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Brunswick Street Gallery

  • Fifty Squared Art Prize 2025
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    • IMPORTANT INFO FOR ARTISTS
ARTIST PROFILES
ARTIST PROFILE: MATTO LUCAS
ARTIST PROFILE: MATTO LUCAS
ARTIST PROFILE: KYLE KM
ARTIST PROFILE: KYLE KM
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ARTIST PROFILE: JOANA PARTYKA
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ARTIST PROFILE: AYMAN KAAKE
ARTIST PROFILE: JOHN GATIP
ARTIST PROFILE: JOHN GATIP
ARTIST PROFILE: CARO LIDDELL
ARTIST PROFILE: CARO LIDDELL
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ARTIST PROFILE: GIORGIA BEL
artist profile: edie atkins
artist profile: edie atkins
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ARTIST PROFILE: SIMONE LINSSEN
SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE: ROZALIE SHERWOOD
SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE: ROZALIE SHERWOOD
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SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE: BRITTANY JONES
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SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE: ALEXANDRA SLOANE
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: JADE LISTER-BUTTLE
ARTIST PROFILE: IAN KINGSFORD-SMITH
ARTIST PROFILE: IAN KINGSFORD-SMITH
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: DARCY MCCRAE
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: JEDDA CLAY
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ARTIST PROFILE: CARA COOMBE
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: HILARY GREEN
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: AMELIA JANE
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: INGRID K BROOKER
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: CHLOE CADAY
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: VOULA CHRISTOPOULOS
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: ALLISON TAPLIN
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: JENNIFER TARRY-SMITH
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: TAHLIA MCCUSKEY
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STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: TATSUYA UCHIDA
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: MARION ABRAHAM
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: MARION ABRAHAM
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: KARI HENRIKSEN
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: KARI HENRIKSEN
ARTIST PROFILE: KIM PASSALAQUA
ARTIST PROFILE: KIM PASSALAQUA
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: EDAN AZZOPARDI
STOCKROOM SPOTLIGHT: EDAN AZZOPARDI
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ARTIST PROFILE: DAVID LINDESAY

March 20, 2020

Our latest Artist Profile is with artist David Lindesay, whose exhibition Adam’s Ale is currently presented at Brunswick Street Gallery.

‘I’m an Australian photographer and visual artist, currently working with the body, and engaging in documentary story telling. I am particularly interested in the social and cultural politics of the body, which has led to me exploring contemporary ideas around the ideal male form and, most recently, naturally distorting this ideal by immersing the body in water. In my documentary pursuits I am intrigued by the photograph’s ability to tell a story; and, as greater context is created with the addition of more and more images, I am drawn to explore the powerful narratives that emerge.

I shoot using a Polaroid 600, a Mamiya 645e, and sometimes a little Olympus OMD; each camera offers a different way of seeing the world.’

What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I predominately work with monochrome, square format polaroid film, though have recently begun using its colour equivalent. The medium offers two distinct qualities that enhance my creative practice. The first is making something tangible and unique in an instant and ubiquitous digital age. The second is that the physical act of creating a polaroid has an element of magic to it, similar to open tray darkroom printing, watching the image materialise from the blank chemical layers within the film. These two qualities of the medium, coupled with their reproduction on silk banners, makes my photography physical and interactive, something that is quite difficult for a 2D, often digital, and everyday medium.

Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

First I'll be drawn to an aesthetic or an idea, or have an issue I want to explore; then I work on finding a way to make it my own. I begin by thinking about how I want the work to look, and how I want the viewer to experience it. Then I work backwards, experimenting and testing different ways of getting to the final destination. This often leads to changes in the final work from the initial visualisation but creates different and often stronger work; the path to the final presentation is organic and an integral part of the work. I’m constantly aware of the artistic choices and decisions that I make and the impact they have on the viewer’s experience of the work. My aim is to achieve a clean, clear presentation so as not to distract from the substance and visual impact.

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?

The body has been my primary subject for years, so I’m always observing it, how it moves, how it interacts with the world. Well known artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Wolfgang Tillmans have had big stylistic and aesthetic influences on my work, while more general influences come from instagram culture, queer culture and body politics.

If you could go on an Artist’s Residency anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?

