Australian Women Artists

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 86 Elizabeth Barnett  Elizabeth Barnett is a painter and printmaker who also utilises textiles and pottery. Her still life and interior paintings have become instantly recognisable — plant-filled nooks, stacked books, jugs and vases, all rendered in a distinct palette that reflects the season.  She has a deep reverence for the everyday. From her early training in the rigorous world of printmaking to lush, translucent paintings on stretched linen, and eventually to thickly layered oil works in her bushland studio.  She is also an incredible community builder, having co-founded Melbourne's iconic Schoolhouse Studios, a massive, not-for-profit creative hub.  Today, working from her home studio in the Macedon Ranges, Elizabeth continues to celebrate the gentle, wondrous beauty of daily life while acting as a passionate advocate for female representation in the arts. “Her subjects do not sit flat upon the canvas, but instead reach up from it, enlivened by the wild and natural world. This liveliness belies the ‘stillness’ of still life painting and along with Barnett’s painterly gestures of shadow, line and colour creates a visual dynamism reaches beyond tradition.”  To have a listen to our conversation, head to the link in my bio or search Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts.  Elizabeth is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne.   Images supplied by artists 1.   EB2.   Nocturne Arrangement 2026 oil on linen 215 x 1533.   Floribunda and Gwen 2026 oil on linen 81 x 914.   Nocturne 2024 oil on linen 153 x 1225 & 6 installation shots

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 85 Nell Nell is one of Australia's most distinctive contemporary artists, working across painting, sculpture, performance, video and installation. She has spent three decades building a visual language shaped by rock 'n' roll, Buddhist philosophy and religious iconography. Smiley faces, lightning bolts, ghosts, tears and eggs recur throughout her art and help create works that have been described as playful, insightful and poetic. Her work explores the binaries of human existence – birth and death, sorrow and happiness, light and dark. It’s a fascinating story and, with 300+ exhibitions to consider, I’ve had the unenviable task of choosing just a few to discuss without minimising the others otherwise we’d be still chatting well into 2027!‘Nell has developed a unique visual language that traverses scale, medium and materiality. Regardless of the outcome, her work explores oppositional thresholds and the fertile space that exist beyond the binary: from intimate to immersive, found to fabricated, high to low culture, two-dimensions to three-dimensions, individual to collaborative, ancient to contemporary, sacred to profane.... At the heart of Nell’s practice is an offering of connection and companionship; a reminder that we are not alone.’ Station Gallery (representing Nell). To have a listen to our conversation, head to my bio or search ‘Australian Women Artists’ wherever you normally find your podcasts.   Images  1.    Holding Both, 2026, Museum of Contemporary Art, Photo Anna Kucera2.    Let There Be Robe, 2011, Museum of Old and New Art, Photo Rémi Chauvin3.    ROCK GATE, 2019, Carriageworks, Photo Zan Wimberley4.    Nell x Colin McCahon: Through the Wall of Birth and Death, 2024, Dowse Art           Museum, Photo Sam Hartnett5.    Face Everything, 2025-26, Heide Modern, Photo Christo Crocker6+7. NELL ANNE QUILT, 2020-24, Photo Jenni Carter 

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 84 Chelsea Gustafsson  Chelsea Gustafsson is an artist whose work invites us to look closer at the quiet, often overlooked items of our daily lives—transforming mass-produced objects, ornaments, and domestic clutter into highly detailed, deeply metaphorical still lifes.  Her paintings are incredibly beautiful, but they also carry a sharp undercurrent of modern anxiety, apathy, and ecological grief.  From her early beginnings influenced by 3D sculptors to painting on her dining table, Chelsea has built a formidable practice that has seen her work acquired by the City of Melbourne, celebrated as a finalist in the prestigious Kennedy Prize, and exhibited internationally in Berlin. And very recently, she was selected for the celebrated Salon des Refusés at the S.H. Ervin Gallery. “I like to play with objects and textures that don’t necessarily sit well together naturally. Through the process of constructing items into a sculptural form and twisting or balancing them to find their sweet spot for a composition and watching how the light falls and reflects across them, they begin to gel as a single form and a beauty emerges.”  Head to my bio and follow the link to our podcast conversation...or search Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts. Chelsea is represented by:Flinders Lane Gallery, MelbournePenny Contemporary, HobartMichael Reid Berlin Images1.   CG supplied by artist2.   Self Portrait, 2026, Oil on board (all works on these images are OOB) 30 x 403.   Lobster, 2025, 15 x 204.   Surfcoast Highway, 2019, 15 x 205.   Mint, 2020, 40 x 506.   Tasmanian Tigers, 2024 22 x 307.   Trophy 01, 2022, 15 x 20

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 83 Nicole Kelly Nicole Kelly is one of contemporary Australia’s most sensitive and intellectually rigorous painters, working beautifully across landscape, portraiture, and still life. She creates deeply evocative, expressive oil works that challenge the very mechanics of how we represent, and perhaps try to own, the Australian landscape. In fact, it would probably be fair to say that she is an artist who's spent nearly two decades quietly ‘unsettling’ one of Australia's oldest genres.Since graduating from the National Art School and winning the prestigious Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, Nicole has built a formidable practice defined by evolving technical processes and academic rigour.  She’s been a finalist in a number of awards and has also won significant prizes including her recently winning the prestigious Evelyn Chapman Art Award. She will utilise that to study Nordic painting traditions. And we need to discuss that of course. Her paintings pull you in with glowing colour and soft, pliable brushwork, then quietly remind you that no landscape is ever just scenery.Her work is held in numerous public and private collections. A really enjoyable conversation and to hear it, head to the link in my bio or search ‘Australian Women Artists’ wherever you find your podcasts.   You can find more information about Nicole at her website:www.nicolerenaekelly.comNicole is represented byNicholas Thomson Gallery, Melbourne (@nicholasthompsongallery)Art House Gallery, Sydney (@arthousegallery)  Images1.   NK via Nicholas Thompson Gallery2.   Jumaadi + Clouds + Rain, 2017 oil on polyester (all paintings on this list are OOP), 150 x 1303.   Rain Inscribed Lines, 2024, 169 x 1984.   Bird Hour, 2026, 117 x 1075.   Dance of March Flies, 2024, 138 x 1676.   Waiting for the Sun, 2026, 122 x 153   

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 82 Kirsten Coelho  Kirsten Coelho’s importance lies partly in how she actually expands the language of Australian ceramics.Kirsten is one of Australia’s leading contemporary ceramic artists, known for almost ethereal porcelain vessels that sit between the functional and the sculptural. Her works in porcelain are “creating functional forms and vessels of other-worldly perfection that fuse the formal with the abstract.” Her work is shaped by the history of ceramics, architectural surfaces, and a deep interest in how ordinary objects carry memory and cultural meaning and it’s grounded in international ceramic history. But it also speaks to distinctly Australian conditions: light, landscape, domestic life, and the material traces of settler history. And we discuss that in our lovely languid conversation. Kirsten’s work is exhibited extensively internationally, and she has won significant awards, including the prestigious Sidney Myer Ceramic Award, the City of Hobart Art Prize and the Josephine Ulrick Ceramic Award. Her work is represented in numerous institutional collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Kirsten is represented by Sullivan Strumpf NSW + Singapore, Philip Bacon Galleries Qld, Adrian Sassoon UK London, The Scottish Gallery UK Edinburgh.  @kirsten_coelho_ @sullivanstrumpf@philipbacongalleries@adrian_sassoon_gallery@scottishgallery     Images supplied by artist 1.   KC by Daniel Noone2.   Horizon, image by Grant Hancock3.   Pillar, image by Grant Hancock4.   Ithaca, image by Grant Hancock

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcast  Ep 81 Jenna Lee Jenna Lee is an artist whose work invites us to slow down and reconsider the stories hidden within the words and objects we often take for granted. A Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and KarraJarri woman with Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Irish and Scottish heritage, Jenna has developed a remarkable practice that works across sculpture, installation, paper, photography and moving image. She transforms books, archives and printed texts into beautiful and thought-provoking artworks that ask important questions...including who gets to tell history. Jenna's work has been recognised through numerous awards, including the 2024 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, the 2023 Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award (Emerging Artist), the 2020 Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), the 2019 Dreaming Award presented by Creative Australia. She was even one of 5 shortlisted artists for the Venice Biennale for 2026. Jenna Lee has developed a unique and valuable artistic voice.Jenna is represented by Mars Gallery, and some of her available works can be found at https://marsgallery.com.au/jenna-lee/More works and info can be also be found at https://jennalee.art/aboutImages1 JL image by Anna Katsanevas2 Instalation view of JL & Kojima Shouten's Balarr (To become light) 20233 White Grass Trees 1-3, 2021, pages of 'Aboriginal words and place names' bookbind thread, organic cotton thread, florist wire, glue, bookcover board 119, base 20 x 23 to 39 x 384 from HIStory Vessels exhibition, 2020, deconstructed pages of the Ladybird history book, 'The Story of Captain Cook'5 To make light together 03, 2023, digital photograph 51 x 66Just wanted to also drop a quick note here that I will be taking a few weeks off after this is published and wanted to say a heartfelt thanks for everyone’s support and encouragement thus far. I've enjoyed this immensely. I’ll be back in a few weeks with some very exciting guests and projects.

