BORN 1956 Melbourne

STUDIES
Fine Art RMIT 19881 – 1984
Diploma of Teaching University of Melbourne – 1989

Background

Born of Dutch parents he began painting at the early age of eight and held his first solo exhibition whilst still in his teens. He spent three years studying and painting in Amsterdam and London where he encountered the works of Constable, Turner and Rembrandt. This impressed him and influenced his own work.  On returning to Melbourne he began studying for his fine arts degree. This brought him in close contact with some noted exponents of abstract and contemporary art in Australia, broadening his approached by focusing on the urban landscape and presenting it in a way unknown before. Three times winner of the coveted Camberwell Art Prize and twice winner of he Alice Bale award, this multi award-winning artist paints with an enthusiasm that is well recognized overseas as well as in Australia.

Apart from these notable prizes Herman has won approximately 90 major awards. In 1994 the National Taiwan art institute asked Herman to participate in a book and traveling exhibition with selected artists from Australia, USA and Taiwan. His works are featured in the books, ‘Australian Impressionist and Realist artists’, which was compiled by Tom Roberts; ‘120 Years of Watercolors’, by the Australian Realist Artists; ‘ Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand’ by Max Germaine, and ‘Profile on contemporary Watercolors’. Herman’s works are represented in many private and corporate collections throughout Australia and overseas. Currently Herman holds sellout exhibitions annually in the USA.

Artist Statement

“I always had this conflict with myself thinking, ‘God, I’m only a traditional painter. It’s been done a hundred times before.’ And now I think, Well it has been done a hundred times before but if it has artistic integrity it doesn’t matter, and artistic integrity is something that’s very hard to explain. I don’t know how to put it, you see a painting and even though you know the subject and it’s been done a hundred times before, let’s say a plain old apple, it’s the way it’s painted, the feeling in the painting, the brush strokes, the paint quality, everything about it that sets it apart. Quite often modern work hits you with a bang but really it’s very shallow if it’s taken any further and quite often doesn’t stand the test of time.”

EXHIBITIONS

2012    Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth Australia (Group Show)
2011    Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth Australia (Group Show)
2010    Solander
2010    Lindberg
2010    Wollongong Regional Gallery, Group Show
2010    Gosford Regional Gallery, Group Show
2010    ‘Landscapes’, Group Show, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth Australia
2009    Lindberg Contemporary
2009    Mosman Regional Gallery, Group Show
2009    Bathurst Regional Gallery, Group Show
2009    Castlemaine Regional Gallery, Group Show
2008    Lindberg Contemporary
2008    Caulfield Arts Complex, Group Show
2006    Grafton Regional Gallery, Group Show
2006    Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth Australia
2006    Greenhill Gallery
2006    Axia Modern Art
2004    Mahonies Gallery
2004    Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth Australia
2003    David Sumner Gallery
2002    Mahonies Gallery
2002    Artarmon Gallery, Group Show
2001    Mahonies Gallery
1998    Delshan Gallery
1994    Delshan Gallery
1994    Taiwan National Gallery, Group Show
1985    Von Bertoch Galleries
1985    Gould Gallery, Group Show
1983    Australian Galleries, Group Show
1983    Pinacothica Galleries
1979    Wiregrass Galleries
1978    Wiregrass Galleries
1974    Ordon Galleries

AWARDS

1995    Camberwell Rotary’s Gold Medal Watercolor Prize
1993    Camberwell Rotary’s Gold Medal Watercolor Prize & Alice Bale Award
1989    Camberwell Travel Grant and Rotary’s Gold Medal Watercolor Prize
1989    Alice Bale Award
1988    Wesley Art Judged by Director of the National Gallery
1987 & 83    Mountbatten Award

COLLECTIONS

Artbank
Eltham Shire Permanent Collection
National Leasing Collection-Canberra
Royal Overseas League-London
St. Kevin’s College-Toorak

BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS

Impressionist journey – by Douglas Stewart
Impressionist and realist artists of Australia – by Tom Roberts
Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Zealand – by Max Germaine
Melbourne Art Review
The Age – Robert Nelson

Bernard Ollis (born 1951 in Bath, England) is an Australian artist and painter who lives and works in Sydney and Paris. Ollis is the former Director of the National Art School, Sydney.

Ollis is a graduate of Cardiff School of Art & Design, Wales and received his Master of Art (Painting) from the Royal College of Art. Ollis arrived in Australia in 1976 and lectured at the University of the Northern Territory where he became head of his department, and La Trobe University, Victoria where he became Head of Fine Art. In 1996, Ollis was appointed Head of Painting at the National Art School, Sydney. He became Director there in late 1997, a position he held for 10 years.

Ollis has held over 80 solo exhibitions since 1972 in Australia, New Zealand, Bath, London, Paris and China  and has participated in group exhibitions throughout Australia, Europe, and Asia. Ollis  has had many international residencies, these include  a residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris in 1975, a residency in Cairo Egypt 2008, Antarctica in 2014, Zhouzhuang, China in 2015 , Svarbard Arctic in 2019.

Ollis received the 1976 John Minton International Painting Prize, the 1977 Sir Frederick Richards’ Travelling Scholarship (UK), an Australia Council Visual Arts Board Grant (1984), and the Conrad Jupiters Award in 2005 (Gold Coast City Art Gallery QLD).

Ollis’s work is held in public collections in Australia and the United Kingdom, including the Royal College of Art London, National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House, Canberra, and the State Galleries of Queensland, Victoria and Northern Territory.

Ollis was made a Fellow of the National Art School in 2022, for his contributions to the arts community, service to arts education and his own respected art practice.

Studies
1973 – 1976 Master of Art (Painting), the Royal College of Art, London UK (MA RCA London)
1970 – 1973 Diploma of Art and Design, Cardiff College of Art and Design, Wales UK (Dip AD)
1969 – 1970 Foundation Studies Cardiff College of Art and Design, Wales UK (BA Hons)

Lecturing and Administrative Experience
1998 – 2009 Director
National Art School (Sydney)
1997 – 1998 Head of Studies
National Art School (Sydney)
1996 – 1997 Head of Painting Department
National Art School (Sydney)
1994 – 1996 Senior Lecturer/Head of Fine Art
La Trobe University (Victoria)
1982 – 1994 Head of Painting
La Trobe University (Victoria)
1982 Acting Head of Visual Art Department
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1978 – 1982 Head of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture Section
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1977 – 1978 Lecturer Fine Art
Darwin Community College (University Northern Territory)
1974 – 1976 Visiting Lecturer
Various British Art Schools

