Jenny Birt Painting Prize
I was pretty excited and honoured to be nominated by Dr Clare Milledge as an entrant into the Jenny Birt Painting Prize with my work Your space, My space, Our space, but to be a finalist was incredibly humbling. The work is about defining spaces I once could not occupy as an openly gay man through the use of colour and colour vibration. I aim to continue this work and look forward to see how it transforms over the coming years.
Political Pop!
This exhibition reimagined pop art as a weapon for social change, tackling a variety of social issues across existing and new works. In conjunction with artist Jeremy Smith’s Half way PhD show, I exhibited Murals, sculptured works, reimagined protest signs, and witty dissections of advertising and street art aesthetics that challenge conventional narratives, reframed through a Political Pop lens. This exhibition challenges viewers to see beyond the surface, sparking critical discourse about the power structures shaping our world. A vibrant and confrontational encounter with Political Pop that demands action, reclaims visual language and injects it with a powerful political punch.
UNSW BFA 3rd year Open Studios 2024 – Paddington NSW – 18 April 2024
In our 3rd year as undergraduate students we put on a show based on a sample of experimental works from term 1. All students went above and beyond and created a resolved piece of work to exhibit. I entered my work I have something a lot to say which explores my lived experience as a gay man, celebrating LGBTQ+ life while confronting the discrimination I faced in my teens and early adult hood.
In this work I use advertising and protest/graffiti aesthetics in a three-dimensional form to challenge conventional narratives and reclaim derogatory language against the gay community. By reclaiming and transforming, my art aims to spark reflection and contemplation on a dark past, future social change and personal expression.
Hawkesbury Agricultural Show 2024 – Clarendon NSW – 19 April to 21 April 2024
This year I entered the updated Friendship #3 that became the #fiddy. The painting won first prize in the Open – Local District Artist category.
Royal Easter Show – Olympic Park NSW – 22 March to 2 April 2024
Friendship #1 was entered into the show and it sold…! Thank you buyer, I hope the work brings you years of pleasure.
Hawkesbury Now 2023 – Windsor NSW – 27 October to 3 December 2023
Friendship #1 is the first of a four 4 painting series featuring Gary Pankhurst as Sonny with “Skippy, the bush Kangaroo” from the television series of the same name.
The background of the work has been painted and sanded in several layers to replicate the addition and loss of memory as we age. The spray cans represent “Can Culture”, exploring the relationship between colonial Australian culture from the second half of the 20th century and advertising.
I finished the painting by incorporating nostalgia from my childhood in the 1970’s. Skippy was part of that childhood, and the title I felt was fitting; after all, what child wouldn’t want a Friendship like the friendship between Sonny and Skippy.
Macquarie Towns Arts Society Spring Affair 2023 – 20 October to 22 October 2023
I am honoured to have won first place in the category of Contemporary and Mixed Media, but I was blown away to win Best in Show. Thank you to the hard working committee of MTAS and a special thank you to the Judge, 1967 Archibald Prize finalist, Jocelyn Maughan, for selecting my paining, truly honoured.
NOTHING TO LOSE, 2023, UNSW Art and Design Quadrangle, Paddington, NSW, 17 August 2023
This body of work references protest strategies of the 1950’s and 60’s, in an effort to encourage the Australian public to vote yes in the 2023 referendum on establishing a First Nations Voice to Parliament. By employing text in painting and the idea of bringing painting off the canvas and into the world around us, I have used a material that reflects the fragility of the Australian public’s view on the referendum. Despite being rigid, cardboard has a degree of fragility in its composition, being made of compressed layers of paper, it easily shows its creases and tears.
I wanted the artwork to have an element of abstraction so people can interpret the painting in their own way, however, I also want the work to influence their decision relating to the referendum in a positive way. By using abstraction, I aim to invite the audience to come closer to the work to identify the message within the painting.
Analysing the text from the Australian Voice to Parliament Referendum, the proposed law, the proposed constitutional change and the No Vote essay, I have reduced the information down into one key message to sway “No” voters into voting “Yes”.
With the notion that there is NOTHING TO LOSE by voting yes, I have created a sculpted painting of cardboard boxes reminiscent of painted cardboard protest signs of the 1950’s and 60’s. The phrase “Nothing to Lose” has been disseminated into multiple different phrases and single words such as; Lose Nothing, Lose No Thing, No Thing to Lose, No Thing, Nothing, Lose, To and Thing. The large scale of the installation gives the audience a tangible experience with the work in a 3-dimensional space. The complicated ties between protest and the usage of language are reflected in the layering of paint under and over the text on the cardboard.
BentArt Prize 2023 – 9 June to 12 June 2023
My first year as an entrant into the Bent Art Prize in Katoomba, NSW. It was an honour to have my work “Reflections of BJ in blue major” exhibited alongside over 130 works by artists from the GLBTQI+ community. A big shout out to BJ Gruber (@bjgruber for once again allowing me to use his image) and to Austin Ruffer (@austinyourface) who took these amazing photos. Without these two gentlemen this cyanotype print of BJ on calico would never have come to fruition.
Thank you to the curator, Jacob Appleton, who purchased the work.
Macquarie Towns Arts Society Autumn Exhibition 2023 – 26 May to 28 May 2023
I entered a print I had made at Uni as part of my Printmaking 2 assessment, themed material and immateriality. The print, “War & Peace”, is based on the current situation in the Ukraine. The print took first prize in the Printmaking section of the MTAS Autumn Exhibition.
