Watch an  edited video version of this conversation will be on the YouTube channel here

It’s one of the most thrilling days on the Australian art calendar—and this year, Julie Fragar has taken out the Archibald Prize with a captivating portrait of fellow artist and colleague Justene Williams.

Her large scale portrait of Justene, appearing to float in space and surrounded by model figures and structures drawn from Justene’s creative universe, commands the viewer’s attention.  Julie talks with me about the portrait and its elements, her approach to colour and her tips for a productive sitting. This episode also includes Julie’s moving acceptance speech.

Also announced today:

Jude Rae, winner of the Wynne Prize (and two-time podcast guest)

Gene A’Hern, winner of the Sulman Prize (video interview coming soon!)

Scroll down for images of the winning works

https://youtu.be/h4NfQDN803I

Julie FragarFlagship Mother Multiverse (Justene)
oil on canvas
240 x 180.4 cm

Jude Rae
Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal
oil on linen
200 x 150.4 cm

Gene A’Hern
Sky painting
oil and oil stick on board
240 x 240 cm

Podcast listeners – see the art work we talk about in this episode here

Richard doesn’t look away from life’s toughest stories. From the deeply personal — like the final days of his father’s life — to the harrowing and socially charged, including the tragic death of an Indigenous child in custody and the haunting Snowtown murders, he takes it all on. But never with shock tactics. His work is quietly powerful — full of feeling, sensitivity, and a surprising touch of humour. And the surfaces he paints on? Anything but traditional — think steel, aluminium, formica table tops, even billiard tables.

Richard is a multi-award-winning artist whose work has appeared in major public and private collections. He’s been a finalist multiple times in the Archibald and Sulman Prizes, and his recent acquisition by the National Gallery of Australia will soon be part of an upcoming exhibition and tour.

This was the perfect time to sit down for a deep conversation — just ahead of his new show ‘The stories that persist are not always true’ opening on 10 April at Hugo Michell Gallery.

Richard is also represented by Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane and Suite Gallery in New Zealand.

‘We have grave concerns for your father’s health’
oil on epoxy-coated steel
80.5 x 141 cm
Finalist Sulman prize 2019

I’m not the boy who cried wolf, 2025
80 x 120 cm
acrylic on laminate tabletop

Richard’s medical disasters
acrylic on linen
181.5 x 152.7cm
Finalist Sulman prize 2023

NGV Confessions (one wall of several)
Acrylic on pegboard

The serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals that God had made. He said to the woman ‘Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’. She replied ‘We may eat fruit from all the trees in the garden except for the…, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 153 x 153 cm

‘The 2006 Granny’ 2024
acrylic on linen
200.0 x 200.0 cm

‘The 2006 Granny’ 2024
acrylic on linen
& 41.0 x 31.0 cm

https://youtu.be/Du-Lad05_vk?si=lW4hXdAYI9jmNEfo

Body of work ‘Steve’ acquired by the National Gallery of Australia

Catch up on the latest YouTube videos and Instagram reels, and don’t miss the chance to be part of my next Loading Dock interview at the Art Gallery of NSW!

Robert and Keith completed residencies at the gallery’s Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio, drawing inspiration from objects in Margaret Olley’s recreated home studio at the gallery. The result of their residencies is A Dictionary for Painting, a stunning exhibition on display until March 2, 2025. In this episode, Robert and Keith share their creative highs and lows, offering an intimate glimpse into the making of their works.

Special thanks to Tweed Regional Gallery for recording this event and sound engineer Dan Harcombe for his expertise. A video version of this interview will be online soon – and don’t miss my earlier interview with Robert from 2021, linked below.

https://youtu.be/qbeENrJo6Nc?si=ZpIcNoNDKF7276_f

Selection of work by Robert Malherbe

Selection of work by Keith Burt

Robert Malherbe (b.1965)
Olley’s table 09 2024
oil on linen
81 x 66 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Keith Burt (b.1969)
Bird 2024
oil on canvas
30 x 25cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Keith Burt (b.1969)
Floral jug 2024
oil on canvas
40 x 40cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Robert Malherbe (b.1965)
Olley’s table 06 2024
oil on linen
81 x 66 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Margaret Olley (1923–2011)
Still life with cornflowers 1995
oil on board
66.9 x 90.1 cm
On loan from University Art Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney
Donated through The Hon R P Meagher bequest 2011
© Margaret Olley Art Trust