Solo Exhibitions
2021 The Artist Gardens Part 2, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2020 The Artist Gardens Part 1, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2019 The World Traveller, Linton and Kay Galleries, Perth
2019 Departures, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2019 The Traveller, Mitchell Galleries, Brisbane
2018 Bernard Ollis, Anala Art Advisory, Glenbrook, Blue Mountains
2018 Being There, Harvey Galleries, Mosman and Seaforth
2018 Traveler’s Tales: Paris and Morocco, Linton & Kay Galleries, Perth
2017 Paris & Other Stories, Aarwun Gallery, Canberra
2017 Observations, Mitchell Galleries Brisbane
2017 Favourite Places, Harvey Galleries Seaforth and Mosman, Sydney
2016 Run Ya Artspace, Linyi China
2016 Cultural Exchange of Australia and China, Linyi Arts Centre Shandong
2016 Storytelling about China – Shanghai Cultural Centre & Art Gallery China
2016 Open Studio – Travel Paintings, Linton and Kay Galleries, Perth WA
2016 Travels to Paris, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Seaforth, Sydney NSW
2015 Brisbane and Beyond, Mike Mitchell Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
2015 Bernard Ollis: 54 Works at Michael Reid Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2015 Observations of Paris, NG Gallery, Sydney
2015 Theatre of Life, Buratti Fine Art, Perth, WA
2015 Antarctica- Shackleton, The Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
2014 Bernard Ollis, Kenthurst Galleries, NSW
2014 Le Regard de deux Australiens, L’Espace Beaujon, Paris, France
2014 Traveller’s Tales, Tweed River Regional Gallery, NSW
2013 A Town Like Paris, Muk Muk Fine Art, travelling show to Alice Springs, Darwin, Brisbane
2013 Paris Work, Buratti Fine Art, Perth
2012 – 2013 Modern Living: Bernard Ollis. A survey of the work of Bernard Ollis, Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney
2012 Paris Considered, NG Art Gallery, Sydney
2012 Parisian Reflections, Letham Galleries, Auckland, NZ
2011 Paris Revisited, NG Art Gallery, Sydney
2011 Major Works, Buratti Fine Art, Perth
2010 Italy 19Karen Contemporary Artspace Gold Coast, Queensland
2009 The Grand Tour, United Galleries Perth WA
2009 Journeys through Italy and Egypt, NG Art Sydney NSW
2008 Urban Myth, United Galleries Perth WA
2008 Incognito NG Art, Chippendale Sydney NSW
2006 The St Peters Suite Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
2002 Stella Downer Galleries, Sydney NSW
2001 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
2000 Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney NSW
1998 Mary Place Gallery, Sydney NSW
Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney NSW
1997 Hot Bath Gallery, Bath UK
1996 Australian Galleries, Melbourne Victoria
1994 Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
1993 Botanical Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1992 Retrospective Paintings and Pastels
Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1991 Powell Street Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1990 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1989 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1988 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
Roz McAllen Gallery, Brisbane Queensland
1987 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
Powell Street Gallery, South Yarra Victoria
1984 – 1986 Visual Arts Board, “Bernard Ollis” The Australian Tour; exhibited at:
Under croft Gallery for the Perth Festival University of Western Australia
Hawthorn City Art Gallery, Victoria
Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria
Ararat Gallery, Victoria
Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria
Shepparton Regional Art Gallery, Victoria
Muswellbrook Art Gallery, NSW
Bathurst Regional Gallery, NSW
Orange Art Gallery, NSW
Benalla Art Gallery Victoria
Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW
Bendigo Art Gallery Victoria (extended survey exhibition)
1984 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1982 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1981 Macquarie Gallery, Sydney NSW
1978 Warehouse Galleries, South Melbourne Victoria
1976 The Africa Centre Covent Garden, London UK
The Royal Commonwealth Society, London UK
1974 – 1975 Commonwealth Institute Gallery, London UK
1972 – 1973 College of Art Gallery, Cardiff Wales

Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 ‘Connections’, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
2018 ‘Elsewhere – Travels Through Morocco, Egypt, Syria Iran and Central Asia’, exhibition with Bernard
Ollis, HR Gallop Gallery, CSU Wagga Wagga – 13 August to 7 September 2018
Griffith Regional Art Gallery – 29 September to 4 November 2018
Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo: May – June 2019
The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie: 20 July – 29 September 2019
Tamworth Regional Art Gallery: 8 February – 22 March 2020
2018 ‘The Art of Friendship’, Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios
2018 ‘Nature and Life: Images from our Souls’ Bayside Arts Festival 2018, Sydney
2017 ‘Salon des Refuses’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2017 ‘Bernard Ollis & Wendy Sharpe Etchings’, Firestation Print Studio, Melbourne
2016 Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
2015 ‘Three Australians’, Gallery 12, Auckland NZ
2015 ‘New Romantics (with Wendy Sharpe and Johnny Romeo)’, Penny Contemporary Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
2015 ‘Private Lives: Collections’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2011 ‘Dobell Prize’, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2011 ‘IN[TWO]ART’, Maitland Regional Art Gallery touring exhibition
2010 ‘Salon des Refuses’, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2010 ‘Tales from the City’, Two-person exhibition with Wendy Sharpe, Orange Regional Art Gallery
2009 ‘Every Dog has its Day’, Letham Gallery Auckland NZ
2008 United Galleries, Perth WA
2008 Contemporary Drawing London University of the Arts Wimbledon Art Col, England
2008 ‘Vernissage’ Oxford Street Gallery, Melbourne Victoria
‘Drawcard’ National Art School Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
2007 ‘Fragile Planet’ NG Art Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
‘Salon des Refuses’ SH Ervin Gallery, New South Wales
SCEGGS Redlands Art Prize
Mosman Art Prize
‘There is no place like home’ NG Art Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
2006 Hong Ik University Gallery, Seoul South Korea
2005 ‘Drawcard’ Cell Block Theatre National Art School, Sydney New South Wales
‘Dog Trumpet’ Michael Nagy Gallery, Sydney New South Wales
‘Drawing the Line’ Cell Block Theatre National Art School (academic staff exhibition)
Art Space, Bendigo Victoria
Lake Macquarie Invitation Prize, University Gallery Sydney NSW