Hawkesbury Show 2023 – 28 April to 30 April 2023
Hawkesbury Regional Art Fair 2022 – Windsor NSW – 23 September to 23 October 2022
It’s great to be exhibiting again at this years Hawkesbury Art Fair held at the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in Windsor. The theme this year is “Resilience“, so I entered my “Love Not War #2” painting in honour of those in the Ukraine and my “Two Flags Part 1” painting which is all about identity.
MTAS Autumn Exhibition – Richmond NSW – 27 May to 29 May 2022
I entered my “Redhead after Piet Mondrian” painting into the contemporary section of the exhibition and to my delight the painting won Best in Show.
Pop! Politics – Aarwun Gallery – Canberra – 8 April to 25 April 2022
Pop! Politics is a collection of my work from mid 2019, through the past 2 years of the pandemic, to now, 2022. The collection is inspired by my trips to the USA in 2018/2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and local politics. I try to look on the lighter side of life and that is reflected in my political paintings.
My goal with the Pop! Politics exhibition was to create a body of work that entertains you, but mostly makes you smile. Hope you enjoyed the show…!
Hawkesbury Regional Art Fair 2021 – 8 November – 5 December 2021
At this years Hawkesbury Art Fair held at the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in Windsor, I entered my COVID inspired “Astra Boy” and “Red Head after Piet Mondrian” paintings.
It has been a year now since I started exhibiting my paintings and what a year it has been….!
Winner of the inaugural National Contemporary Art Prize – People’s Choice Award 2021
In late June 2021, I entered the first 3 paintings from “The Picket Line” series in the inaugural National Capital Art Prize. To my delight, the Julia Gillard panel, “Red Heads Rule…!” was selected as a finalist. I was extremely excited to be a finalist in this, my first art prize.
There were 131 finalists across 5 categories, Open, Landscape, Indigenous, Student and a People’s Choice award voted by the public. On the 29th of October I was announced the Winner of the inaugural NCAP People’s Choice Award at the opening of the NCAP Exhibition and Awards night in our nations capitol, Canberra, at Aarwun Gallery.
I would like to thank Robert and the team at Aarwun Gallery for founding this prize and their support through the process. To the judges, thank you for choosing my painting as a finalist and finally to my family, friends, colleagues and all on the social media platforms who voted for this painting… thank you from the bottom of my spray painted heart…!
In the month following the prize, the Julia Gillard”Red Heads Rule…! panel has been quite popular and I have been commissioned for 6 replicas.
50Squared Art Prize – Brunswick Street Galley – June/July 2021
I wanted to enter a couple of new and different exhibitions this year starting with the 50Squared Art Prize in Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery. I entered my Farbestein and redhead paintings and I think they came out great amongst the outstanding company they were hung with.
I Love Windsor (NSW) Street Art project – November 2020
The curator of the Hawkesbury Art Fair told me about this wonderful project in Windsor NSW, where 7 locations had been chosen for local artists to re-energise a space or object. All I had to do was choose a location and submit my design. To my delight my design was chosen..! Here are some photos of Windsorbot…! If you can find a binary to text translator, see if you can translate his sign :0)
Friends of the Hawkesbury art community & Regional Gallery Inc – Creativity under Corona exhibition – 7th & 8th November 2020
This will be my first hands on exhibition where I will be talking to the public about my art and selling my latest collection of Table Top Miniatures I’ve been working on over September and October. I’m looking forward to showcasing and selling smaller versions of my work including some new pieces inspired by street artist Banksy.
Macquarie Towns Art Society Spring Affair 2020 – 24th, 25th, 31st October & 7th & 14th November
As a member of MTAS, I was able to submit 3 painting for the annual Spring Affair, in the non-traditional category. I entered Mickey’s Electric Love, Marilyberty #2 and Blue Wren #2.
It was great assisting the members of the art society complete the hanging of the works submitted for this years fair and I am looking forward to volunteering my time during the fairs duration.
The end result looks amazing and showcases an incredible display of local (very) talented artists.
Hawkesbury Art Fair 2020 – 26 September – 29 November 2020
In 2020 I joined the Macquarie Towns Arts Society, who are invited annually to participate in the Hawkesbury Art Fair at the Hawkesbury regional Gallery in Windsor. Being a member I was able to enter 2 paintings under the MTAS banner in their exhibit.
I had chosen 2 different subjects, Love Is…. #1 (122cm x 81cm) and Red, White, Black & Blue #1 (60cm x 60cm). Five days before delivering my work I discovered I had misread the dimension criteria and my pieces were too big, so I had to replicate the 2 pieces in smaller formats…. in 5 days….!
Its great working under a tight deadline, focusing the creative process, making the wooden box canvases, priming them, doing the art work, recutting the stencils, painting them, applying the resin and getting it to set in time…… all good fun and out of the process came Love is…. #2 (60cm x 34cm) and Red, White, Black & Blue #2 (21cm x 21cm), both delivered on time.
The day after I delivered the pieces to the gallery, I had a call from the curator of the exhibition asking me to enter a third piece, so Giraffe #1 also made the exhibition.
I was really excited to see my work hanging in a gallery for the first time, it really popped against the white walls and bright lighting. And I had my first Gallery sale….! This is the beginning of things to come….!