Either the USA or Scandinavia: I think both would offer something fascinating and unique for my practice. The US, particularly New York or San Fransisco, would be a golden opportunity. The body culture there is so amplified and exaggerated, I think it would be incredible to capture. And in Scandinavia there is a unique aesthetic quality related to pushing the body to its limits in extreme environments. In the isolation of the northern regions, the cultural identity surrounding the body and our human ability to survive is remarkable.

What’s next for you after your time at Brunswick Street Gallery? What upcoming projects are you working on now?

After Brunswick Street, I’ve got a show in Sydney at Gaffa where I’ll be exhibiting a new body of work focused on the agency of touch. This series of self-portraits was made using colour Polaroid film, subjecting each developed image to extreme heat to distort and corrupt it. I’m also planning a photo documentary series about the US 2020 election, although at this point the COVID-19 pandemic looks like seriously disrupting those plans.


Adam’s Ale by David Lindesday is current until 5 April 2020.

Tags Artist Profile, David Lindesay
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ARTIST PROFILE: JULIA VANDERBYL

March 5, 2020

Our latest Artist Profile is with artist Julia Vanderbyl, whose exhibition Of The Anthropocene is currently presented at Brunswick Street Gallery.

Julia is a painter based in Byron Bay whose work hovers between figuration and abstraction and explores the false dichotomies of body/space, self/environment and absence/presence. Her paintings contain human figures emerging from within landscapes – or, alternatively – place symbols of the natural world, home, place and loss within large scale portraits. This choice of subject matter is as dichotomous and harmonious as the themes she considers.

What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I paint with acrylic on linen, polyester, ceramics or found objects. I find paint to be the most tangible and fluid way of communicating my themes and emotions. In my process, I use deep, intuitive brushstrokes that mimic topographical maps or geological formations to form human figures and the spaces that surround them. My scale varies between extremely large and small scale as do my strokes and textures – I’m always considering the interaction between the figure and it’s space.

Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

My paintings emerge as a way of processing the world around me, coming from both personal grief and environmental, humanitarian and political injustices. From this, I conceptualise and sketch - drawing from both life and memory. When these drawing are sketched to scale on canvas I let textural brush strokes, colour and light form the figure and surrounding space.

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?

Definitely the landscape surrounding me! I spent the past year living and working in Paris, with my work being so influenced by that European light, colour and of course art. Now, after returning to Australia I feel so drawn to the strength of the colours of this landscape. For artistic influences - Ben Quilty for his paintings on the topics that mean most to me and of course Munch, and all of those who consider the body and its surrounding space: Francis Bacon, Guglielmo Castelli, Dorothea Tanning.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

I’m so lucky to have an incredible studio surrounded by rainforest on my family’s farm. It is in a shed made by my father with old pine beams that were felled on the very same spot. These trees were planted by my grandfather. It is surrounded by mango and avocado trees and has a view onto a small lake and the mountains. From this place, with this personal history - I have the room and inspiration to do so much.

What’s next for you after your time at Brunswick Street Gallery? What upcoming projects are you working on now?

Following Of The Anthropocene I plan to extend this series and draw further from the Australian landscape and its people within this time of ecological crisis. I plan to expand my practice working with found objects, painting on more pots and vessels - I consider these a symbol of our future. I am filled with concepts to communicate and images to make.


Of The Anthropocene is current until 17 March 2020, and is presented as part of Brunswick Street Gallery’s International Women’s Day exhibition program.

You can view Julia Vanderbyl’s exhibition catalogue here.

Tags Artist Profile, Julia Vanderbyl
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FIFTY SQUARED ARTIST PROFILE: INGMAR APINIS

January 22, 2020

Our latest Artist Profile is with artist Ingamr Apinis, winner of the Brunswick Street Gallery Ground Floor Gallery Prize at the Fifty Squared Art Prize.

Ingmar Apinis is a Melbourne based artist currently completing a Masters of Contemporary Art at VCA. Apinis’ practice revolves around an interest in the internet, nostalgia, future histories and queerness.

What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I originally studied as a painter and still think of myself as a painter, but not in the traditional sense. I work with screen printing technology, and tend to treat the screens like a paint brush. It’s a tool for producing monotypes rather than multiple, which in many ways goes against printmaking traditions. I really appreciate allowing an element of chance into my screen printing. A defective print is more alluring to me than achieving perfection. I also incorporate airbrushing, stencilling and brush painting into my work and enjoy the fact that often people can’t tell how the pieces have been made. 