Keith Burt
Urban Artists
Oil on canvas
Winner 2020 Brisbane Portrait Prize
84 x 66cm

Robert Malherbe
The Stoic, 2011
oil on linen
76 x 61cm
(Portrait of Nicholas Harding)

Keith Burt (b.1969)
Jar 2024
oil on canvas
40 x 40cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Keith Burt (b.1969)
Vase 2024
oil on canvas
40 x 40cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Robert Malherbe (b.1965)
Olley’s table 12 2024
oil on polyester
51 x 41 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery
© The artist

Famous for being like an Aladdin’s cave of eclectic objects, the recreated home studio contains the sources of many inspirational items which appear in Margaret Olley’s paintings.  Over an astonishing 21,000 items were relocated from Sydney to the gallery.

Ingrid, having been involved in the project almost from its inception, is the ideal person to share insights into the creation of this extraordinary tribute to Olley.

This is the second of three episodes recorded at Tweed Regional Gallery. The previous episode is my conversation with Sophie Perez and Sarah McDonald undertaking a residency at the gallery and the following episode will be my conversation with Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt at the gallery about the exhibition ‘A Dictionary for Painting’.

Photo of Ingrid Hedgcock supplied by Tweed Regional Gallery

‘The Hat Factory’, Margaret Olley Art Centre

‘The Yellow Room’, Margaret Olley Art Centre

See an edited version of this episode (5 mins) on the talking with Painters YouTube channel

An artist’s residency provides more than just uninterrupted time to work; it’s also a valuable space for risk-taking, experimentation, and self-reflection.

That’s what I learned when I caught up with Sophie Perez and Sarah McDonald during my recent visit to the Tweed Regional Gallery. They were there for a residency in the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence studio. Both are accomplished landscape painters working in oils, have exhibited in solo and group shows across the country and both made the trek across Australia to immerse themselves in this experience – Sophie from Victoria and Sarah from South Australia. It was wonderful to hear their thoughts on the value of the residency and what has come from it. 

This is the first of three podcast episodes which I recorded on my visit to the Tweed Regional Gallery a couple of weeks ago. I was invited to facilitate a conversation in front of an audience with Robert Malherbe and Keith Burt, two leading painters who recently completed funded residencies at the gallery. Their new works, now hanging in the exhibition A Dictionary for Painting, are inspired by objects from Australian art royalty Margaret Olley’s glorious home studio, which has been relocated within the gallery. The gallery recorded the conversation and it will be coming soon to the podcast. I was also lucky enough to have an impromptu chat with gallery director Ingrid Hedgcock, an expert on Margaret Olley, who will be joining me on the next episode.

Links

https://youtu.be/jxJybTWc81s?si=8neVQgRZyTP1x7y6

Wall of Sophie Perez’ work

Wall of Sarah McDonald’s work

Work mentioned by Sarah at about 9min 40s

Work mentioned by Sophie at about 18min 30s

Work mentioned by Sophie at about 21 min

Podcast listeners click here to view the works

There is a strong sense of a spontaneous response in her paintings so you may be surprised to hear that reading and research play as much a role in her process as creating those drips and brushstrokes.

Karen talks with me in this episode about her fascination with recent research on frequencies and vibrations which occur in all matter. That interest informs her most recent body of work which will be on view in her upcoming solo show ‘alternative frequency’ at Ames Yavuz in Sydney.

Karen has been acclaimed with awards and residencies and her work is in the collections of many public institutions. She has been repeatedly shortlisted in the Archibald and Sulman prizes, among many others, and has work hanging in both those prize exhibitions in the Art Gallery of NSW this year. She has also been recognised for her ceramic work, two of which have been acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria.

In this podcast episode Karen talks with me about her childhood memories of art, how she came to painting, the story behind her current show and some interesting aspects of her process.

