Australian Women Artists

• Petrina Hicks

  Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEpisode 8Petrina HicksA really enlightening conversation with Petrina Hicks – one of Australia’s most acclaimed and influential contemporary photographers. She initially trained in commercial photography and recounts how this influences her seemingly simple and stylised minimalist aesthetic. Petrina is renowned for her large-scale, hyperreal photographs that explore female identity and challenge traditional representations of women.Her work is characterized by the presentation of beautiful images which, on closer inspection have been described as ‘simultaneously unsettling and surreal’.  She explores themes of powerful women, identity, and animals, tracing the boundaries between humans and animals. He subjects are juxtaposed against simple backgrounds and, as a result, she has a very distinctive style which often draws inspiration from mythology, fairy tales, and historical art imagery. Petrina has had numerous solo and group exhibitions, including a major retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2019-2020.  Her photographs are held in Australian and international collections. Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation.    She is represented by Michael Reid Galleries head to https://michaelreid.com.au/artist/petrina-hicks/For available works  1.        PH2.        Shenae and Jade, 2005 lightjet print 85.5x803.        Lauren with Fruit 2011 lightjet print 145x1444.        The Unbearable Lightness of Being 2015 pigment print 77x1005.        Shewolf 1 2016 pigment inkjet print 100x1296.        Peach study 2018 pigment inkjet print 100x1007.        Mnemosyne II 2024 archival pigment print 90x1208.        Memento mori I 2024 pigment print on cotton rag 120x90

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• Dr Anne-Louise Willoughby on Nora Heysen

  Australian Women ArtistsThe PodcastEpisode 7Dr Anne-Louise Willoughby on Nora Heysen Nora Heysen was a precocious talent who sold her first work at 16 to Dame Nellie Melba. Encouraged by her father, artist Sir Hans Heysen, Nora had enormous early success. By the time she was 20 her paintings had been purchased by the state galleries of NSW, SA & Qld and held her first solo exhibition at the Royal Sth Aus Society of Arts in 1933. She was 22. She was the 1st woman to win the Archibald and was our 1st woman war artist.  But then...inexplicably, she fell from public view.  In the late 1980s she was ‘rediscovered’ and a retrospective of her work put her, once more, in the spotlight. She lived to witness this and enjoy the accolades she deserved and the reputation that allowed her to move from her father’s enormous shadow.  It was a great conversation with Dr Anne-Louise Willoughby and her book is a revelation. Nora Heysen: A Portrait (freemantlepress.com.au) Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation. Self portrait, 1932 oil on canvas 76.2x61.2 AGNSWSelf portrait, 1934 oil on canvas 43.1x36.3 Nat. Portrait GalleryArchibald Prize Winner, Madame Elink Schuurman, 1938, oil on canvas 87x68Nora Heysen with her Archibald winning portrait, Photo:Tim Clayton/Fairfax mediaPortrait of Nora Heysen at work, 1939 gelatine silver photograph 18.5x14.2 Harold Cazneaux Matron Annie Sage, 1944, oil on canvas 76.6x56.4 Aust War MemorialIntentionally hung together by Art Gallery SA (image: RG). One is by one of Australia’s greatest artists. The other is by…well, I’m going to say another of Australia’s greatest artists. Intentionally hung by AGSA next to each other. Would you know which was Hans and which was Nora? Answer belowInterior The Cedars (image: RG) which hosted Nellie Melba, Laurence Olivier, Edmund Hillary, Anna Pavlov, Marcel Marceau. If the walls could talk!Nora Heysen at 92 in front of Hans Heysen’s Red Gold. Brenton Edwards  Top Hans Heysen Poppies 1907 oil on canvas. Bottom Nora Heysen, Scabious, 1930 oil on canvas 

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• Eliza Gosse

  Australian Women ArtistsThe podcastEpisode 6Eliza GosseEliza Gosse paints quiet suburban scenes focused on post-war and mid-century architecture and design. Her style is influenced not only by her love of nostalgia, but by her studies in architecture. Her flat two-dimensional painting style and muted colour schemes give off a warmth and welcoming (I think). The fact that she rarely paints figures is to allow the viewer to picture themselves in these gorgeous scenes.  But when she does paint figures...they go alright too. Twice chosen as a finalist in the Archibald! Eliza Gosse graduated with a Master of Fine Art from the Nat Art School, Sydney in 2019. Her work has been exhibited in public and private galleries since 2016. Gosse’s work has been selected for numerous awards and prizes including the Archibald Prize (2023, 2022) and Wynne Prize (2020), Paddington Art Prize (2023, 2021) and won the Mosman Alan Gamble Award (2022) and the John Olsen Drawing Prize (2017). In 2024 she was awarded a Bundanon Trust Residency.  It was a great, easy conversation. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her story.  Eliza Gosse is currently practicing in Sydney and represented by Edwina Corlette Gallery (Brisbane) and Olsen Gallery (Sydney) and this conversation took place in her fabulous converted pizza restaurant in Sydney.  To listen to our conversation, head to the link in my bio or search ‘Australian Women Artists’ wherever you find your podcasts.   Paintings1.    Grapefruit, Burnt Toast and Raspberry Jam 2023 acrylic on canvas 132x1222.    Eucalyptus and Gum-nuts Collected From An Afternoon Walk 2023 acrylic on canvas 152x1823.    Ocean Views Can be Glimpsed Beyond 2023 acrylic on canvas 180x1504.    In My Grandmother’s Garden (a preview glimpse from Eliza’s new solo show at Edwina Corlette Gallery opening 9/5/255.    Breakfast at Ours (Archibald finalist) 2023 oil on board 2 panels, 137.5x86.6 and 145.5x97

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• Margaret Ackland

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

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  32:07
• Jennifer Higgie on Clarice Beckett

  Australian Women ArtistsThe PodcastEpisode 4Jennifer Higgie on Clarice BeckettJennifer Higgie is an internationally respected arts writer and art historian who has lived and worked in London for many years.  She is a novelist, screenwriter, art critic and former editor of the London-based contemporary arts magazine Frieze. She was the presenter of Bow Down, a podcast about women in art history, and has just published Season 2 of Artist’s Artists - the podcast she hosts for the National Gallery of Australia.  Her latest books are The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World; and The Mirror and the Palette: 500 Years of Women’s Self-Portraits. Her own life is worthy of its own podcast for Australian Women Artists, but she is my guest today and joins me at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, to discuss the incredible Australian artist, Clarice Beckett.  I think it would be fair to say Clarice Beckett is one of the most original artists of early twentieth-century Australia. She is known for her innovative use of colour and tone and light to create quite an incredible atmosphere in which the subject matter of a painting exists. This ‘tonalism’ was controversial and criticised, but she persisted and soon became its greatest exponent surpassing, many say, her outspoken teacher Max Meldrum. But, as you will probably come to appreciate with these artists in history, Clarice was very much underappreciated in her lifetime and, after her death she was largely forgotten until an incredibly fortunate and lucky set of circumstances led to her rediscovery. It’s an amazing story and one that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.   Head to the link in my bio for my podcast conversation with Jennifer Higgie on the incredible Clarice Beckett.Jennifer's books, including  The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World; and The Mirror and the Palette: Rebellion, Revolution and Resistance: 500 Years of Women’s Self-Portraits can be found at the following link: https://www.jenniferhiggie.com/books-publications 

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