Conceptually my work comes from an interest in the impact of the internet on our lives. Many artists who deal with similar subject matter tend to make screen based work, or leverage technology in some way but I prefer to examine the internet outside of these parameters, and I do this by using analogue techniques and mediums. In the past year I’ve begun to shift away from canvas to working on plaster. I’ve been thinking a lot about frescos and ancient tablets, and pondering what sort of relics and artifacts contemporary society will leave behind for future generations. 

Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

My processes are very intuitive, I rarely know in advance what the finished work will look like. I collect images from around the internet, and in books, as I stumble across them. Generally I start by interfering with some of these images in Photoshop and creating something that I want to expose onto a silkscreen. From there it’s all about trial and error. When I work on canvas the pieces come together almost like an oil painting, by building up layers, often masking different parts of the silk screen before printing or painting over sections until I feel like it’s resolved. The plaster works require a bit more preparation because I need to mix and pour the plaster, wait for it to set and things like that. Sometimes when i’m not happy with how a plaster piece has turned out, I’ll break it up and incorporate parts into another work, which is how Would you Rather it’s Real? came about.

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?

So many things! Books, movies and music are huge influences. I’ve been a big fan of Autechre and their abstract electronica for a long time now. Sonic Youth have also soundtracked most of my 41 years and I think Kim Gordon is a really smart and fascinating person. Directors like Michael Haneke, Peter Greenaway and David Fincher, authors like William Gibson, Bret Easton-Ellis and Ali Smith. In terms of artists, I keep returning to people like Laura Owens, Hito Steyrl, Andy Warhol, John Raschenberg, Michael Staniak, Avery Singer…….

How do you keep your creative juices flowing? How do you push past creative block?

To make art I need to constantly be consuming and processing outside ideas and information. I’m a voracious reader (both nonfiction and fiction), I watch a lot of movies and documentaries, and I’m also a keen musical explorer. And of course, I visit lots of galleries. Despite all this, there are still days when I'm just not in the right headspace for the studio and I’ve learnt that when this happens I’m better off walking away, taking a break and re-energising.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

At the moment I work between my studio at VCA, where I’m doing my Masters, and my home studio. VCA is great because I get to interact with and meet lots of people. I like having a home studio because it allows me to work whenever the mood strikes. The home studio has also made me a very DIY artist - I’ve had to figure out how to expose silk screens without a proper printmaking studio which has been a great experience, and that ‘make do’ approach has very much become part of my overall process. There’s something very punk about it, which I like.

Who would your dream collaboration be with, and why?

Hito Steryl, because I love the way she thinks about technology and the world.

What’s next for you after your time at Brunswick Street Gallery? What upcoming projects are you working on now?

I’m starting my final year of Masters at VCA so that will be a real focus for 2020. I finished my undergrad in 2001, and returning to study after such an extended time has been super refreshing. It’s really invigorated my practice.

What does your selection as one of the winners of this Fifty Squared Art Prize mean to you, and to the future of your practice?

It’s great to see my work receive positive feedback, and that the judges really got where the practice is coming from. And, the opportunity to exhibit with the gallery will be a chance for me to install the things I’ve been working on in a formal environment which will no doubt inform the next phase of my practice.


This Prize was awarded by Sean Smith, Director and Jacqui Burnes, Gallery Manager at Brunswick Street Gallery.

Tags Artist Profile, Ingmar Apinis
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FIFTY SQUARED ARTIST PROFILE: CHELSEA ROSENBROCK

January 21, 2020

Our latest Artist Profile is with artist Chelsea Rosenbrock, winner of the Honourable Mention: Ernest Studio Prize at the Fifty Squared Art Prize.

Chelsea Rosenbrock is currently a student studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts. Throughout her first year at uni she was able to find a more distinct style within her own artwork, and found herself becoming more interested in the process of lino and printmaking, preferring to use old family photos as reference imagery to bring them back to life in a more contemporary context.

What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I have been experimenting with many different mediums in the past year as I think it’s important to expand my options when making new pieces. I used to make a lot of drawings using biro pens which I enjoy as it allows me to include as much detail as I can, but have recently been making ink paintings which brings an interesting fluid and unpredictable aspect to each image. The main medium I have been working with lately is lino as I enjoy the whole process from carving a plate to printing each piece manually. It allows me to spend more time with each piece that I don’t often get when using other mediums.

Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

Lately since I’ve been using old family photos as my reference materials, I start each piece by searching through my collection to find the photo that stands out to me the most. I pay particular attention to composition and tonal variation, then scan the image once chosen. I then spend some time editing the image to remove any unwanted features and fix any other issues with the image. I then begin to convert it into half-tone lines to transfer onto my lino block so it’s ready to carve.

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?

Although not directly referenced in my work, I draw a lot of my inspiration from music, films, and photography. I have always been interested in portraying people rather than objects in my artwork, so seeing the way that other artists, filmmakers, and photographers express these similar themes constantly gives me ideas on how my own work can improve and evolve. I also find myself influenced by many of my peers at uni as I’m always being exposed to many new ways of creating art that I might not have considered before.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

Since I am studying at the Victorian College of the Arts, a large amount of my work is created at my studio on campus. I find that being surrounded by other artists who are in the same situation as I am is quite helpful in allowing me to stay motivated and constantly thinking of ways I can improve my practice. I’m fortunate enough to have access to many opportunities that allow me to learn new forms of art making which has played a big role in developing my work.

What does your selection as one of the winners of this Fifty Squared Art Prize mean to you, and to the future of your practice?

I feel incredibly humbled that my artwork ‘Family Portrait #2’ has been chosen for the Ernest Studio Prize. This was my first time ever entering in an art prize so it was quite unexpected but definitely exciting to see that my work was well received by everyone. This has given me motivation to continue to create pieces like this, and put myself out there more in the art community. I look forward to entering more works into future exhibitions at Brunswick Street Gallery.


This Prize was awarded by the team at Ernest Studio.

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Tags Artist Profile, Chelsea Rosenbrock
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FIFTY SQUARED ARTIST PROFILE: STEVE HAMILTON

January 21, 2020

Our latest Artist Profile is with artist Steve Hamilton, winner of the Honourable Mention: Print 2 Metal Prize at the Fifty Squared Art Prize.

A self taught and instinctive artist , Steve started creating art in his early thirties.  Since then, his practice has evolved from small surrealist works, to large figurative and abstracts, and now a range of pop / street / urban culture based works.  These works are, in his own words, his ‘groove’ and his practice is constantly evolving from what comes to mind.

What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I predominately use solid timber frames and sold timber panels (sourced from hardware stores and made by myself), found images in print or online, acrylic spray, acrylic paint, sharpies and the occasional watercolour.

Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

My works starts as a thought based concept, is translated onto a digital form, printed on A3 laser prints, pasted to hand made panels, then painted and manipulated by hand.  Once cured, the work is lacquered and is ready to exhibit.  I am hands on through the entire process, creating the art but also the framing.   

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?

Dali, Lichtenstein, and a range of current street and mural artists.  A large influence on my work is nostalgic urban culture.

How do you keep your creative juices flowing? How do you push past creative block?

I tend to create art when I have the urge to create something.  I don’t push the creativity as when I have, that’s when things generally don’t turn out as I would like and frustration sets in.  At one stage I went 8 years without creating any artwork.

How does where you grew up, or where you live now affect your art?

I grew up in regional Victoria, with a distinct absence of art or artistic influence.  Now living in the Macedon Ranges, I have the mental and physical space to create as I need to.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

My studio is part of our rustic farm shed, with art materials and works sitting alongside chainsaws, farm tools, motorbikes and all manner of things you need to maintain a small farm.

 

Who would your dream collaboration be with, and why?

 Anyone who shares the same passion and instinct for creating art for others to enjoy.

 

If you could go on an Artist’s Residency anywhere in the world, where would that be and why? 

New York

 

What’s next for you after your time at Brunswick Street Gallery? What upcoming projects are you working on now?

More creating!  I am currently working on evolving my work around urban paste up portraiture with a nostalgic twist. 

What does your selection as one of the winners of this Fifty Squared Art Prize mean to you, and to the future of your practice?

I create art as a way to express myself, and the positive feedback by receiving this prize is a real validation for my work and my practice.  Receiving this prize has also spurred me on to enter more competitions and undertake more exhibitions of my work, rather than create and keep my works private.


This Prize was awarded by the team at Print 2 Metal.

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Tags Artist Profile, Steve Hamilton

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