Awards and Prizes
2023 Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the visual arts, and to education.
2015 Artist Residency in Zhouzhang, China
2014 Mawson’s Hut Foundation artist-in-residence, Antarctica voyage
2008 Australian Embassy, Artist-in-Residence Studio, Cairo Egypt
2005 Conrad Jupiter Art Prize Gold Coast City Art Gallery Queensland
2000 Olympic Arts Festival
1992 Selected by Melbourne Theatre Company for season’s brochure
1989 Selected for Sydney Children’s Choir catalogue
1988 Heritage Arts Festival Award, Queensland
1984 Visual Arts Board Australia, Council Grant
1983 Commissioned series of paintings for Napoleon Brandy Advertising Campaign
1982 Gold Coast City Art Awards, Queensland
1977 Sir Fredrick Richards’s Travelling Scholarship (drawing), UK
1976 John Minton International Painting Prize, London UK
1975 Artist-in-residence Maltese Studio International Youth Arts Festival British representative
Artist-in-residence Paris Studio Cité Internationale des Arts France

Collections
Art Bank, Sydney NSW
Australian National Gallery, Canberra ACT
Bathurst Arts Centre, Bathurst NSW
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo Victoria
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Collection, Victoria
Cultural Centre, Valetta Malta
Darwin University, Northern Territory
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise Queensland
Grafton Regional Gallery, Grafton NSW
Herald Sun Art Collection, Melbourne Victoria
McGregor Collection University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Queensland
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
National Art School, Sydney NSW
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Victoria
New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale NSW
Orange Art Gallery, Orange NSW
Parliament House, Canberra ACT
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane Queensland
Royal College of Art, London UK
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Victoria
The Commonwealth Institute, London UK
Welsh Arts Council, Cardiff Wales

Catalogues and Books
2018 Ollis, Bernard, ‘An Illustrated Guide to Montmartre’s Bars and Café’s’, Life Drawing Montmartre
2017 Major Art Review, Sasha Grishin, The Canberra Times, Canberra
2017 Bernard Ollis’s Colourful Interludes, Lena Owen, The Creative Issue, QLD
2017 Exhibition Review, Philip Brown, The Courier Mail. QLD
2014 Le regard de deux Australiens, L’Espace Beaujon, Paris, NSW
2014 Traveller’s Tales, Tweed River Regional Gallery, NSW
2013 A Town Like Paris, Muk Muk Fine Art, publication to coincide with travelling exhibition
2012 Modern Living: Bernard Ollis, A Survey of the Work of Bernard Ollis, Manly Art Museum, Sydney, NSW
2005 Li, Jingzhe, Australian Contemporary Painting Shanghai People’s Fine Art Publishing House
1997 Paterson, Susan, From Bendigo to Bath, Hot Bath Gallery, Bath, UK
1996 Paterson, S. and Gervasoni, C. Catbuster Studio Art, Macmillan, Victoria
1995 Who’s Who of Australian Visual Arts (2nd edition) Reed International Publishing
1995 Gervasoni, Clare, and Paterson, Susan, Catbuster Art, Macmillan, Melbourne
1994 McCulloch, Susan, the Encyclopaedia of Australian Art, Allen and Unwin, Melbourne
1993 Hayes, Susan, and Gervasoni, Clare, Artistic Insights,
Harcourt Brace Jovanonvich, Sydney
1992 Drury, Neville, Images in Contemporary Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1991 Chanin, Eileen, ed Contemporary Australian Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1990 Germaine, Max, Artists and Galleries of Australia, Craftsman House, Sydney
1988 Drury, Neville, New Directions in Contemporary Art, Craftsman House, Sydney
1984 Bendigo Art Gallery Bernard Ollis Australian Works, National Touring catalogue
1983 Paroissien, Leon, Australian Art Review, Warner Assoc. Press

Contributions to Books, Journals and Magazines by Bernard Ollis
2021 Darwin Daze, Bernard Ollis, Martin Lane Publications
2018 Ollis, Bernard, ‘An Illustrated Guide to Montmartre’s Bars and Café’s’, Life Drawing Montmartre
2008 Ollis, Bernard, quoted in The Struggle to Keep Faith in the Blake Prize, Quadrant (March 2008)
2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword 56th Blake Prize for Religious Art catalogue
2005 Ollis, Bernard the Band Returning 2005 full page colour image appearing on front cover of Antiques & Art in Queensland November 2005 – March 2006 edition
2005 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword Walking the Line National Art School Academic Staff Drawing Exhibition Catalogue
2002 – 2006 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Prospectus
2002 – 2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Honours Yearbook
2001 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword the Studio Tradition
1999 Ollis, Bernard, Craft Arts International – Art Schools in Australia
1998 – 2007 Ollis, Bernard, Foreword National Art School Degree Show Yearbook
1998 Ollis, Bernard, History of the National Art School, NAS website (revised 2005)
1992 Ollis, Bernard, in Hayes, Susan, Flora and Fauna, La Trobe University
1983 Ollis, Bernard, An Artists view from Darwin, Australian Art Review Chapter on Northern Territory. Ed Paroissien, Leon, Macmillan Press
1980 Ollis, Bernard, catalogue preface introduction to David Middlebrook American Artist in Residence, Chandler Coventry Gallery
1980 Ollis, Bernard, Peter Corlette, in Scarlett Ken Australian Sculptors, Nelson, Melbourne
1976 Ollis, Bernard, chapter in Picard Phyllis If You Think Your Child is Gifted, Allen and Unwin, London
1975 Ollis, Bernard, Malta seminars become Carnivals, Commonwealth News 4 June 75, Volume

Recent Participation in Seminars, Symposia and Conferences
2019 Tour Leader and Lecturer, Renaissance Tours, France
2018 Talking with Painters, Television Interview & Podcast with Maria Stolja
2018 Guest Speaker & Interview, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2017 Guest Speaker & Interview with John Hockney, Aarwun Galleries, Canberra
2017 Judge, Townsville Art Society, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
2017 Royal Art Society Annual Exhibition, Judge, Sydney
2017 Lecture, Q&A, Harvey Galleries, Seaforth (March)
2017 Guest Speaker, Harvey Galleries, Mosman, Sydney
2017 Guest Speaker, Mitchel Galleries, Brisbane, Queensland
2016 Guest Speaker, Blue Mountains Regional Gallery, NSW
2016 Judge, Southern Highlands Art Awards, NSW
2016 Guest Speaker, Linton and Kay Gallery, Perth
2016 Radio Interview, Art Beat, Sydney
2016 Guest Speaker, Shanghai Art Center, China
2016 Guest Speaker, Australian Chinese Cultural Festival, Linyin Art Center, China
2016 Guest Speaker, Renaissance Tours, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2016 Lecturer and Workshop Leader (weekend workshop), Willoughby Art Centre, Sydney
2016 Tour Leader, Renaissance Tours, (2 Week Workshop, Paris) run by Art Gallery of New South Wales, Paris
2016 Workshop Leader, Alison Chiam Art Workshops, The Rocks, Sydney
2016 Lecture, Q&A, Michael Reid Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2008 State Library of NSW, Examined Life Series III – The Search for Meaning – Guest Speaker
2007 Invited speaker for NAS, International Independent Art Schools Association. Evora, Portugal
2007 Forty-Eight Hours of Visual Art (FEHVA) Conference, Bangalow NSW – Guest Speaker
2006 ‘Drawing Breath’ International Drawing Symposium National Art School Campus – Convenor

BORN
11/10/69, Victoria Australia

STUDIES
Self Taught

BACKGROUND
Sign-painter / opal miner turned landscape painter breathes new life into the art market with his arresting landscapes.  Christopher Lees reflects an authority in his brushstrokes which is evident in his monumental perspectives of the Australian terrain.  In his twenties Lees travelled extensively throughout remote Australia, working as an opal miner and sign-writer.  Now based in rural Victoria, his experiences of the outback (and his own bush property and surrounds) unravel on the canvas in panoramic and dioramic form.