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 80 Tonee Messiah I think it would be fair to say that Tonee Messiah’s work asks questions of you.  It asks that you stand in front and notice how you feel. Her paintings have been described by her as living in the landscape of the mind.  Tonee Messiah was born in Israel and spent her childhood moving between a kibbutz and coastal Australia, finally settling in Sydney at eleven.  That experience of perpetual transition — of never quite arriving — became the foundation of one of the most quietly original painting practices in the country.  She has a bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours from Sydney College of the Arts and a Masters of Fine Art from UNSW. Her work has entered the collections of Artbank and the Monash University Museum of Art, she collaborated with fashion label Gorman in 2022, and that same year won the Waverley Art Prize. She teaches painting at UNSW Art and Design and the National Art School. Tonee is represented by @nicholasthompsongalleryImages1. TM2. A Fabricated Reflection, 2025 oil on poly cotton 122 x1023. Essential Sensitivities, 2025, oil on poly cotton 102 x 764. Constructive Beliefs, 2025 oil on poly cotton 102 x 765. Slight Reposition on a Soft Decision, 2025 oil on poly cotton 122 x 107    

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp 79 Leah Thiessen  Leah Thiessen is a painter whose work is deeply shaped by place, memory, and the living energy of the landscape around her. Leah has spent close to two decades turning a very special place in Northern NSW into one of the most distinctive bodies of work in contemporary Australian painting. But she didn't start there. She began her creative life in fashion design, before retraining through a fine arts diploma, and, much later, a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Southern Cross University. In 2008 Leah left Sydney's Northern Beaches for the Northern Rivers region, and it was there that her real subject found her. Her practice is both intuitive and deeply observant. Working through mark-making, scraping back, and layers of paint, Leah builds surfaces that feel alive with movement and feeling. Her paintings seem to capture the spirit of a place.She's now represented by Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne, Despard Gallery in Hobart, and Lethbridge Gallery in Brisbane, with solo shows including Broadwater, Biome, and her most recent exhibition, Rustling Canopy. She's been twice named in the Top 100 Collectable Artists.‘The course of painting is a primal impulse to mark. It is a physical and emotional experience. I paint in an expressive and gestural way capturing the force and energy of a place. I create a visceral experience through the use of mark making and the application of paint. My paintings are process driven and it is only through the act of painting over, scraping back and drawing into, that my work is resolved.’ Head to the link in my bio to hear the episode or search Australian Women Artists wherever you get your podcasts. Leah is represented by @flinderslanegallery, @despardgallery, @lethbridgegallery Images of Leah's work to follow in the next post...  

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep. 78 Evie AdasalEvie Adasal is an artist whose practice has evolved — from photography and film through to painting, from direct landscape observation toward a more conceptually layered engagement with the environment.  She brings an unusually layered visual intelligence to her painting practice. Her work is rooted in abstraction, drawn from the cultivated landscapes of public gardens and urban green spaces, and built through a process of slow, meditative looking and careful, beautiful layering of colour. She continues to push the boundaries of how landscapes can be interpreted through abstraction.  Evie’s work ‘navigates the delicate balance between order and spontaneity, restraint and vibrancy. Her palette reflects this tension, as she moves between subtlety and intensity, bringing together elements that are both harmonious and disruptive’. For the past three years, she has also been awarded a number of shortlistings, including in prestigious national prizes such as the National Emerging Art Prize, Fisher’s Ghost Award, Hawkesbury Art Prize and the Georges River Art Prize, while winning the Anthea Polson Gallery Award at the Paddington Art Prize in 2023 and she’s very recently had a successful exhibition at Olsen Gallery in Sydney.  Evie is represented by Olsen Gallery, Sydney (@olsen_gallery) and can be seen from Sept 26 at @sydneycontemporary  For some available works copy and paste link below into your browser: https://www.olsengallery.com/exhibition/evie-adasal/  Images1.   EA by Brett East2.   I never promised you a Rose Garden, 2024, 180 x 150 (all paintings on carousel are synthetic polymer on poly cotton)3.   D-XI, 2026, 120 x 1304.   D-I, 2026, 120 x 1305.   D-X, 2026, 130 x 1406.   D-XV, 2026, 60 x 60   

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 77 Dani McKenzie  Dani McKenzie’s story begins, unusually, not in an art school studio but in a bedroom — where, after a formative trip through Europe and a chance encounter with the work of Belgian painter Michaël Borremans, she spent six months teaching herself to paint. That instinct and passion carried her into the National Art School in Sydney, where she completed both her undergraduate and Master of Fine Art degrees, and where her enduring fascination with photography — memory, privacy, and the lives of strangers — first took shape.Early in her career, Dani worked from found photographs, creating imaginative worlds conjured from those images. But it was the ubiquitous disruptions of 2020 that changed everything. Forced to slow down, she began walking her own neighbourhood in inner-Melbourne, photographing it at night, and turning her lens — quite literally — on her own life and surroundings. The results are a stunning body of work. Paintings of glowing windows, quiet streets, and private moments caught in public space, executed with a photographic precision that somehow still feels deeply human.Dani is represented by PIERMARQ Gallery, Sydney, MARS Gallery, Melbourne and Long Story Short Gallery (Los Angeles, Paris, New York) and has held solo exhibitions in Paris, Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne.Dani mentions being influenced by Clarice Beckett. You could copy and paste this link into your browser to hear a conversation I had with Jennifer Higgie on Clarice:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/australian-women-artists/id1794012822?i=1000695950466Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation. Alternatively, search Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts.  Images1.   DM image supplied by artist2.   Waiting For You, 2022, oil & acrylic on linen 3.   Waiting for Gelato, 2021, oil on masonite 4.   That Little Italian Place on the Corner, 2022, oil & acrylic on linen 5.   Room With a View, 2023 oil & acrylic on linen 6.   Closing Time I, 2023, oil & acrylic on board 7.   Date Night, 2024, oil & acrylic on linen 8.   The Final Hour, 2025, oil & acrylic on linen 

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 76 Kate Shaw  Kate Shaw is an award-winning Australian artist who spends her time working and living between Melbourne and the US, having exhibited in Australia for over 20 years and internationally for over 10 years.  Through her luminous landscapes, Kate has created an artistic world that is quite breathtaking, but also quite unsettling. Over that career, it would be fair to say she has fundamentally reinterpreted how we perceive the natural world.  Her practice began to be recognized not just for its innovative methodology, but for its ecological statements.  Kate has held solo exhibitions in New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and throughout Australia. She has also been part of group exhibitions in many other countries. ‘Kate has become a compelling voice in contemporary painting, known for her immersive, surreal landscapes that probe our relationship with the natural world. Shaw’s richly layered works — created through ‘paint pours’, resin, and reflective surfaces — evoke geological and atmospheric phenomena while inviting contemplation on ecological fragility, climate change, and the psychological experience of nature.’ Olsen Gallery  To hear our conversation head to the link in my bio or search Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts.  Kate is represented by Olsen Gallery, Sydney (@olsen_gallery) For more info on Kate:www.kateshaw.org  Images: 1.   KS by Belle Stewart2.   Divine Matrix 2026 acrylic & resin on board 120 diam3.   89 Seconds to Midnight 2025 acrylic on board 120 diam4.   Aurora 2016 acrylic and resin on board 120 diam5.   Carbon Entanglement 2026 acrylic and resin 60 x 50 

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp 75 Lucy Culliton  Lucy Culliton is a gem. It was such an enjoyable conversation – she always has interesting stories, and I was just lucky enough to be sitting on the other side of the table. It becomes quite apparent that Lucy finds a portrait in everything she looks at — a cactus spine, a prize rooster, a knitted doll, a greyhound asleep in the afternoon light. And that’s because she paints with an intimacy that seems to breathe life into those everyday scenes and objects?Lucy Culliton lives and works on a property at the edge of Bibbenluke in the Snowy Monaro. There she has created a beautiful garden, and she also shares the property with cows, sheep, goats, horses, pigeons, ducks and many rescued greyhounds. The farm is not a backdrop to the work. It is the work.Lucy studied at the National Art School, graduating in 1996, and has spent three decades building one of the most beloved and distinctive bodies of work in Australian painting. She is a multiple Archibald, Wynne and Sulman finalist, and this year won the Sir John Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.Her paintings make you slow down. They make you look harder. And they make the ordinary world feel, somehow, like more than enough.I decided within seconds of starting this conversation that, for listeners to get the full picture, it would best to just let it roll. No editing. It is what it is with Lucy. And aren’t we all the luckier for that. Lucy is represented by @kingstreetgallery in Sydney and @janmurphygallery in BrisbaneHer exhibition, Grasses, Tussocks & Sedges is at King St till 4 July Head to my bio for a link to the podcast episode or search for Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts. Images1.   LC via Painted River Project2.   Bibbenluke Spring 2025 oil on canvas 122 x 993.   Top Swamp II 2023 oil on canvas 199 x 1224.   Toolah, artist assist and and model oil on canvas 140 x140 (winner Sulman Prize 2026)5.   View From The Pavillion Gunningrah 2026 oil on canvas 184 x 1836.   Love lies bleeding 2017 oil on canvas 244 x 183 

