, which offers a major acquisitive prize of $25,000, plus an artist studio residency, and the Chippendale New World Art Prize, where the winner will receive a $10,000 residency grant at the Arte Studio Ginestrelle Retreat at Mount Subasio, Italy. The Chippendale New World Art Prize winner will be announced 2 June, and the Sunshine Coast Art Prize winner will be announced 1 September, 2016.

Congratulations to Julian Meagher who has been selected as a finalist in the 2016 Gold Award at Rockhampton Art Gallery. The Gold Award is a national invitation painting award with an acquisitive cash prize of $50,000 made possible through a generous bequest from the Estate of Moya Gold. The winning artist will be announced by Chris Saines, Director Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. 

The exhibition is current from 23 July – 4 September 2016.

Belem Lett is a finalist in the Fisher's Ghost Art Award this year with his work 'Monster.' The Fisher's Ghost Award was established in 1956 and runs as part of the Fisher's Ghost Festival at the Campbelltown Arts Centre, New South Wales.  The opening ceremony is the evening of Friday, 6th of November, and the exhibition runs from 31st of October to 12th of December.

To see more of Belem's work, click here.

Julian Meagher's portrait of superstar National Rugby League player Johnathan Thurston is on the cover of the October issue for Rugby League Player Magazine.  Meagher was a finalist in the 2015 Archibald Prize with his portrait of Daniel Johns. The Thurston portrait is part of a suite of works from the 'Code' series which shines a light on the vulnerability of some of Australia's biggest football heroes, dramatising the precarious fragility in each man’s isolated facial expression.

Julian Meagher's solo exhibition 'Alone in the Sun' is on from 3 - 27 November 2015.

We are pleased to announce that Julian is a semi-finalist with his portrait Paul Ryan for the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. Julian was also a finalist with his work Floating In A Darkened Sky for the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award (EMSLA) at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery.

Julian will be exhibiting new works for Alone in the Sun at Edwina Corlette Gallery, November 3 - 21, 2015. This series of new work further investigates how our past inhabits our present. 'As I have grown older I have become interested in the concept of both collective and personal notions of inherited history,' he says.

Originally posted on CULTURAL FLANERIE:

View original 635 more words

Read Stefan Dunlop's feature in Issue #29 of Artist Profile.

Belem Lett joins Genevieve Felix Reynolds for an exhibition titled “Bang Bang” at Chasm Gallery in New York: a boutique gallery in Brooklyn NY, focusing on Australian fine art. The show runs from 10 – 20 April, 2015.

Image: Belem Lett, Bang (2015) oil on aluminum composite panel, pigment, resin 62 x 45 x 6 cm.

Julian Meagher has been commissioned by Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney to bring the Company’s actors to life with a suite of drawings for their 2015 catalogue. Belvoir’s position as one of Australia’s most innovative and acclaimed theatre companies has been determined by such landmark productions as The Wild Duck, The Diary of a Madman, The Blind Giant is Dancing, The Book of Everything, Cloudstreet, Measure for Measure, Keating!, Parramatta Girls, Exit the King, The Alchemist, Hamlet, Waiting for Godot, The Sapphires, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Stuff Happens and Medea.

When Julian Meagher first met John Waters ‘He was rehearsing Looking Through A Glass Onion with Stewart, my girlfriend’s father, in his lounge room. They were making a lot of noise, laughing and playing Norwegian Wood. It was great to meet the man I had watched on Play School, now far removed from Big Ted’.

John Waters is an English film, theatre and television actor best known in Australia, which he’s called home since 1968.  Meagher says ‘I wanted to paint John in a puffy shirt, both as a nod to his theatrical profession and to re-imagine him as a kind of colonial character. ‘He has such a strong face, which really suited my painting style. It was my hope to capture a complex expression. Rather than looking back at the viewer, he is engaged with something outside our understanding’.

Born in Sydney in 1978, Meagher left work as a medical doctor nine years ago to paint full time and has exhibited regularly since then both locally and internationally. He studied the Atelier method in Florence, Italy. He has been a finalist five times in the Salon Des Refuses. He was a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize in 2009 and 2012, as well as in the Metro Art Prize and Blake Prize for Religious Art.