ARTIST STATEMENT
“Freedom has always been important to me. When I was younger, if I didn’t like what I was doing, I would just walk away.  I would get in the car, maybe even travel to another state, and simply trust that I would find other work.  I feel privileged to be in this position – painting full-time and still having that freedom to travel for inspiration.”

PROCESS
Lees’s process is straightforward.  He begins with a sketch which organises the painting, creating a sense of balance and proportion that is transposed onto the canvas, working to achieve a harmonious composition.  The resultant landscapes are still, stark, and mysterious.  Usually devoid of people and fauna, they echo the experience of the painter in the studio with only his creative muse for company.

EXHIBITIONS
2023 “Nightcap”, Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
2023 “Headspace”, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2022 “Fragments” Libby Edwards South Yarra
2022 “Habitat” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2021 “Cloud trip” Libby Edwards Gallery Melbourne
2021 “Rock Candy” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2020 “Ancient Summer” Libby Edwards Gallery Melbourne
2019 “Un-discovery” Libby Edwards Gallery Melbourne
2019 “Transfigure”, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2018 “Group Show” Margaret River Gallery WA
2018 “Terrain” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2017 “Group Show” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2017 “Recent Landscapes” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2017 “Recent Landscapes” Redsea Gallery Brisbane
2016 “Recent Work” Harvey Galleries Sydney
2015 “Vision of Solus”, Redsea Gallery Brisbane
2014 “Recent Paintings” Libby Edwards Galleries
2014 “Exhibition WA”, Gadfly Gallery Perth 2013
2012 “Recent Paintings” Libby Edwards Galleries
2011  Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2011 “New Surrealist paintings” Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2010 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2009 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2008 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2008 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Brisbane
2007 “Coldsnap”, Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2007 Libby Edwards Galleries in Hong Kong
2006 Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2005 “Australian Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Melbourne
2004 “Recent Landscapes”, Libby Edwards Galleries Sydney
2002 Libby Edwards Galleries, Sydney
2001 Libby Edwards Galleries, Sydney
2001 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
2000 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
2000 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra
1999 Libby Edwards Galleries, Portsea
1999 Libby Edwards Galleries, South Yarra

BORN  1965  Brisbane, Australia

STUDIES
Qualified secondary school Art and English teacher:
1986 (1 year) Graduate Diploma in Education at Gippsland College of Advanced Education, Victoria
1982-1985  (3 year) Diploma in Fine Art at TAFE, Townsville

Artist Statement
My work is a dichotomy of fragmented images drawn from my experiences of the beach and bush. I grew up in Townsville ,and on Christmas holidays my family would drive down the notorious Bruce Highway and stay for weeks on the Gold Coast  beaches. As kids we would  laze about under the strong shadows of beach umbrellas in the glaring midday sun and play cricket late into the afternoon. I remember the colourful patterns of  togs, towels, hats and strong blue skies. These images ,and  the many holidays at the beach with my own family are the inspiration I use to help me create a lyrical narrative of Australian beach life that so many of us have experienced.

Studying a Diploma of Art in Townsville in the mid 80s, I  was under the tuition of Anneke Silver and Bob Preston who were both mentors in my early painting career. I was an avid horserider and during vacations, I worked as a Jillaroo on sheep and cattle stations where I continued my love affair with the outback and left me with  a deep sense of belonging and connection.

A career in teaching art at high schools followed, but the urge to create my own art was a constant preoccupation until finally when living in the USA for two years, I gave up the security of teaching to pursue my passion. Exhibitions in artist-run studios and small commercial galleries were encouraging.  Early in my career I  explored a variety of different styles – naïve art, figurative art, abstraction, miniature art particularly manuscripts with their borders and fine detail, and mixed media. I visited different cultures, walked the Kokoda Trail (nearly died from Malaria) and travelled throughout Australia.
From 1997 to 2005 I was represented exclusively by Robertsons Design, a Queensland based, international interior design and architectural company. I had three major exhibitions with them, showing large scale paintings on canvas as well as generating stock supplied during the year. I am now represented by Harvey Galleries in Sydney.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017 Abundance, Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2016 Back to the High Country, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2015 Bush Poetic, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2014 Bush, Land, Beach, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2013 Wild Places of Home, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2012 In the Summertime, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2011    Sand, Salt and Spinifex, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney; 18 landscapes
2010    Life, Love, Landscape, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney;   27 paintings (Sold out)
2009    Places of My Heart,Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney: 28 paintings (Sold out)
2008    New Works:  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2006    Down to Earth;   Doggett St Studio  Brisbane
2006    The Stone Garden:  Logan Regional Art Gallery
2006    Testing the Waters :  Redlands Regional Art Gallery
2003    Illumina:    Robertsons Interior Design Gallery, Gold Coast  (Sold out)
2002    Recent Paintings:   Robertsons Design,  Gold Coast  (Sold out)
2001    New Paintings ;  Robertsons Interior Design,  Gold Coast (Sold out)
1994    A Landscape Response ;    Art and Design Gallery, Woollongabba
1994    Figures:   Eagle St.Pier Exhibition Space, Brisbane
1993    Echoes of a Landscape McWhirters Art Space Fortitude Valley
1990    Impressions : The Palms Gallery Townsville
1989    New Guinea Beginnings: Umbrella Studio Townsville
1988    Neo-Primitive ;  Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Townsville