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 74 Rachel Milne Rachel Milne is a Newcastle-based painter whose work turns everyday interiors, objects, and moments into beautifully compelling paintings.  Rachel grew up in Cambridge, trained in Cardiff, and built an early career in Britain serious enough to earn her membership of the Royal West of England Academy.  Then, in 2013, she packed up and moved to the other side of the world — to Newcastle, New South Wales — and something shifted.  She is a painter of interiors. Of unmade beds and cluttered studios, of hallways and mirrors, of spaces that hold the shape of the people who inhabit them.  She works in oil, from life, often in a single sitting — because she believes the camera makes too many decisions on her behalf.  She has been a finalist in numerous significant awards including the Wynne Prize and Portia Geach and has won the Evelyn Chapman Award, Muswellbrook Art Prize and the Vincent Prize. More recently she has spent time as artist-in-residence at the Liddell Power Station — finding beauty in a building the world was busy demolishing. And who could have guessed this started from painting backgrounds for Wallace and Gromit.  Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation. Rachel’s latest exhibition: Newcastle, High is on at King Street Gallery on William (Sydney) till 4 July 2026. For more info and examples of her work, head to www.rachelmilneartist.com.au Rachel is represented in Sydney by King Street Gallery on William (@kingstreetgallery) and Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne (@sophiegannongallery)  Images1.   RM by David Griffen2.   The Stage, Victoria Theatre 2021 160 x 1203.   Nest, 2022 oil on board (winner Muswellbrook Painting Prize)4.   Studio Haefligers 2016 50 x 80 (Bathurst Regional Art Gallery Collection)5.   View From The Stage, Victoria Theatre, 2021 80 x 1006.   Town Hall 2026 60 x 80   

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 73 Kirtika Kain Kirtika Kain was born in New Delhi, India and raised on Sydney's Northern Beaches, and is making some of the most viscerally powerful art in the country right now. Kirtika is a printmaker, a painter, and an alchemist. Her works often depict the overlooked. One of the extraordinary ways she does that is by taking materials such as pigments, wax, sindoor, human hair, charcoal, gold and tar and transforming them into works that carry centuries of inherited memory. Her practice is a reckoning with identity, and what might be termed the silences passed down through generations. But it’s more than that. It's also an act of celebration and the grandeur of a culture that has never been properly archived. She has shown at the Biennale of Sydney, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and in galleries across Australia and Europe. Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation.  Kirtika (@kirtika.kain) is represented by Roslyn Oxley9 (@roslynoxley9) Images1.   KK in her studio at Parramatta Artists’ Studios, by Garry Trinh2.   Chronicles, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025-263.   Mimetics, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025-264.   2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art5.   Stone Idols, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery 2021

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 72 Lily Mae Martin Lily Mae Martin is a remarkable visual artist known for her deeply personal explorations of womanhood, motherhood, and the human condition. Her own strength and resilience in the face of, at times, enormous challenges, is remarkable.She is celebrated for her masterful draughtsmanship, particularly her delicate and detailed cross-hatching using fine liner ink pens, building up thousands upon thousands of tiny lines to produce an incredible tone. After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2008 and winning the Lionel Gell travelling scholarship, she spent years refining her practice in Berlin and Wales before returning to Australia. Her work has always been predominantly figurative, with a love of traditional portraiture approached in an unconventional way — seeking to capture people outside of the polished, self-conscious way they present themselves to a camera.She was a finalist for the 2016 Rick Amor Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of Ballarat; winner of the 2016 Ursula Hoff Institute Emerging Artist Acquisitive Art Award in the National Works on Paper exhibition, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery; and shortlisted for the 2016 Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Adelaide Perry drawing prize 2017 and the Dobell Drawing Prize 2019. Lily Mae also contributed to The Drawing Board – a four part segment exploring drawing on Radio National, The Arts Program in 2022. Lily Mae (@lilymaemartin) is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries (@scottliveseygalleries) I referred in our conversation to the National Gallery of Victoria ‘Drop-by Drawing’ programme of which Lily Mae was a part. The link is belowhttps://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/multimedia/drop-by-drawing-with-lily-mae-martin/Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation.  Images1.   LMM supplied by artist2.   Orchid Medley 2025 ink on cotton paper 15 x 203.   Waterloo State Forest 2016 ink on paper 76 x 1054.   Nothing is Untouched (Moorabool) 2024 ink on paper 56 x 765.   Emerging

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 71 Julie Fragar Julie Fragar is one of the country's most compelling painters. For those who are familiar with that name, it could well be because she recently made headlines as the winner of the prestigious 2025 Archibald Prize. What is perhaps not as well known to the general public is that that win marked the 4th time she had been a finalist in that competition.For over two decades, Julie's practice has been described as pushing the intellectual limits of painting. Her works are deeply psychological, and weave together autobiography, historical narratives and intense human experiences. We had a great conversation talking about her childhood in country NSW, her art school experiences, her visual technique which she describes as not "layering," but rather as images "woven" or "knitted" together, where all images exist simultaneously on the canvas, the incredible works she produced after sitting in the public gallery of the Supreme Court and later when she shadowed a gynaecological surgeon and witnessed the visceral reality of the operating theatre and, of course, her 2025 win in the Archibald Prize. Julie Fragar’s work is held in major public collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales; Art Gallery of South Australia; and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art. She has been the recipient of major awards and institutional commissions. And Professor Fragar also happens to be Deputy Director (Research) at the Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University.  Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation, or search Australian Women Artists wherever you find your podcasts.    Images1.   JF, AGNSW, Diana Panuccio2.   Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene) 2025 oil on canvas, 240 x 180 (Archibald winner 2025)3.   Richard, 2020 oil on canvas 180 x 135 (Archibald finalist)4.   Trust, 2026 oil on canvas 180 x 1355.   Drown in Your Own Ambition, 20216.   Origin of the World (or One Battle After Another), 2026 

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 70 Lisa Bale  It would probably be fair to say that Lisa Bale sits outside the art establishment. She lives and works remotely on a bush property situated in the hinterland of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Not having formal art training has been no hindrance to an exceptional talent. In fact, it’s probably a big contributing factor to her success. Her works are witty, surprising, and visually arresting takes on modern-day dilemmas. Her extensive career spans nearly four decades and she has deliberately cultivated a distinctive aesthetic that marries meticulous technique with deeply personal, often idiosyncratic subject matter. Her works are held in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, QAGOMA, the University of Queensland Art Museum, Rockhampton Art Gallery, and the private collection of Lord Jeffrey Archer in London. The work is stunning, and I’m honoured that she’s chosen to have a chat on AWA because in nearly 40 years of creativity, Lisa has told me she has never done this sort of focussed and in-depth interview.For over 20 years Lisa has been represented by Philip Bacon Galleries, one of Australia’s leading art galleries. From their website... “Meticulously producing hyper-real imagery, Bale uses oil paint and a deft hand to load dramatic scenes with rich metaphor and illusory turns.”  Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation or search for ‘Australian Women Artists’ wherever you find your podcasts.  Images 1. Lisa Bale, 2026, photograph by Kim Guthrie @iphotographstuff 2. Rose Garden, 2008, 53 x 70 cm, oil on canvasCollection: Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) 3. Sacred Heart, 2019, 61 x 80 cm, oil on canvasPrivate Collection 4. Dig, 2011, 68 x 100 cm, oil on canvasCollection: University of Queensland Art Museum 5. Icebreaker, 2014, 49 x 83 cm, oil on canvasPrivate Collection 6. Inquisition, 2016, 54 x 80 cm, oil on canvas Collection: Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA)   

Australian Women Artists The Podcast Ep 69 Heidi Yardley   Heidi Yardley is a Melbourne-born painter whose work occupies a significant space in contemporary Australian art — intimate, psychological, and immediately recognisable.  ‘[Heidi] works with found images to create scenes of mysterious temporality. Often painted in faded hues, her artwork is suggestive of a period that could sit somewhere between the 1960’s and 70’s.’ She works with oil paint and charcoal and incredible collaging techniques where she creates anonymous portraits of sexualised and domesticated femininity.  Over three decades she has drawn on vintage imagery, cinema, music, and the female experience as inspiration.  Heidi has been a finalist in significant prizes including The Archibald Prize, Wynne Prize, Sulman Prize and The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, has held two artist residencies in New York, and has been listed as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists. It was a great broad ranging conversation. We covered her obsession with art at high school and her struggle to get into the painting course she desperately wanted (spoiler: she persisted and got in!), her love of figurative art and having to resist pressures from outside to think and act more conceptually – and her persistence paid dividends again. I loved her description of how she felt when overseas standing in front of paintings she had only seen in books to that point. We talked about her visual language, how she finds titles for her works and ... Nick Cave. Which I’m always up for a chat about.  Mood, mystery and the unresolved image.  Head to the link in my bio to have a listen. Heidi is represented by Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane (@janmurphygallery) and Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne (@nicholasthompsongallery)  Images1.   HY by Lisa Barmby2.   The masked bride, 2024 oil on canvas 140 x 1003.   The black veil, 2019 charcoal on primed paper 84 x 1104.   The door, 2021 oil on canvas 144 x 1165.   Psychique 2021 oil on canvas 140 x 110  

