Little Wonder is a body of ten works about the Karakoram Highway. The highway connects China to Pakistan and due to its high altitude, stunning natural surrounds and extreme construction, is often referred to as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World".
From jingle trucks (aptly named because the US troops thought they jingled due to the high level of ornamentation) to footbridges, painted rickshaws, auto stops and a VW beetle packed and ready for a holiday, this is fascinating look at a road we may never travel.
Unlike other exhibitions, this new series comprises six major works on linen, marking a departure from the traditional constructed surfaces Knight is so well known for. Painting on linen has allowed Knight to work the surface more, resulting in detailed mark making and a fresh approach to application including spray paint, varnish and glazing.
From 2005 to 2010, Jasper was a yearly finalist in the Archibald Prize. In 2008 he won the Mosman Prize, and was short-listed for the Wynne Prize in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2012. He was the recipient of an Australia Council Emerging and Established New Work Grant, the Freedman Foundation Scholarship and the Rocks Art Prize. He's also been a finalist in the Blake, The ABN-Amro, The Helen Lempriere and the Brett Whiteley Prizes.
Knight’s works are held in numerous public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the New South Wales State Government, New South Wales Regional Galleries, Australian Consulates and Artbank.
Full of bravura physicality, Jasper Knight’s paintings confront the viewer with a love for the handmade and the truth to be found in materials. For this artist, the pleasure of paint dictates the flow of line, shape, surface and the seemingly casual insouciance of the drip with the hard-edged, utilitarian geometries he builds from discarded signage and hardware materials. Each image emerges as an icon of contemporary urban life, while allocating the everyday a place of ascendency.
Knight’s personal mix of Modernist formalism with Sydneysider sensibility generates post-photographic pictures of gritty harbour scenes, industrial sites, trucks, cars, and boats painted alla prima - with a direct attack. His skewed compositions are structurally balanced by the elegant use of enamel primary colours, echoing Mondrian, Pop Art and the Sunday comics.
From 2005 to 2010, Jasper was a yearly finalist in the Archibald Prize. In 2008 he won the Mosman Prize, and was short-listed for the Wynne Prize in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2012. He was the recipient of an Australia Council Emerging and Established New Work Grant, the Freedman Foundation Scholarship and the Rocks Art Prize. He's also been a finalist in the Blake, The ABN-Amro, The Helen Lempriere and the Brett Whiteley Prizes.
Knight’s works are held in numerous public and private collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the New South Wales State Government, New South Wales Regional Galleries, Australian Consulates and Artbank. Carol Schwarzman
Jasper Knight
Born 1978
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia
EDUCATION
2003
- Master of Arts, Majoring in Painting and Drawing, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney
1999
- Bachelor of Visual Arts, Electronic and Temporal Arts, Sydney College of the Arts
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017
- ‘Now you See It’, Chalkhorse Gallery, Sydney
2016
- 'Little Wonder', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
- 'In a Silent Way', Australian Galleries, Melbourne
2015
- 'The Ten Year Storm', Australian Galleries, Roylston Street, Sydney
- 'Island in the Sun', Linton & Kay Galleries, Perth
2014
- 'The Red Show', Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, New South Wales
- 'Western Union', Gallows Gallery, Perth
- 'Kurilpa Bridge', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
2013
- 'Recent Work', Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane
- 'One piece at a time', Black Art Projects Modena, Italy
- 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', Australian Galleries, Melbourne
2012
- 'Know your Enemy', Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, New South Wales
- 'Total Recall', Australian Galleries, Sydney
- 'Survey show 2003-2012', Goulburn Regional Art Gallery; Shoalhaven Regional Art Gallery, Nowra; Bathurst Regional Art Gallery; Maitland Regional Art Gallery
2011
- 'Recent Work', Australian High Commission, Singapore
- 'North by Northwest', Greenhill Galleries, Melbourne
- 'Roll-on Roll-off', Metro Gallery, Melbourne
- 'Metal on Metal', Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, New South Wales
- 'Sydney Boat Show', Chalk Horse, Sydney
- 'The Fast and the Furious', Muk Muk Fine Art, Alice Springs
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
- Art Central Hong Kong, Stand E 11, Chalkhorse Gallery, Sydney
2016
- 'Speed: The Fast and the Curious', Murray Art Museum Albury, New South Wales
- 'Salon de Refusés', S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
- 'Jasper Knight and Clifton Mack', Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney
2015
- 'No Direction Home', Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, New South Wales
- 'Sir John Sulman Prize', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery
2014
- Melbourne Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
- 'Cars = My Automolove', Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Caboolture, Queensland
- Paddington Art Prize, National Council of Jewish Woman’s Hall, Sydney
- Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Juniper Hall, Sydney
- 'Salon des Refuses', S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
- 'One of Each', Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne
- Australia Day 2014 Celebratory Exhibition, Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Melbourne; Roylston Street, Sydney
2013
- Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Australian Galleries
- Australian Galleries Exhibition, Manning Regional Art Gallery, Taree, New South Wales
- Australian Galleries at Gallows Gallery, Gallows Gallery, Perth
- Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
- Location, Location, Location, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
- Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Sir John Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Adelaide Festival Show Todd Hunter & Jasper Knight, BMG Gallery, Adelaide
2012
- Art in Unusual Places, Art and About, Sydney
- Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
- Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Reload – Contemporary Landscape, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, New South Wales
2011
- Large exhibition of small works, Australian Galleries, Melbourne
- Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
AWARDS & PRIZES
2015
- Finalist, Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2014
- Winner: COFA Limited Edition Prize Print, Paddington Art Prize, National Council of Jewish Woman’s Hall, Sydney
2009
- The IKEA Home Project, The Klippan Sofa, Sydney
- Finalist, The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2008
- Mosman Art Prize, winner, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2007
- Residency at Josetti Höfe Studios, Berlin, Germany
2006
- Finalist, The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Finalist, The Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- National Association for Visual Arts (NAVA) Marketing Grant, Sydney Australia Council for the Arts (OZCO), New Work Grant, Sydney
- Finalist, Redlands Westpac Art Prize (emerging), Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
- Residency at Red Gate Gallery Studios, Beijing, China
2005
- Winner, Freedman Foundation Scholarship for Emerging Artists, Sydney
COLLECTIONS
- Artbank
- Australian Consulate, Makati, Manila, Philippines
- Australian Consulate, Singapore
- Goulburn Regional Gallery
- Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
- Bathurst Regional Gallery
- Maitland Regional Gallery
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- Newcastle Regional Gallery
- New South Wales State Government, Sydney
- Sydney Port Authority
29 August 2018 – 15 September 2018
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION