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2010    Earth and Life;  Toscani’s restaurant; Victoria Point QLD
2010    Painters of the Coast Gallery One Gold Coast
2010    Art for Art’s Sake Brisbane
2009    Rotary Art Spectacular  Brisbane
2008    ArtSydney08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2008    Art Melbourne08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2008    ArtBrisbane08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2007    Selected for Abused Child Trust Annual Art Show, Brisbane
2007    Selected for Brisbane Grammer School Art Show, Brisbane
2007    St Martin’s Art Show; Brisbane
2007    Selected for Art for Art Sake Charity Art Show, Brisbane
2006    Doggett St Christmas Exhibition, Brisbane
2006    Floriate;   Marks and Gardner Gallery Mt Tamborine
2006    Brisbane Grammar School Art Show
2006    Abused Child Trust Annual Art Show, Brisbane
2005    Courier Mail Home Show;  Brisbane
2004    Courier Mail Home Show ; Brisbane
1995    Connect 2 ;  Joint exhibition at Stephens Gallery, Brisbane
1992    Group show at Multiple Choice Gallery, Philadelphia, USA
1985    Final Year TAFE show at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Townsville

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

‘Soul’ Apartment Towers, Gold coast
ABN Amro Morgans
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Westpac Bank HongKong
Juniper Group
Sheraton Hotel Group Gold Coast
Johnson & Johnson Sydney
Storm Financial Melbourne
Storm Financial Sydney
Storm Financial Brisbane
Jumeirah Suite Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi
Brian Tucker Accounting

COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS

2016 Finalist Pro Hart Outback Art Prize – FIRST PRIZE WINNER (acquisitive)
2016 Finalist Border Art Prize
2016 Finalist Rotary Art Spectacular WINNER OF BEST ACRYLIC IN SHOW
2016 Finalist Stanthorpe Art Prize RUNNER UP PEOPLE’S CHOICE
2016 Finalist Finalist Waterhouse Art Prize HIGHLY COMMENDED
2016 Finalist John Leslie Art Prize
2016 Finalist Redland Art Prize WINNER OF MEREDITH FOX PEOPLE’S CHOICE
2015 Calleen Art Award – PEOPLE CHOICE WINNER and HIGHLY COMMENDED
2014 Mosman Art Prize – PEOPLES CHOICE WINNER
2014 Finalist Redland Art Award – PEOPLES CHOICE WINNER
2014 Finalist Calleen Art Award – PEOPLES CHOICE WINNER
2014 Finalist Stanthorpe Art Prize
2014 Finalist Moreton Bay Art Prize
2014 Finalist Norvill Art Prize
2014 Finalist Clayton Utz Art Award
2010    Finalist Art for Art’s Sake Brisbane
2009    Finalist Rotary Art Spectacular  Brisbane
2009    Finalist Pine Rivers Art Award
2008    ArtSydney08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2008    Art Melbourne08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2008    ArtBrisbane08;  Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery
2007    Abused Child Trust Annual Art Show, Brisbane
2007    Brisbane Grammer School Art Show, Brisbane
2007    St Martin’s Art Show; Brisbane
2007    Art for Art Sake Charity Art Show, Brisbane
2006    Doggett St Christmas Exhibition, Brisbane
2006    Floriate;   Marks and Gardner Gallery Mt Tamborine
2006    Brisbane Grammar School Art Show
2006    Abused Child Trust Annual Art Show, Brisbane
2006    Finalist Redland Arts Award
2006    Finalist Regional Arts Award
2006    Joint First Prize – Gloria Beletz Drawing Prize
2006    Highly Commended Nudgee Art Show
2005    Finalist Regional Arts Award
2005    Courier Mail Home Show
2004    Courier Mail Home Show ; Brisbane
1995     Connect 2 ;  Joint exhibition Stephens Gallery, Brisbane City Hall
1992     Group show at Multiple Choice Gallery, Philadelphia, USA
1991     First Prize;  King of Prussia Drawing Award; USA
1985     Final Year TAFE show at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Townsville
1985     Joint First Prize Drawing Award  Perc Tucker Gallery, Townsville
1992     First Prize Delaware County Painting Award USA

EMPLOYMENT

1995- current;   Practicing artist
1994    Administrator Qld School of Printing & Graphic Arts; Morningside
1992    Teacher of Adult and Further Education classes in watercolour, drawing and painting
1991    Employed by Philadelphia college of Fine Art for 12 months USA
1990    1 year as Art Teacher at Catholic High School Philadelphia, USA
1989    2 years as Art Teacher at Townsville State High School Townsville
1987    2 years as Art Teacher at Pimlico State High School Townsville

RESIDENCIES

2009    Attended workshop with Elizabeth Cummings (3 days)
2007    Attended the Girraween Retreat with June Tupicoff
2006    Attended the Eungella Retreat in Mackay with Wendy Teakel  (6 days)
2005    Attended the Magnetic Island Retreat in Townsville with Anneke Silver (6 days)
2004    Attended the “Living the Landscape” workshop at Cunnamulla with Mandy Martin ( 6 days)
2003    Attended the Cooee Bay Workshop, Yeppoon with Bill Ferguson (14 days)
2002    Attended the Moreton Island Art Camp with Stephen Newton ( 3 days )
2001    Attended the “Drawing from the Landscape” Toowoomba with David Hawkes ( 6 days)
2000    Attended the Mortimers Art Workshop with Judith White NSW ( 7 days)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

2011    Opening Guest speaker; Mammas in the Hood; group show at Pine Rivers Regional Gallery
2011    Artist talk; open studio
2011    Guest speaker; South East Creative Generator Forum
2011    Guest Judge;   Yurara Art Society Easter Art Competition
2010    Presentation;  Brisbane Artist Development Group
2010    Artist Talk; open studio
2010    Artist Talk; TVH Gallery opening night
2010    Artist Talk; Gallery One opening night Painters of the Coast

COMMISSIONS

2011      2 corporate commissions; Soul Apartment Towers; Gold Coast
2011      2 corporate commissions;  Abu Dhabi ; Etihad Towers; Presidential Suite
2010     8 Private commissions ; Sydney
2009     Private commission; canvas size 140 x 180cm
2008     2 Corporate Commissions for Storm Financial  Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
2007     Art Nomad collection;  4 landscape paintings  100cm x 200cm
2005     Private commission;  ABN-AMRO Morgans, Brisbane canvas size 90 x 90cm
2005     Corporate commission-Storm Financial, Sydney; canvas size 1700 x 1080mm
2004     Private collection; canvas size 1500 x 1000mm
2004     Corporate collection- Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast; 66sets of 5 original artworks @ 300x 300mm
2004     Private collection – Gold Coast; canvas size 2000 x 1750mm
2003     Private collection; canvas size 350 x 1150mm
2003     Corporate collection-Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast; 6 paintings, canvas size 800 x 800mm
2003     Private collection; canvas size 200 x 550mm
2003     Private collection; canvas size 1200 x 1800mm
2002     Private collection; canvas size 1720 x 1080mm
2002     Corporate collection-Gold Coast Marketing office; 3 paintings on paper size 1400 x 1000mm
2002     Corporate collection – Bluewater Apartments Sunshine Coast
2002     Corporate commission – Blue Water Apartments Sunshine coast; 76 original artworks
2002     Corporate commission-Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast; 52 original artworks @ 300 x 400mm
2001     Corporate commission; 72 original artworks for Sheraton Mirage – Gold Coast
2001     Private collection; canvas size 2000 x 1700mm
2001     Private collection; canvas size 2200 x 1600mm
2001     Private collection; canvas size 2200 x 1750mm
2001     Private collection; canvas size 2000 x 1350mm
2001     Private collection; canvas size 1650 x 1650mm
2001     Private collection; canvas size 1240 x 1740mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 2000 x 800mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 1750 x 1150mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 1900 x 1600mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 1800 x 1800mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 1900 x 1750mm
2000    Private collection; canvas size 2000 x 2000mm
1999     Corporate Collection; Deloitte Touche Tomatsu:
1999     Private collection; canvas size 1500 x 1150mm
1999     Private collection; canvas size 1500 x 1800mm
1999     Private collection; canvas size 1400 x 700mm

CATALOGUES AND OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS

2010    Redland City Council Postcards
2003    Queensland Homes Autumn  page 21
2003    Queensland Homes Winter page 39
2002    Queensland Homes Annual Gold Collector’s Edition
2002    Queensland Homes Winter  page 107
2002    Luxury Home Design Vol 4 No 4 page 56
2002    Luxury Home Design Vol 4. No. 2 page 83
2002    Luxury Home Design Vol 3 No. 4 page 67

CRITICAL REVIEWS AND MEDIA COVERAGE

2010    Wynnum Herald, Wed August 4 ‘Inspired by the Land’ Bianca
2006    Bayside Bulletin Tues Mar 21  “Landscape Inspiration” by Jessica Marszalek
2006    Logan News Bulletin May 10  Gallery Express “Artwork of National Standard”  Doug Cartwright
2003    Gold Coast Weekender July 19-20  “Praise the West Wall” Douglas Kennedy
2003    Gold Coast Bulletin July 22  “Hanging in Style”
1993    The Wynnum Herald Wednesday July 14  “Philadelphian images still echo for Anita” Nance Haxton
1990    Townsville Bulletin July 1990 “Palms features talented painter”
1990    Townsville Bulletin July 20 “Works reflect life and moods”
1990    Townsville Bulletin Sep  “The public: a source of inspiration for artist” Robin Rattray-Wood
1990    VERANDA magazine August  “Anita’s impressions go on display”
1989    Advertiser, February 9, “Whimsical images of New Guinea on show” Stephen Hall
1989    Townsville Bulletin Feb 18, 1989 “Kokoda Trail Inspires Anita Glen”
1989    The Advertiser Thursday June 16 1988 “Perc Tucker Gallery Report: Picture Stories” Anna Bock
1988    Townsville Bulletin Sat June 18 1988 “The simple approach works well for artist”
1988    Townsville Bulletin “Perc Tucker Art Gallery Report”
1985    Townsville Bulletin November 1985

Janine Daddo is a lucky person. She always wanted to be a painter. And in fulfilling her dreams, she has become a highly successful one – by sharing her happiness with others. Yet, luck is no matter of chance. You have to strive for serendipity. Her enthusiasm for life expressed in her joyous, colourful paintings emerges from one touched with tragedy. As always, the way we handle adversity defines our character, for those nightmares in life’s journey are times of unbelievable blackness. Yet, they seem to be necessary experiences that precede the pathway to perceptions of light and joy in the perception and expression of unbounded beauty. Daddo communicates this exuberance through her art, and is one of the reasons why it is so popular. Another is her gifts is this means of communication, schooled at RMIT in graphic art and design, developed through fashion illustration, and finely honed in the world of advertising in Sydney and Melbourne. Her paintings are conversational and attractively packaged in seductive colours. Numerous sell-out exhibitions provide their own testimony.

Artists are very fortunate people in being able to see anew the everyday world with a freshness and enthusiasm, which they share through the works they create. As in Daddo’s paintings, a kitchen scene becomes a chaos of delight, the diurnal becomes the extraordinary. Her imagery is familiar, friendly, and highly appealing, with an echo of Charles Blackman in whose house she once lived in Sydney. Influence came by osmosis, rather than directly, found in her love of colour, figuration, and certain lyrical touches, especially of flowers and lovers, as in A Little Romance. Her Secret Garden series probably owe part of their genesis to the same neighbour’s garden which Blackman looked onto from his studio window. This secret place for Daddo is one of freedom, completely relaxed and open. In large Secret Garden 2007, the richness of the reds create the mood and capture the passion, in harmony with the embrace and intertwining of the figures, repeated in the sinuous lines of the flower forms of the background.

The richness of her colours comes from her technique of layered surfaces, usually working in opposites, from darks to lights, from turquoise and jade to reds. The layering gives added texture, glimpses of underlying colours added variety, topped by a final glaze to express the wonderment of life. Birds and bare-bosoms are metaphors of freedom, as likewise paintings of childhood memories, of innocence recollected and, To the Moon and Back, the possibility of dreams. As the spring of youth finds fullness in summer, Summer Garden parades the blossoming of womanhood, of letting go and becoming woman. A background in fashion provides touches of the fashionable, the beauty of the beautiful, and the eye of seeing. Daddo says, ‘Painting for me is like creating a conversation, a memory, a yearning.’
Janine has enjoyed ‘sell-outs’ in Sydney, Melbourne and Chicago, and her work is now enjoyed in private collections throughout Australia and as far afield as London, New York and Singapore.

Janine Daddo Resumé
1959 – Born
1979-81 – Studied Graphic Art and Design, RMIT, Melbourne. Finished with Honours and Dux 1981 Worked as illustrator in Fashion and Retail Industry
1982-94 – Advertising career working for several large agencies and boutiques in Melbourne and Sydney
1994 – Full-time mother and artist

Select Exhibitions:
2020 – “Bloom” Harvey Galleries
2020 – “Simple Pleasures” solo virtual show Manning Gallery Malvern 2020 – Affordable Art London
2019 – “Adventure Bound’ solo Gullotti Galleries Perth
2019 – Affordable Art Singapore
2018 – Champagne Confessions, Manyung Sorrento 2018 – Artitude Telethon Adventures Australia, Perth 2018 – Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong
2018 – Jahroc Gallery, Margaret River, WA2018 – Wills Domain Wine labels, WA
2017 – “Petals, Blooms & Pom Poms”, Gullotti Galleries, Perth
2017 – Richmond Wellness Centre, Collaborative Piece with Aboriginal Elder Wendy Hayden 2017 – Affordable Art Fair, Singapore
2017 – Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong
2017 – Everyday a Sunday, Manyung Malvern
2016 – Affordable Art Fair Singapore, Spring Edition
2016 – Solo Exhibition, Manyung Gallery Malvern
2015 – Manyung Gallery, the Affordable Art Fair, Singapore Spring Edition
2015 – Manyung Gallery, Malvern
2015 – 19 Karen, Queensland
2014 – ‘Runaway With Me’ Jahroc Gallery Margaret River WA solo show
2014 – Group exhibition, Sorrento Manyung Gallery
2013 – ‘Hullabaloo’ Gullotti Gallery solo show
2013 – ‘Lovers Exhibition’ Manyung Gallery Malvern
2013 – Affordable Art Fair Singapore, Manyung Gallery Group
2013 – Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, Manyung Gallery Group
2013 – Affordable Art Fair Seattle, Manyung Gallery Group
2013 – Finalist. Salon De Refuse, Hilton Melbourne
2012 – ‘Zipptydodaday’ Framed Gallery Darwin
2012 – ‘Topsy Turvy’ Gullotti Galleries Perth solo show
2012 – Group Show “Beloved”, Manyung at Glenferrie, Malvern
2012 – Solo Show “Life’s Many Pleasures” Manyung at Sorrento
2011 – “Fall In Love With Life”, Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza
2011 – Manyung at Glenferrie, Malvern (formerly Glenferrie Road Contemporary Art)
2011 – Art Images Adelaide
2011 – Paul Gulllotti Western Australia
2010 – Manyung Gallery Mount Eliza
2010 – Atlas Gallery, Chicago
2010 – Art Images, Adelaide
2010 – Glenferrie Road Contemporary Art, Malvern
2009 – Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza
2009 – Glenferrie Road Contemporary Art, Malvern
2008 – Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza
2008 – Melbourne Art Show, Art Sydney and Art Brisbane
2008 – Art Gallery Collections, Gold Coast
2007 – Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza
2007 – Melbourne Art Show, Art Sydney
2007 – Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2006 – Melbourne Affordable Art Show, Art Sydney, and Manyung Gallery – all sold out. Solo show at Gullotti Gallery, Perth and Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney
2005 – Solo shows at Gallery Philip Neville, Darwin, and Manyung Gallery – both sold out 2004 – Group exhibitions, including Melbourne and Sydney Affordable Art Shows. Manyung Gallery solo show sold out
2003 – Group exhibitions. April, solo at Manyung Gallery
2002 – December, first solo show, Manyung Gallery – sold out
2002 – Group exhibitions at Oakhill Gallery

Select Awards:
2014 – Selected to be part of ‘Melbourne Art Trams’
2004 – Frankston High School, ‘Best Contemporary Work’ 2003 – Kunyung Arts Festival, ‘Best Acrylic/Oil on Show’

Collections
Private collections in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Chicago, Hong Kong, Israel, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Singapore

Published:
Michelle Hamer, ‘How it feels to be a famous artist’, The Age, Melbourne, January 17, 2008 Coast Magazine, December 2011

Complex and contradictory, Rolella’s paintings seek to expose a delicate equilibrium between a sense of balance and visual calm and the tumult of painterly texture and surface tension. The play of light at the waters edge…

BORN in 1972 in Sydney, Australia
STUDIES:
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours), 1994
Masters, Visual Arts, University of Western Sydney, 1998

Solo Exhibitions
2022 The Kedumba Drawing award, Blue Mountains Grammar School
2022 Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2020 Harvey Galleries, Mosman
2017 Redsea Galleries (Brisbane)
2016 Double Take-Depot Gallery -Sydney
2015 Redsea Galleries (Brisbane
2013 Red Sea Galleries (Brisbane)
2011 Terrian, Aeon Arts – Depot Gallery, Danks Street -Sydney
2009 East to West, United Galleries Perth WA
2008 A sense of Place, United Galleries Sydney
2006 Nautilis, United Galleries Perth WA
2005 Michelle Sougnes/Gallery 482 – Brisbane
Charles Hewitt Gallery (Sydney)
2004 Scott Livesey Gallery
Charles Hewitt Gallery (Sydney)
2003 Pollock Gallery (Melbourne)
Charles Hewitt Gallery (Sydney)
2002 Gallery 482 (Brisbane)
2001 Studio Exhibition (Sydney)
2000 Studio Exhibition (Sydney)
1999 Deutscher Menzies Gallery (Sydney)
1998 The Atrium Gallery (the ABC Centre, Sydney)
Visual Aspects (Sydney International Airport)

Group Exhibitions
2017 The Packsaddle Art Exhibition –Armidale Regional Gallery
Young Contemporaries-The Project Gallery -Sydney
2015 The Kedumba Drawing Award- Bathurst Regional Gallery(N.S.W)
2014 Studies Redsea Galleries-Brisbane
2012 Matter & Space Ne Na Contemporary Art Space – Chiang Mai –
Thailand
2011 The Gold Coast Art Prize, Gold Coast Regional Gallery
2009 Publishers Cup Cricket Art Prize, Sydney
2008 Plein Air Painting Prize, Parliament House NSW
2007 ANL – National Maritime Prize (Melbourne)
2006 Unwrapped – United Galleries Sydney
Scott Livesey Melbourne
2005 Metro 5 Art Prize finalist Metro 5 Gallery (Melbourne)
Axia Modern Art (Melbourne)
‘Flavour Singapore’, Australian High Commission, Singapore
Saatchi & Saatchi ‘Liquid Light’ Sydney
2004 The Mosman Art Award Finalist
2003 AGNSW Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship – Finalist
2002 Waverly, Woollahra Art Prize – finalist
1999 Ten Faces Australian Contemporary Art
1998 (AKCENT Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic)
1997 Kings School Art Exhibition
1995 St. Luke’s Hospital Charity Auction
1994 NSW Travelling Art Scholarship (CDFA, Sydney)
Honours (ASN building, the Rocks)
2016 Finalist The Gosford art Prize
Winner The Oakhill Grammer art prize
2015 Finalist The Moran Portrait Prize
Finalist-The Muswellbrook Art Prize,Painting /Drawing
2014 Finalist- The Paul Guest Drawing Prize-Vic
Finalist- The Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize-N.S.W
2013 Semi Finalist The Moran Portrait Prize
2011 Winner, The Cricket Art Prize
2010 Finalist, The Stanthrope Art Prize
Finalist, The Mosman Art Prize
2008 Finalist, Plein Air Painting Prize, Parliament House, NSW
2007 Finalist, ANL Maritime Art Award, Melbourne
2005 Finalist, Metro 5 Art Prize
2004 Winner, Hills Grammar Art Prize
2003 Finalist, The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship
2002 Hills Grammar Art Prize
1995 Bundanon Trust Artist in residence (Sponsored)
1994 William Fletcher Trust Scholarship
1992 Basil and Muriel Hopper Scholarship, Art Gallery of NSW