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 68  Suzanne Archer   Across six decades, Suzanne Archer has forged a singular career in Australian art, marked by independence from curatorial trends and sustained commitment to difficult subjects.  From youthful abstraction through immersion in the Australian bush to a fearless confrontation with death and time.  Suzanne has won major prizes including the Wynne Prize for landscape and the Dobell Prize for Drawing, and her work is held in significant public collections nationwide.  Her constant evolution is fascinating. We discussed many aspects of her career. The origins of her artistic journey, her immigration to Australia in the 1960s and the incredible effect living on the NSW South Coast had on her, how she made a living in those early days from art, residencies in New York and Paris and Zimbabwe and how those experiences taught her to never shut down what is possible, how moving to the country and that sense of space had a profound effect on her and her art. We had this conversation at Nanda Hobbs Gallery in Sydney when her recent exhibition, Manifestation, was showing. Suzanne is represented by Nanda Hobbs, Sydney  Images1.   SA in front of a detail of Gorge Country – Wedderburn, 2024 oil on canvas 198 x 4082.   Brown velvet, 2025 oil on canvas, 153 x 1533.   Arty-Fact 2013, cloth bag, collaged embroidery, cardboard, acrylic paint, canvas mat4.   Derangement, 2010, ink, charcoal, pastel on 2 sheets of white paper (winner Dobel Prize)5.   Waratahs Wedderburn, 1994, oil on canvas, 240 x 242

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 67 Tracey Deep For over twenty years, Tracey Deep has been transforming forgotten remnants of the natural world—from dried botanicals to recycled organic and industrial materials—into captivating, tactile sculptures.  Her art celebrates the regenerative power of the earth through the art of what’s been called intentional imperfection.  Today her work spans gallery exhibitions, immersive installations and major public artworks across Australia. Whether delicate and intimate or monumental in scale, her sculptures invite us to slow down and reconnect with the natural world.  But I think the best description of Tracey is... a creative adventurer, a biology enthusiast, and magical botanical sculptor. “My passion for working with nature, my love for art has been the inspiration behind where I am today. Mother nature is my teacher, creating floralsculpture installations over decades has been the most inspiring tool in training my eye to assemble unique forms, patterns, shapes & tones together to create “living art”.” Tracey Deep We had a wonderful conversation as, amongst many things, we discussed her creative journey, her fabulous (and random) gathering process, and her devotion to protecting our land and environment.Tracey is represented by Saint Cloche Galleries (@saint_cloche) Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation or go to wherever you find your podcasts.  Images of Tracey and her work were supplied by the artist      

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 66 Dagmar Cyrulla Dagmar Cyrulla is an Australian contemporary artist whose work grew out of a lifelong interest in people, relationships, and the emotional texture of ordinary life.Born in Germany and raised in Sydney from age one, she developed an art practice that blends portraiture, domestic scenes, and psychological observation into stories about human connection. She is a distinguished figure in the Australian art scene, frequently appearing as a finalist for prestigious awards such as the Archibald, Doug Moran Portrait Prize, Dobell Drawing Prize, Portia Geach, Fishers Ghost and many more. She has been described, wonderfully I think, as a seasoned storyteller of the contemporary human condition. “My work is about feelings, based on how we relate to one another. My aim is to engage the viewer in the same thought process as mine, so as to open an opportunity to self questioning. My paintings are stories which hopefully reflect my love of people. The life experiences I use to develop my work include; Father and daughter relationships, power relationships, relationships to parents, being and having a role model, sibling rivalry etc.  I have clarity with each artwork in regard to the ideas I am exploring, however  it is more important for me to be engaged emotionally with each work.  I play with colour and light to help create the mood that I want the viewer to experience.” Dagmar Cyrulla Head to the link in my bio for our conversation and or from wherever you get your podcasts. Dagmar (@dagmarcyrulla) is represented by Lennox St Gallery (@lennoxstgallery) and Wagner Contemporary (@wagnercontemporary) Etre is showing at Lennox St till 25 April   Images1.   DC2.   The keeper of secrets, 2009, pastel on paper 205 x 1423.   Etre III, 2025, oil on linen 50 x 404.   Le marriage, 2024, oil on linen, 82 x 615.   Woman bathing after Rembrandt, 2025 oil on linen, 41 x 366.   After Hopper study II, 2025 oil on paper on board 45 x 257.   Wendy Paris and Minerva, oil on canvas8.   If you can’t stand the heat, 2010, oil on canvas

Australian Women Artists  The Podcast  Episode 65 Shay Docking  Artists of Influence: Shay Docking (influencing Margaret Ackland, ep. 5)  Welcome to another edition of AWA artists of influence.  For those who’ve heard some of these podcasts, you’ll remember that the last question I ask is: Is there an Australian woman artist who has inspired or influenced you and if so, who and how?  I’ve decided to explore a little further the artists who were named as influences by my podcast guests. If you’d like to hear in more detail about Shay Docking, then follow the link in my bio to a ‘mini’ podcast about this extraordinary woman.  In ep. 5, I asked this question of critically acclaimed Australian contemporary artist Margaret Ackland. And the artist that was an influence on her was Shay Docking.Shay Docking is one of the most original landscape painters of the twentieth century. The extraordinary work she produced deserves greater recognition.Examples of Shay’s work are displayed at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the National Gallery Victoria and the Art Gallery of NSW as well as other major state and regional galleries across Australia and NZ.  And Shay Docking was such a good friend and influence on Margaret Ackland that, in 1987, Margaret painted a portrait of Shay for the Archibald Prize and was a finalist. The same portrait won the Portia Geach Memorial Award the following year. Head to my Instagram account to have a look at Shay’s work (a larger carousel of her works will follow) and Margaret Ackland’s beautiful portrait of Shay Docking. And make sure you have a listen to her episode on Australian Women Artists.Margaret Ackland is represented by @flinderslanegallery@stanley_street_gallery Images1 Margaret Ackland’s award-winning portrait of her friend, Shay Docking 2 Shay Docking’s Volcano Blue Lake and Plains, 1979, pastel and acrylic on paper on board 76 x 98 More images of Shay’s work to follow on instagram   

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 64 Celia Gullett  Celia Gullett has developed a beautiful distinctive practice over several decades. Her abstract works explore colour, light and surface with what’s been described as, ‘remarkable sensitivity’.  Her career has unfolded gradually, shaped by long periods of study, reflection and... life.  A major turning point in Celia’s artistic development came in the mid to late 1990s when she began studying at the Charlie Sheard Studio School in Sydney. And we’ll talk about the importance of that to her remarkable journey.  Her work gained recognition through art prizes and exhibitions. She became a repeat finalist in both the Mosman Art Prize and the Paddington Art Prize and just last year won the Allan Gamble Award at the Mosman Art Prize.  Celia spoke about growing up in the country and that even as a young girl, she was acutely aware of sensory moments and being observant (a necessary skill in the country!).  We also talked about her art school experiences and what it did and didn’t provide. Which led to her needing to get out in the world to develop her language. It was really interesting talking about her seminal experience at the Charlie Sheard Studio School. His mantra that stuck with her...It’s not what you paint, it’s how you paint it. Of course, we discussed the fabulous influences on her personally and artistically from her time in Florence and Rajasthan. But always – colour, light and surface...and the importance of treading your own path.   We had our conversation in Celia’s fabulous Sydney studio.  Celia (@celia.gullett) is represented by Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane (@janmurphygallery) and Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne (@sophiegannongallery)  Image of CG supplied by artist. Photographer: @markrogers_photoMore images to follow in subsequent post 

Australian Women Artists The podcastEp. 63 Camie Lyons  Camie Lyons is a Sydney-based contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, painting, and drawing.  Her creative approach is deeply informed by her background as a dancer, translating the rhythm and fluid lines of human movement into physical forms. Working primarily with bronze and charcoal, she often sources inspiration from the Australian landscape, using natural materials like eucalyptus branches to anchor her organic silhouettes.  Camie has received extensive academic training in Melbourne and Sydney, supplemented by international residencies in countries such as Sweden and Bulgaria. Her professional portfolio includes major commissions for prestigious brands like Tiffany & Co. and the Hilton Hotel, alongside numerous solo exhibitions across Australia and Asia.  Today, her work is held in prominent public and private collections globally, reflecting her status as a significant figure in the contemporary art world. We discussed the discipline of being a professional ballet dancer and her work as an artist and the fabulous influences of one over the other. How her work, despite being in the hard and heavy medium of bronze, is still very intuitive. Very little planning. I found that fascinating. We also talked about the random things that can happen in life and taking the opportunities they may present and the importance of risk and believing in your own process.  To hear our conversation, head to the link in my bio.  Camie (@camie.lyons) is represented by Australian Galleries (@australiangalleries) in Sydney and Melbourne   Images1 CL2 Girl is gone, 2025 bronze 98 x 85 x 513 Slow tumbling house 2025 bronze 60 x 54 x 494 Moving young to a new planet 2025 acrylic and pencil on linen5 Apple and pear 2019 bronze 14 x 14 x 14

