News

Judith Sinnamon is a finalist in the 2023 Archibald Prize.

Watching the ABC’s political program Insiders, Queensland artist Judith Sinnamon was struck by Katharine Murphy’s ‘paintability’.

‘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.’

Read more here.

Artwork:

Judith Sinnamon

'Katharine Murphy'

oil on linen

104.2 x 134 cm

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,’ she says. ‘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.’

Read more here.

Artwork:

Eliza Gosse

Breakfast At Ours

oil on board

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

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

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."

You can read the article here.

Jane Guthelben was featured in the Sydney Morning Herald article 'How does it feel to be painted for the Archibald Prize? Terrifying' by Helen Pitt.

You can read the article here.

Ari Athans has been featured in QANTAS Travel Insider Magazine.

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

Established in 2015, the Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize is a celebration of contemporary Australian painting. The finalist exhibition brings together a broad range of artists, both established and lesser-known, whose varied approaches to the painted medium conveys the breadth and diversity of painting in Australia today.

READ MORE HERE

Image:
BELEM LETT
Vertical Horizon 2023
Oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
122 x 94 cm

Congratulations to Vipoo Srivilasa who has been awarded the Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (VACS) Major Commissioning Projects grant. Vipoo is a recipient of $100,000 to realise a major project 'Re/JOY' in collaboration with the Australian Design Centre. 'Re/JOY' is a collaborative, community-driven project designed to engage with overseas-born Australians.

'Re/JOY' will examine the emotional connection we form with objects by retelling migration stories and experiences. The project aims to provoke the complex feelings associated with overseas relocation and the difficult process of gaining Australian permanent residency.

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Image: Vipoo Srivilasa and the Happy Australian Sculptures at the National Portrait Gallery. Photo by Liv Cameron 2023.

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

Vipoo Srivilasa's work 'Happy Australian' will form part of the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition 'Portrait23: Identity'.

'Portrait23: Identity' is a major exhibition of new work from multi-award-winning contemporary Australian artists and collectives working across every state and territory. Street art, textiles, performance, photography, ceramics, painting, drawing, soft sculpture and bronze challenge the boundaries of portraiture. Many of the works move eloquently between installation, video, and animation, inviting you, the viewer, inside the portrait.

Twenty-three artists and collectives present dramatic, ambitious and thrilling work about who they are and what it means to represent themselves, their communities, their histories and contemporary society. They break open the genre with deeply personal evocations of themes that resonate collectively, such as cultural knowledge, feminism, visibility/invisibility, activism and journeys of migration.

10 March – 18 June 2023.

READ MORE HERE.

Image details;

Four works from Happy Australian, 2022 Vipoo Srivilasa. © Vipoo Srivilasa. Photograph by Simon Strong