Collections

ANZDL container shipping North Sydney Council
Australian Art Investment Trust North Sydney Hospital
Bundanon Trust Collection Patt Corigan Collection
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Park Royal
Australand Qantas Australia
Evatt Foundation, Sydney Sydney Airport Corp. Ltd
Hills Grammar School Sydney Children’s Hospital
Lance Rigby, Sydney University of Western Sydney
Lang Walker Corporation Ltd Westmead Children’s Hospital
Regional Air Express Westpac Collection Sydney
Maritime Container Services
Merck Sharp & Dohme, Sydney

Spencer Harvey and Lloyd Harvey are sister/brother filmmakers and photographic artists born in Sydney, Australia.

They came to renown for their screenwriting work when they won an Academy Nicholl Fellowship in 2016 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They have since been commissioned by Chernin Entertainment to write a half-hour television series based on their experience in the Australian art world.

Their mastery of storytelling is intrinsic to their photographic and video work, which has surreal, subversive, strange and often magical narratives featuring strong female subjects. They have been exhibited in the National Portrait Prize and also shortlisted as semi-finalists in The Moran Photographic Prize.

They are currently represented by United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment in the U.S.A. and by Harvey Galleries in Sydney.

EXHIBITIONS
2019 Harvey Galleries, Sydney
2017 National Portrait Prize Finalist, Canberra

PUBLICATIONS
Vogue Italia
Australian Harper’s Bazaar
Cream Magazine
The Unlimited New York
LOTL Magazine

PRIZES
The Moran Photographic Prize (Semi-Finalist)
The National Portrait Prize (Finalist)

My life is fun and messy, when I’m not covered in paint. I’m busy being a mother to my three children, laughing with my husband and drinking tea, lots of tea!

My art career began on Sorrento Beach on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula as a five-year-old. While my parents worked in their paddleboat business, I kept myself busy painting shells and selling them to unsuspecting tourists. The proceeds going towards ice cream for my brother and me. As I progressed through childhood, I was always drawing, painting and creating portraits of my family. As a high school student, being accepted into an exhibition at the Gold Coast Art Centre further fuelled my passion.

However, I felt that I needed time to discover who I really was and to push myself out of my comfort zone. Three years of travel through Japan, the UK and Europe fulfilled that need. Upon my return to Australia I felt the pressure to get a “real job”. A career in marketing and promotions followed but art was never far from my mind.

The struggle to get pregnant led me to put my painting on pause as I was concerned that the chemicals could affect my chances. Once we were blessed with our third IVF miracle my hubby said to me “If money wasn’t a consideration and you could wake up every day and do the one thing you truly love, what would it be? “Without hesitation I replied “painting” and he said, “well that’s what you do then”.

And I started again but seriously this time having sold hundreds of original paintings globally by commissioning pieces for collectors, or working with Interior Designers, or via word of mouth from happy customers and also via the internet.

I am secure enough in my life to be free and I make time every day to give thanks and be grateful for this life I have.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Belinda Nadwie creates abstracted landscapes that traverse emotional, psychological and spiritual experience. Working with oil paint, charcoal, spray paint and oil crayons, she captures a spectrum of moods – from quiet, melancholy moments of indigo and teal to rapturous swathes of Persian pink and saffron. The viewer can choose where they sit in this vast spectrum of emotion, gravitating towards darkness or light.

The artist paints intuitively without preconception, each work reading like a painterly stream of consciousness that allows the viewer fleeting glimpses into her inner world. ‘Colour and balance are my passion’ says Nadwie, ‘My expressions are all feeling–based.’Although the works are on representational, there are moments in which physical landscapes flicker across the canvas, reminding us of the enduring force of nature.

There is a maternal, nurturing modality to the works as Nadwie draws from her experiences of motherhood. Pastels and whites represent innocence, joy and love while also channelling a sense of spirituality, the prominent use of light like transcendental beacons from another world.

Energetic, abstracted applications of paint infuse the work with an enduring optimism, as the artist reflects ‘it’s about being at peace with oneself, being present in the moment and embracing light and positivity.’ By presenting the purity of self–expression, Nadwie’s paintings ultimately offer a raw and natural respite from our fast–paced technological lives.

EXHIBITIONS:

• Gold Coast Art Centre, Gold Coast 1990

• Gold Coast Art Centre Group Exhibition, Gold Coast 1992

• Art Connection Gallery Group Exhibition, QLD 2005

• Art Moment Gallery Group Exhibition , Bondi 2006

• Swanes Nursery Group Exhibition, Dural 2007

• Eden Gardens Solo Exhibition, Ryde 2007

• Arcadian Artists Trail Group Show , Arcadia 2015

• M2 Surry Hills 2019

• Art Lovers Australia, TBC Gallery The Block Exhibition, 2019

• Windsor Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand 2022, 2023

• Red Hill Gallery, Brisbane 2022, 2023

• Art Lovers Australia Fiercely Feminine Exhibition, Sydney 2023

• AAD Gallery Women in Art Exhibition, The Rocks, Sydney 2023, 2024, 2025

• Bluethumb Gallery, Brisbane, Adelaide & Melbourne 2023, 2024

• Art Lovers Australia Gallery, Gold Coast & Melbourne 2023, 2024

• The Other Art Fair, Sydney 2023, 2024, 2025

• Affordable Art Fair, Sydney, & Melbourne 2023, 2024

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Winner of Art Lovers Australia People’s Choice Award 2018

• Interviewed by visithills.com.au 2019

• Featured on ‘The Block’ Television series 2019

• Interviewed by hillsdistrictmums.com.au 2019

• Finalist for Bluethumb Art Prize 2021, 2022

• Finalist for Art Lovers Art Prize 2020, 2021, 2022

• Winner of Sydney Hills Local Business awards 2020 and 2021

• Winner of Australian Small Business Champion Awards 2021

• Featured in the 3rd Annual Edition of Art Folio coffee book 2022

• Featured in Art Lovers Australia Collector’s book 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

• Interviewed by montmarte.com.au 2022

• Podcast – The Art of Business Family & Art, how to navigate both 2023

• Featured in The Interiors Addict 2023

• Featured on Selling Houses Australia Television series 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025