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep. 62. Deborah Halpern OAM Deborah Halpern is one of Australia’s most celebrated multi-disciplinary artists, renowned for her vibrant, whimsical public sculptures that have redefined Melbourne’s urban landscape.  Rather than pursuing austere minimalism, which still dominated many sculpture departments, she embraced exuberance. Colour became central to her practice...and over a career spanning more than four decades, Deborah has explored a vast array of mediums, including sculpture, painting, pottery, glass blowing, and printmaking, though she is most famously identified with her monumental mosaic works... large-scale sculptures constructed from fibreglass and steel armatures, clad in hand-cut ceramic tiles. It was a lovely languid conversation about her journey, her processes and, amongst other things, how her international residencies gave her exposure to international artists and had a huge impact on her and her work.  It was also really interesting hearing about her seminal 10m sculpture ‘Angel’ which graced the outside of the National Gallery of Victoria...in particular the constant hurdles she faced in physically making it and finding the finance to finish it.   She’s a big advocate for the benefit of art and public art in particular. Her work is meant to bring joy. To ‘elevate and escalate the art experience’, as she puts it.  To listen to the conversation, head to the link in my bio.Deborah Halpern is represented by @arthousegallery, Sydney@niagaragalleries, Melbourne See more of her works atwww.deborahhalpern.com Images:1 DH by Mia Mala McDonald2 Family 2024 (all works are glass, steel, fibreglass) 345 x 220 x 883 Ophelia 1992 (the face of Melbourne)4 Bodrig the Powerful Owl 2025 116 x 100 x 605 Angel 19886 Flying Fish 2025 50 x 56 x 307 Creature with Green Eyes and Tail 2026 59 x 39 x148 Winged Victory 2026 127 x 56 x 110     

Australian Women Artists The Podcast Ep.61 Julz Beresford  Julz Beresford is known for her amazing gestural depictions of rivers, bushland and alpine terrain.  She has a very distinct, energetic approach to landscape painting which we’ll discuss. Her works showcase the movement and light of the worlds she grew up in... The Snowy Mountains and the Hawkesbury River.  And I wanted to find out how she is able to bring those memories and sensations to the studio.  Her quite rapid rise came after...a very unusual career hiatus in London which, it turns out, became very helpful to the way she works.Julz is represented by Michael Reid Sydney (@michaelreidsydney)And her upcoming exhibition Between Dust & Rain, with former guest @carlylecerf will be at Michael Reid Murrurundi (@murraart) from 1 - 31 May 2026 Images 

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 60 Kiata Mason  Kiata Mason’s work explores the quiet drama of domestic life.  Her paintings showcase rooms we all have and often just rush through them but, like all good painters, Kiata’s work causes us to pause. And reflect.  Her paintings often reference her own family history and the coastal home she now lives and works in.   Kiata’s formal training was at the National Art School in Sydney, where she undertook a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. She later built on this foundation with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Drawing, and then a Master of Fine Arts (Drawing), all at National Art School.  She’s been a finalist and semi-finalist in many major painting prizes including the Sulman, Doug Moran, Black Swan and Paddington art prizes and she has won the Muswellbrook Art prize for works on paper.  Across prizes, residencies and exhibitions, Kiata has held onto a deeply personal, drawing-led practice that honours the everyday without sentimentalising it. Our discussion was broad and covered a lot of areas of interest to all artists I reckon. She’s a deep thinker and a very talented and compassionate painter.  Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation.   @kiatamasonart is represented by @akbellingergallery and   @curatorialandco  Images1 KM2 Breakfast with Dorris, 2019 122 x 913 Because of the Spring Flowers 2019 122 x 924 One of Gran’s Good Plates 2017 45.8 x 615 Surrounded by Art 2025 73 x 906 From the Gallery of Small Things exhibition Paintings and Ceramics, 2026 

Australian Women Artists  The Podcast Ep. 59.  Adriane Strampp  Adriane’s is a fascinating journey. She was born in the United States and educated in the UK before settling in Australia.  She brings the effect of that peripatetic life to her work. Her work is defined by its sensitivity to light, memory and place. Interiors soaked in soft light, distant landscapes, objects held in suspension.  We talked about her fabulously eclectic group of subjects she’s explored in her art including horses, dresses, landscapes, interiors, still lifes and the thread which weaves itself through all of them. She has held more than 30 solo exhibitions around Australia and internationally and has been selected as a finalist multiple times for a number of awards including the Sulman, Dobell, Calleen, Ravenswood, Len Fox and Adelaide Perry.  And alongside her studio practice, Adriane has also made a profound contribution as a teacher. She is also the Founder and Director of the Fitzroy Painting Studio which has had probably thousands of students through its doors.  Head to the link in my bio to listen to our conversation.  Adriane is represented by King Street Gallery on William (Sydney)Jan Manton Gallery (Brisbane) You can see some of her works there or on her website:www.adrianestampp.com  Images 1 AS by Hugh Stewart2 The Wait (long days and longer nights) 2022, 152 x 152 3 Lucy’s Light, 2022, 152 x 1524 Celosia, 2025, 91 x 915 Silent World, 2025, 162 x 2056 Paper Lamp, 2025, 91 x 917 Hydrangea, 2025, 30 x 308 Cornucopia (painting number 2), 1996, 122 x 1539 Passage, 2019, 91 x 91

Australian Women Artists The Podcast Ep. 58 Amanda Penrose Hart  Amanda Penrose Hart is one of Australia’s most compelling contemporary interpreters of landscape.  In fact, judges at the Calleen Art Award recently described her as one of Australia’s most accomplished senior plein-air painters.  Amanda graduated with a Diploma of Fine Art from Queensland College of Art and then a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Griffith University, she developed a practice grounded in drawing, composition and a love of paint – which is becoming a wonderful thread through a number of the artists I’ve spoken to.  Travelling is central to her work: from Sofala and the Central West of New South Wales to European battlefields and coastal sites, she paints landscapes that really feel familiar.  She’s widely exhibited across Australia and has received major recognition including the Gallipoli Art Prize (2017), the Clayton Utz Art Award (2019) and the aforementioned Calleen Art Award (2024). Her work is held in significant public and private collections nationwide as well. Amanda is part of the upcoming exhibition Lustre: Australian Artists in Greece & Crete WWll at Anzac Memorial Hyde Park Sydney. It will open on May 20 and will feature both Amanda and a previous guest on AWA, @joannalogue Head to my bio above to hear our conversation Amanda is represented by:@kingstreetgallery @philipbacongalleriesAnd you will find some of her works there as well as at her website:www.amandapenrosehart.com.au  Images1 APH by Michael Bradfield2 Butter cloud 2021 110 x 110 (oil on canvas)3 Sally’s Flat 2017, 38 x 52 (ooc)4 Go lightly 2023 76 x 120 (oil on board)5 Shepherds lookout ACT 2023 121 x 198 (oil on linen)6 The Somme 1, 2017 100 x 180 (ooc)7 Australian first division memorial, Pozieres 2017 41 x 62 (ooc) 

Australian Women ArtistsThe PodcastEp. 57.     Sophie PerezSophie Perez was born in Brighton, England. Her early love of art led to her formal academic training which culminated in her obtaining a Master of Arts in Painting at the Royal College of Art in London. How she ended up in Australia...is an interesting story. When she settled in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, she embraced the unique landscape, and it informed her artistic practice. Her work was described as loose, gestural brushwork, with sensitive colour relationships that sought to evoke the feeling of place rather than replicate it literally. By the latter half of the 2010s, Sophie’s work had begun to gain broader visibility within Australia. In 2022, she was awarded the People’s Choice Award at the prestigious Paddington Art Prize. She has also been a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize (2020, 2022) and the Lethbridge Landscape Prize. "For me, painting transcends observation—it’s an invitation to connect with the beauty and complexity of our surroundings. Through my obsession to paint, I seek to forge meaningful connections that bridge the gap between artist and audience, celebrating the shared experience of the world around us." Sophie PerezHead to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation...or head to wherever you get your podcasts.Sophie is represented by Australian Galleries, Salt Contemporary Art and Art Images GalleryImages1 SP (in front of The Language of Trees ’ 170 x 300 cm diptych)2 The daily commute, 2025 140 x 130 Oil on Belgian linen (all images are OOBL)3 The joy and weight of MOtherhood 2025 140 x 1304 Sundown 2025 75 x 705 Morning in the studio 2025 45 x 40Check www.australiangalleries.com.au for availability of Sophie's works

Australian Women Artists The Podcast Ep 56.  Caroline Walls Today on the podcast I’m very excited to be joined by Melbourne based contemporary artist Caroline Walls.  Caroline’s work explores the emotional lives of women through really bold but pared-back forms, and it centres on the female body, intimacy and ‘the emotional texture of everyday life’. Her paintings, drawings and sculptures sit between abstraction and figuration and the figures, at first glance appear to be simple flowing lines and rich, earthy tones. But her work makes you stop, look and... feel.  It’s quite extraordinary how her paintings exude such an intimacy through their pared back images.  She has a background in design and spent years living between London and New York. That period exposed her to elements that would later surface in her own studio work through bold silhouettes and controlled colour. She made the enormous decision to return to Australia to undertake studies at the Victorian College of Arts...which brought immediate recognition and changed the course of her life’s journey.  It’s a really interesting discussion about how her practice has evolved and how her experiences as an Australian woman and mother shape the images she now creates.  Caroline has an exhibition 'She Once Was'which runs till March 7, 2026 at Olsen Annexe, Sydney, Australia. Make sure you have a look if you’re in Sydney and you’ll see firsthand what we’re talking about in this conversation.  To hear our conversation, head to the link in my bio or wherever you find your podcasts. To see some of her works you can also head to her website:www.carolinewalls.com Caroline’s solo exhibition can be seen @olsen_gallery @olsen_annexeImages supplied by artist1 & 2 CW 3 All Day Long4 Seasons 5 To Know What to Say6 Into Your Arms7 Are You With Me Now8 Keeping Time9 She Once Was

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 55 Prudence FlintPrudence Flint is one of Australia’s most compelling contemporary painters.For more than three decades, Prudence has been painting seemingly ordinary women in ordinary everyday interiors undertaking ordinary tasks.  And the effect is extraordinary.The paintings are imbued with a stillness and the subjects are caught...almost mid thought. And that is quite captivating. Those (often) solitary figures captured in private moments away from the male gaze. Her work is fabulous, engaging and thought provoking and very recognisable. She has held solo exhibitions in London, Dublin, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart and has exhibited in major state and regional galleries. She is a seven-time finalist in the Archibald Prize. She won the Len Fox Painting Award (2016), the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2010), and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2004). In 2023, Prudence’s work featured in the NGV Triennial at the National Gallery of Victoria. Her work is held by collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery/ Gallery of Modern Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, City of Port Phillip, Artbank, BHP Billiton, City of Gold Coast, University of Wollongong, Castlemaine Art Museum, X Museum, and numerous private collections. It was a great conversation and to hear it, head to the link in my bio above. Prudence is represented by @fineartssydneyImage: PF by Karina Dias Pires

Australian Women Artists The podcast  Ep. 53 Carly le Cerf Over the last decade, I think it would be fair to say that Carly le Cerf has become one of the most quietly compelling voices in contemporary Australian landscape painting. Her paintings exude atmosphere and exhibit a beautiful balance of abstraction and observation. Her approach to colour, atmosphere and, I guess, stillness is what makes Carly le Cerf’s paintings so special and the reason behind her commanding a significant amount of collecting attention.Her inspiration was the, at times, overwhelming desert landscapes of the Pilbara. Those experiences and the influences on her work were profound. We discussed her creative processes in detail which was fascinating. Having seen her work recently at the Sydney Contemporary, I can vouch for the fact that you are drawn into the painting - it’s hard to explain. Her work is often done from an aerial perspective with very little, if any, skyline so the imposing landscape almost hits you in the face and causes you to look quite deeply into it. It was also interesting talking about her Blue Mountains residency which meant a whole new colour palette and a whole new range of issues to resolve. She's done it brilliantly. Head to the link in my bio to listen to her episode.  Carly is represented by Michael Reid Galleries and has an exhibition at Michael Reid Murrurundi (with Julz Beresford in partnership with R.M. Williams) in May 2026.   Images1.   Cerly le Cerf2.   Into Her Mystic 2023, 120 x 1203.   Oasis 2022, 104 x 2884.   Looking Out Over Redgums, 2025, 180 x 1205.   Wayfinding, 2025, 180 x 1206.   A Painters Path, 2025, 180 x 1207.   That Alluring Diamond Haze, 2025, 120 x 90

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 51 Nusra Latif Qureshi A conversation with Dr Rebecca Coates (MUMA) My podcast guest today is Dr Rebecca Coates, and we will be talking about one of Australia's most compelling contemporary artists, Nusra Latif Qureshi. Nusra Latif Qureshi bridges the ancient tradition of South Asian miniature painting with what has been described as, ‘urgent contemporary concerns about migration, identity, and cultural displacement.’  Her distinctive artistic practice challenges conventional boundaries between traditional and contemporary art forms. She has been granted numerous international prizes and residencies in locations such as New York, Los Angeles, and Banff. Her works are held in esteemed collections including the British Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, the Parliament of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Smith College Museum of Art, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts. ‘She points to history’s erasures, traces and ghostly images and encourages us to look, and then look again. Qureshi does not tell us what was once there but asks us to distinguish between what was and what remains.’Hammad Nasar, 2005 Dr Rebecca Coates is a very accomplished museum director, curator, writer and lecturer. She is currently the Director of the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) having previously been Artistic Director and CEO of the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM). She has also worked at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Museum of Modern Art Oxford.  Over the course of her career, Dr Coates has curated over 50 exhibitions and organised programs for many of Australia’s leading contemporary art spaces, as well as international art museums and galleries.  Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation https://nusraqureshi.com/https://www.monash.edu/muma/home Nusra is represented by Sutton Gallery, Melbourne

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp 50 Tracey Moffatt(A conversation with Amanda Love)To celebrate the new year AND the 50 th post for AWA (!!!) I wanted to start with a personal favourite artist - Tracey Moffatt. There’s an argument to say Tracey Moffatt is probably Australia’s most successful artist ever, both nationally and internationally. She is certainly one of the few Australian artists to have established a global market for her work. A filmmaker as well as photographer, Tracey has held around 100 solo exhibitions of her work in Europe, the United States and Australia. In 2017, she had the rare honour of representing Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale with her solo exhibition, "My Horizon".To discuss artist Tracey Moffatt, I’m joined in this podcast conversation by Amanda Love. Amanda is the principal at the fabulously named Love Art Advisory and is one of Australia’s most insightful and influential figures in contemporary art. She has been an independent art advisor and active art advocate for over 30 years, and an integral part of the international Art Basel network. She has served on the Board of Artspace and the Biennale of Sydney, Australia's largest contemporary art event, for over 10 years. She is not only a passionate collector, she has a Masters in Fine Arts (Hons) and holds the Christies Diploma of Fine Art, been an accredited valuer for over 20 years and has spoken as an expert on contemporary art in Australia and overseas, including at the State Library, NSW, National Gallery of Scotland, Arco in Madrid, the MCA, Sydney, the AGNSW, and Melbourne's Heide Museum. She has lectured for Christies Australia and regularly advised on Australian Art Collector Magazine's 50 Most Important Artists selection Panel.To hear our conversation, head to the link in my bio.For photos of Tracey’s work I’ll be posting a separate post in my instagram account, @australianwomenartists. Instagram image: TM by Claudia Fitzpatrick

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 49 Dr Bonita ElyBonita Ely stands as one of Australia's most significant contemporary artists.She is a pioneering voice whose work has consistently challenged audiences to confront envir0nmentaI degradation and s0cio-poIiticaI realities through innovative conceptual art practices. She has a diverse practice that spans sculpture, installation, performance, video, and photography, establishing herself as a formidable force in both Australian and international art contexts. Bonita's work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the National Gallery of Australia. Her influence on younger generations of artists working with environmental themes cannot be overstated. By establishing environmental art as a legitimate and powerful form of artistic practice in Australia, she opened pathways for countless artists to engage with ecoIogicaI themes through their work. Head to the link in my bio to hear this episodeImages1 BE by Jessica Maurer2 Menindee Fish KiII 2019 image: Melissa Williams-Brown3 Murray River Punch 19804 Recipe for MRP5 Great Artesian Basin Map 2022 installed on the floor with its legend displayed on the wall6 The Dancers 2022 Felt silk charcoal paper bone plywood. The Great Artesian Basin map, to Bonita, resembles a Spanish dancer - in mourning

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp 48 Kaylene Whiskey(A conversation with Professor Dr Natalie King OAM)I’m excited to bring this episode to you. I'm talking to Professor Dr Natalie King OAM and we are discussing the incredible unique work of indigenous artist Kaylene Whiskey. Natalie King is an Australian curator, writer, editor and Professor of Visual Arts, Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne. She has curated three national pavilions at the Venice Biennale (including the Australian Pavilion 2017, the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion 2022 and the inaugural Timor-Leste Pavilion 2024). She has contributed to many leading international art publications and serves as President of Australia (International Association of Art Critics, Paris). Her most recent publication is The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do you believe in Love? A monograph edited by Natalie and the team at Iwantja Arts. It's the first major monograph of Kaylene's work. Kaylene Whiskey is a Yankunytjatjara artist born in Indulkana, South Australia, and is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Australian art. Living and working in the APY Lands, Kaylene creates paintings that combine the vivid visual language of desert art with the glitter and glamour of global pop culture. Her works are filled with famous and iconic women who coexist with Anangu women in scenes of daily life, dance, and laughter. Through this vibrant and unexpected fusion, Kaylene Whiskey redefines what contemporary Indigenous art can be. Join me in this fabulous conversation by heading to the link in my bio above. www.natalieking.com.auhttps://thamesandhudson.com.au/products/art-of-kaylene-whiskey-do-you-believe-in-loveImages (details)KW by Jackson LeeMichael J 2018 acrylic on linen 91 x 122Do You Believe In Love? 2019 acrylic on linen 167 x 198Seven Sisters Song 2021 water based enamel on SA Tourist Attraction road sign 120 x 180 x 3Flying Over Indulkana 2022 acrylic on digital print on rag paper 91 x 156Dolly's Birthday 2024 acrylic on linen 167 x 198The book 

