Margaret Ackland

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEpisode 5 Margaret AcklandMargaret is a four times Archibald finalist and is renowned for her expressive and vibrant use of colour. Besides the Archibald accolades, she has had 36 solo exhibitions, been a part of 37 group exhibitions, and I’m almost not exaggerating when I say about a thousand other finalist awards including Portia Geach Memorial Award, Hazelhurst Art on Paper, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, The Blake Prize and the Salon des Refuses. She is represented in a range of national and private collections. Her work was on the front cover of the 2023 July edition of Art Almanac, and she has been featured in Italian Vogue and on ABC TV’s ‘Compass’ series. In other words, I reckon one of this country’s great artists. We’re having this conversation in her fabulous Sydney studio.Images referred to in our conversation1. Taken by RG2. From Vestiges exhibition. Vestiges, 2013 oil on canvas 183x1523. From Social Distancing exhibition. Apocalypse Now (June 2020) watercolour on paper 25x254. From Balancing Act exhibition. A Balancing Act, 2022 watercolour on paper 85x905. From Lifelines exhibition. Lifelines, 2024 watercolour on paper 150x100