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp 47 Robyn StaceyRobyn Stacey is one of Australia’s most established and respected photographers, exhibiting widely in Australia and internationally since the mid-1980s. As a photographer and installation artist she is celebrated for transforming ordinary spaces into cinematic worlds of light, history, and intimacy. Through large-scale photographs, camera obscura works (which we talk about in our conversation), and evocative still lifes, she reimagines how we see the domestic and the personal. Her art invites us to look closer to discover the stories within. Besides her many accolades and awards, Robyn was featured in Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now, a landmark exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Australia that was aimed to highlight the contributions of women artists to Australia’s cultural landscape (sounds like a familiar theme). Head to the link in my bio for our conversationSome of her images are on my instagram. You can see others on her websitewww.robynstacey.com.auShe's represented by Darren Knight Gallery, SydneyJan Manton Gallery, BrisbanePDNB Gallery, DallasImages (detail)1 RS by Brett Boardman Studio2 Thursday 14 December 2023 at 10:46:18 photographic print 120x1603 Aurum 2019 photographic print on metallic paper 154x1794 Wendy and Brett Whiteley's Library 2016 Type c print 110x1595 Comfort Inn Riviera SAMHRI 2016 Thpe c print 110x1476 Fontaine de Vaucluse 2009 Type c print 120cx1707 Ice 1989 Gloss cibachrome print 120 x 202

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep 46 Michaye Boulter Michaye is a painter whose evocative seascapes and atmospheric horizons capture the delicate balance between isolation and connection.  She was born in Brisbane and at a very early age moved to Tasmania’s wild southern coastlines. Her father was a fisherman, and this meant Michaye’s life was sailing, fishing, and living close to water. These early experiences instilled in her a profound sensitivity to the ocean’s moods and mysteries, which would later become central to her visual language.  Her works often explore the human experience of solitude within nature’s immense presence, rendered through subtle layers of oil that convey both stillness and movement.  It’s been said that her paintings invite contemplation and quiet emotion, and my recent viewing of her works would definitely confirm that. Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation***NB Michaye's next exhibition is Thursday 5 March 2026 at Art House Gallery in Sydney - the date has changed since our recording***  Michaye is represented by Arthouse Gallery in SydneyBett Gallery in Hobart To see more of her works head to those gallery websites or www.michayeboulter.com Insta images 1.   MB supplied by artist2.   A passage of light oil on linen triptych 153 x 3663.   Atmospheres oil on linen. 102 x 1534.   Morning watch oil on board triptych 20 x 475.   Portal oil on hadn beaten steel 86 x 70

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 45 Loribelle SpirovskiToday it’s my privilege to be joined by Australian contemporary artist Loribelle Spirovski. Loribelle's passion for art began very early. She and her family moved to Australia from the Philippines when she was a young girl. This experience was very formative and continues to shape her practice. Her formal art education began at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, and after graduating, Loribelle quickly established herself in the Australian art scene. Her early works were marked by introspective themes, often reflecting the emotional complexities of migration, identity, and cultural hybridity. She began exhibiting in group shows and small galleries, gradually gaining recognition for her distinctive style that fused photorealistic detail with surreal, dreamlike compositions. We had a great chat covering a broad range of topics...like how the colours of Australia were almost overwhelming when she first came here as a child, why she focussed on portraiture, how and why American filmmaker David Lynch became such a big influence, how a huge effort on her part to create her first Archibald entry almost led to her giving up on that prize...but her response was fabulous. And actor John Bell was a big part of that. How a painful condition led her to sit disconsolate in front of her easel not being able to hold a paintbrush, then she started listening to Indigenous musician William Barton and instinct took over, she threw away the brush, put on some gloves...and finger painted. The portrait won the Archibald People's Choice in 2025.A finalist in the Archibald Prize 4 times, the Portia Geach Memorial Award 8 times and a finalist in The Lester Prize for Portraiture. Loribelle has exhibited widely across Australia, Europe, and the United States. Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation.Her works are available via @nandahobbs @arcadiagallery @lennoxstgalleryInsta images1. LS (supplied by artist)2. Finger painting of William Barton 2025 oil on canvas 182 x 1373. The Alchemist oil on canvas 150 x 1204. John Bell at home 2017 oil on canvas 166 x 110

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 44 Rachael SarraRachael Sarra is a proud Goreng Goreng woman whose incredible work bridges fine art, design, business and education. You might know Rachael’s powerful visual language from a postage stamp that commemorated the 1967 Referendum, from murals lighting up Brisbane, or from collaborations with major brands like Kmart and Tourism Australia. Her artistic style is distinct and contemporary, characterised by vibrant, striking, fabulous colours including purples, pinks, greens, oranges, and blues. As I said it’s visually striking and engaging. However, beneath the aesthetic appeal, her work is deeply rooted in her heritage. She’s also the creator of vibrant resources for schools and a children’s book introducing counting through Aboriginal art. Basically, she has helped shift perceptions of what Indigenous art can be. We had a great chat. It was covering topics such as exploring creativity, challenging dynamics and spaces and breaking moulds. We discussed her unique use of colours and the use of colours being a conscious decision but in many ways it's also a sub conscious decision. How she feels the weight of responsibility. How much of herself she can give to corporates.It was an important conversation, engaging and honest.Head to the link in my bio to have a listen. Head to Rachael's website to have a look at some of her workwww.rachaelsarra.com

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep. 43        The Boyd Women Artists: The Hidden Line.                    A conversation with curator Sophie O’Brien For decades, the Boyd name has resonated through Australian art history — yet the creative lives of the Boyd women, the artists who worked in the shadows and around the edges of that celebrated dynasty, have too often been overlooked. At Bundanon NSW, a remarkable new exhibition is changing that. The exhibition is called The Hidden Line: The Art of the Boyd Women and it brings together paintings, drawings, ceramics and textiles that reveal a brilliant artistic lineage stretching back through 5 generations of Boyd women. The exhibition could almost be described as a redrawing of the Boyd family story, revealing the works of women whose contributions were always there, just not always seen. At the heart of this reclamation is Sophie O’Brien. Sophie is a very successful curator, director and writer. She has previously worked in senior curatorial leadership roles at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Aotearoa New Zealand, and at the Serpentine Galleries and Tate Britain in London. She has also worked on numerous large-scale commissions with renowned international artists and has previously led the exhibition teams for the Australian Pavilions at the Venice Biennale and the Biennale of Sydney.  We had a lovely conversation about the discoveries, the surprises, and the emotional resonance of finally bringing the Boyd women into the light. The exhibition is now on at Bundanon till Feb 2026. Follow the link to find out more.https://www.bundanon.com.au/the-hidden-line/With greatest of thanks to @articulate.advisory and @sian_davies for inviting meInsta images:1 Mary Nolan, Tessa, Arles 19642 Yvonne Boyd, Melbourne Tram 1944 oil on muslin on cardboard3 Lucy Boyd Beck, Orpheus and Eurydice c 1974-9 glazed stoneware painting4 Hermia Boyd & David Boyd Jug with rabbit, bird and fox undated, ceramic5 Lucy Boyd, Pulpit Rock 1985 oil on canvas6 Portrait room, Bundanon

Australian Women Artists The podcast  Ep. 42 Natasha Walsh Natasha Walsh doesn’t make art for the Archibald Portrait Prize. She is really interested in building her practice in a way that interests her. Nevertheless, in 2025, in her early 30s, she became an Archibald finalist for the 8th time! One of those finalist years (2018), coincided with her winning the Kilgour Prize, the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship and the Mosman Art Prize tying with Margaret Olley as the youngest ever winner.  But it certainly hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Far from it. It was a lovely long, far ranging, very open and, at times, emotional conversation. Which isn’t surprising given her horrific experiences in Paris whilst attending the Whiteley Scholarship.  But I reckon Natasha is very brave. In life as well as her art.  We discussed the enormous effect her dyslexia and ADHD had on her life and how the Nat. Art School helped smooth some paths for her. It was a beautiful insight to an artist’s mind and thinking and creative process.  With her experimentations (especially with copper) and successes and persistence and resilience and her constant challenging of existing structures of bias...it’s little wonder she’s been described as a key figure in a new generation of Australian artists.   Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation.  Natasha is represented by N.Smith Gallery  Insta images 1 NW portrait by Janie Barrett2 Dear Hilma (The quiet point of a meeting), 2022 oil on copper 30 x 22 cm3 The Voyeur (formerly Untitled) 2023 oil on copper 60x60 reference Egon Schiele The Hermits (Self portrait with Gustav Klimt 1912)4 Portrait of a Young Medusa 2023 oil on copper 26x18 sitter: Montaigne (profile Portrait of a Young Lady 1465)5 The Yellow Odalisque of Brunswick 2024 oil on copper 53x50 sitter Atong Atem (reference Matisse Yellow Odalisque 1937)6 Dreaming of rose scented tea leaves carried to me on a summer breeze 2025 oil & pigment on copper 74x100

Australian Women Artists The podcast Ep. 41 Evelyn Chapman - a conversation with Dr Anne Gerard-Austin  Dr. Anne Gérard-Austin is the Curator of International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales and a significant contributor to the current exhibition at the AGNSW, Dangerously Modern, Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940. And we were discussing the Australian artist, Evelyn Chapman.By the time World War I ended in November 1918, Evelyn Chapman was already an established young painter, with training in Sydney, Paris, and London (which is a story in itself!). Like many artists of her generation, she had been profoundly shaped by her exposure to European modernist ideas before the war. However, it was the devastation of the conflict — and her extraordinary access to the Western Front — that would give her most enduring works their form and content.Evelyn Chapman’s work from France is characterised by the juxtaposition of devastation and rebirth. She recorded shattered churches, cratered fields, destroyed villages, and trenches filled with wreckage. Yet, unlike official war artists who often focused on the mechanics of war and military life, Chapman’s eye lingered on the aftermath: broken walls standing against the sky, poppies springing up from scarred ground, light piercing through collapsed arches.On returning to Paris in 1919–20, her battlefield works were exhibited at the Salon des Beaux Arts, where they were admired for their emotional clarity and technical execution.  Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation   Instagram images 1.   Ruined church with poppies, Villers-Bretonneux circa 1919 oil & tempera on thick grey cardboard 39 x 30.5  2.   EC painting at Villers-Bretonneux gelatin silver photograph 19.9 x 15  3.   Old trench, French battlefield 1919 oil & tempera on textured grey paper on cardboard 54 x 73.3  4.   Interior of a ruined church, France 1919 oil & tempera on grey card on board 56.3 x 41.4 5.   Ruined buildings 1919 oil & tempera on grey card 28.8 x 38.5 cm board 6.   May Moore, portrait of Evelyn Chapman 1920–1928 gelatin silver photograph 14.8 x 8.4 

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 40 Amber WallisAmber Wallis has carved out a distinctive space in contemporary painting with canvases that blend abstraction and figuration, intimacy and intensity. Her art often emerges from deeply personal narratives. Amber holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Canberra School of Art and a Master of Visual Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts. The VCA years were formative: she pushed an already fluid practice toward a deliberately unstable seam between figuration and abstraction, learning to let images “stain” their way into being on raw or lightly primed linen. In 2008 Amber won the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, one of Australia’s most significant awards for an emerging painter. The prize took her to Paris for a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts, and we had an interesting discussion on the affect that had not just on her, but on her art. By 2009, Amber's raw, expressive works were exhibiting regularly along Australia’s East Coast.  By the mid-2010s, Wallis had consolidated a national profile. Amber's work entered more collections and she was shortlisted for major prizes: Sunshine Coast Art Prize, the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize and the Evelyn Chapman Art Award. In 2022, she won the inaugural Wollumbin Art Award and has been a finalist in numerous other awards including the Sir John Sulman Prize (twice), Bayside Painting Prize, Geelong Contemporary Art Award.It was a really interesting conversation as we covered a lot of her life and art. Head to the link in my bio to hear this episode.Amber is represented in Brisbane by Jan Murphy GalleryImages1. AW by Kate Holmes2. Women 2020 oil on linen 120x1503. Soft figure 2025 oil on linen 135x1204. Glowing house structure 2025 oil on linen 135x1205. Orange warm protective watchers 2024 oil on linen 150x120

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 39 Justine Kong SingA conversation with Monique Watkins (AGNSW)A few of Justine Kong Sing's works are on display at the new exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, Dangerously Modern, Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940. I had the privilege of sitting down with Monique Watkins to discuss this extraordinarily talented artist who has been largely overlooked in the Australian art canon......My special guest today on the podcast is curator Monique Watkins, and this discussion took place in the Art Gallery of NSW. We were discussing the relatively unknown but brilliant, Justine Kong Sing.Monique Watkins is a curator, writer and editor with experience working at leading cultural organisations in Sydney, including Kaldor Public Art Projects, White Rabbit Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She contributed an essay on Justine for the accompanying book to the exhibition Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890-1940. Monique's research has helped pave the way for a wider appreciation of Justine's work.Justine Kong Sing grew up in rural New South Wales during the 1870s and 1880s. As the daughter of a Hong Kong Chinese miner, she navigated the (I guess the polite way of saying it is...) complex social landscape of late 19th and early 20th century Australia ...all the while establishing herself as a skilled artist whose work would eventually gain recognition in major galleries across Australia and Europe. It’s a fascinating story often overlooked. To hear our conversation head to the link in my bio above or head to wherever you find your podcasts.  Instagram images 1. Me, 1912watercolour on ivoryDimensions6.1 x 4.5 cm 2. Chums 1911Materials usedwatercolour on ivoryDimensions9.5 x 7.4 cm  3. Madame Sze, wife of the Chinese Minister (c. 1914-1916)watercolour on ivoryMeasurements 9.5 × 7.7 cm

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 38 Robyn Sweaney  Robyn Sweaney is a contemporary artist who began exhibiting her work regularly from about 1992.  Her early work included still-life compositions, landscapes, and portraiture.  After relocating to northern New South Wales, she was inspired by her surrounds by painting houses. She could merge her philosophical interests with visual storytelling. And the paintings are beautifully reminiscent. But not in a ‘I prefer the old days’ sort of way. She just captures a moment.  More specifically... “Domestic dwellings divulge more than their mere exteriors, functioning as physical incarnations of the aesthetic, ideological and social structures influencing human behaviour. Informed by travel through familiar and unfamiliar rural and suburban places, Robyn finds that, ‘certain elements of place resonate an unexplainable reaction within me – something ignites deep within memory. The landscape is somehow opened up by the search itself and my response can reach beyond its visual appearance’.” Her work has been described as emotional portraits of place, capturing the essence of lived experience through facades and fences.  Robyn has been involved in over one hundred group exhibitions. She was the winner of the Wynne Trustees’ Watercolour Prize, AGNSW (2019) and has been the finalist of many major awards including multiple times for the Wynne Prize, Salon Des Refusés, Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Prize, Mosman Art Prize, Paddington Art Prize, Moran Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Award and has also been a finalist in the Sulman Prize. Her work is held in public and private collections throughout Australia.  Head to the link in my bio for our podcast conversation   Images RS image: Danny Sweaney, Oh Boy Agency Dreams and Imaginings, 2024acrylic on polycotton40 x 50 cm, 42.5 x 52.5 cmEndless Blue, 2024acrylic on polycotton50 x 70 cm, 52.5 x 72.5 cm Out of the Blue, 2024acrylic on polycotton95 x 135 cm, 97.5 x 137.5 cm  Parts of the whole, 2025acrylic on polycotton50 x 70 cm, 52.5 x 72.5 cm 

Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEp. 37 Daphne Mayo and Vida Lahey - A conversation with Samantha Littley QAGOMASamantha Littley is a distinguished Australian art curator who, for the last 6 years has been the Curator of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. With a diverse background spanning major cultural institutions including the Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia, and Australian National University, Samantha brings extensive expertise to contemporary and historical Australian art and is the curator of the magnificent ‘Under a Modern Sun: Art in Queensland 1930s–1950s’ at the Queensland Art Gallery from 16 August 2025.  Vida Lahey and Daphne Mayo feature in the exhibition.  Vida Lahey was a pioneering Australian artist whose work and advocacy played a formative role in Queensland’s cultural development. Known for her vibrant still lifes, sensitive landscapes, and iconic painting "Monday Morning”.  Daphne Mayo MBE was known for her work in sculpture, particularly the tympanum of Brisbane City Hall and the Women's War Memorial in ANZAC Square. She’s one of Australia's most significant C20th sculptors at a time when the field was overwhelmingly dominated by men. She created some of Brisbane's most iconic public monuments but also challenged societal expectations. Their work together in advocating for arts and artists in Qld is legendary.Head to the link in my bio for the episode Images 1.  DM working on Bris City Hall Tympanum 19302.   Working on Qld’s Women’s War Memorial 19323.   Fat man 1940 bronze 29 x 9.8 x 154.   VL Monday morning 1912 oil on canvas 153 x 122.75.   Sultry noon (Central Station Brisbane) 1931 oil on canvas on plywood 44.7x49.26.   Building the bridge 1931 watercolour & gouache over pencil on wove paper on         cardboard 25.3 x 30.37.   Art and nature 1934 watercolour 52.5 x 60.6 (includes the relief by DM)8.  A mixed bunch 1936 watercolour on cream wove paper 40 x 40