‘Both of us’
oil on canvas
61 x 92 cm
Finalist Sir John Sulman Prize 2024
Source: AGNSW website

‘Head wind’ 2024,
oil on polyester, 183.3 x 153 cm
Image courtesy of the artist

‘Licking the rain’ 2017
oil on canvas
152.5 x 122 cm
Finalist Sir John Sulman Prize 2017
Source: AGNSW website

‘I Will Shade You from the World’
2022
Oil on canvas
213.6 x 198.5cm
Image courtesy of the artist

Vivian Vidulich
oil on polyester
183 x 152.5 cm
Finalist – Archibald Prize 2024
Source: AGNSW website

‘Crown legs arms’ 2016
earthenware, 23ct gold leaf
69.0 × 29.7 × 29.2 cm
Collection, National Gallery of Victoria

Watch the video version of my interview with Laura Jones here on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel

On Friday I interviewed Laura shortly after the announcement and I’m bringing you that 5 minute conversation in this episode but I’ve also gone through the archives to my podcast conversation with Laura in 2018 to bring you something extra. 

When I interviewed Laura a few years ago it was after she had finished a residency on the Great Barrier Reef where she was studying the terrible bleaching events which occurred there (and continue to occur) and her concern surrounding those events is not unconnected with her winning portrait in this year’s Archibald Prize.

Because it was after seeing Tim Winton’s documentary on the ABC, Ningaloo Nyinggulu, about the fight to save the Ningaloo reef that Laura requested an Archibald portrait sitting. They have in common a sense of urgency that we must act now on climate change and are doing everything they can to bring attention to the devastating and inevitable consequences of inaction.

One of the most interesting parts of my conversation with Laura was when she explained how coral bleaching occurs. It’s complex and scientific but she explained it in a way that anyone could understand so I thought I would bring you that part of the interview today .  

The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition continues until Sunday 8 September 2024.  The Archibald finalist works then go on tour across 5 venues across NSW and for the first time, to the Northern Territory. The Wynne Prize finalist works will tour to four venues in regional NSW.

Tim Winton
Oil on linen, 198 x 152.5cm
Image: Art Gallery of NSW, Jenni Carter Winner 2024 Archibald Prize

See the video version of this episode on the TWP YouTube channel here. 

This is my 5th collection of Loading Dock Interviews of entrants to the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes.

Six brave painters fronted my camera and microphone as they delivered their work to the packing room at the Art Gallery of NSW via the loading dock.

Thankyou to these artists (tap on their name for their Instagram page):

Tickets for the ‘Artists in Conversation’ talk with me and Marikit Santiago at the Art Gallery of NSW

Sign up for the Talking with Painters Newsletter here. 

https://youtu.be/T-26mfmJMqw?si=L_YMco2XH8Hwwsup

See highlights of this interview on the YouTube Channel

At the risk of being labelled a conspiracy theorist, she’s attracted to the dilemmas brought on by the internet era and shines a light on the things that trouble most of us: our loss of privacy, shortened attention, a heightened focus on appearance,  a growing indifference to human suffering and the increasing power assumed by tech giants.

Her paintings often depict a political or social narrative and although she accepts some are too confronting to hang above the sofa, there’s something about the levity in her use of line, colour and form which invites us to venture into the darker corners of our culture, causing us to linger and question.

Caroline is also well known for her portraiture and landscape painting. She won the Portia Geach Memorial Award portraiture prize in 2020 (the same year she won the Evelyn Chapman award) and has been a finalist in many others including the Archibald and Darling portrait prizes.

This interview took place at the mid-career survey show of Caroline’s work ‘Exquisite Cadaver’ at the University of Newcastle Gallery. Curated by Gillean Shaw, it was a collection of 40 stunning works spanning over 2 decades.

The interview was also filmed and a 6 minute video of highlights can be seen here on the YouTube  channel.

Feature photo:  Phillip Antonio Lemos

https://youtu.be/qW9UOk7RA7I?si=Sc30OmX9unO_Mitu

‘Kubla Khan’
2022
oil on linen
107 x 106.7 cm

‘Exquisite Corpse’
2024
Oil on linen

‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ 2023
oil on linen
138 x 138cm

‘Faceless The Congressional Hearing of Mark Zuckerberg’ 2020
oil on linen
122 x 122cm

‘Man of Few Words’
2020
Ink on AGNSW archive manila folder
30 x 21cm (paper size), 60 x 47cm (framed size)

‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ 2023
Oil on linen
112 x 122cm

‘Plastic Fantastic’, 2023
oil on linen
56 x 62cm

‘Refract Back’, 2023
Oil on linen
112 x122 cm

‘Too Long; Didn’t Read (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)’
2023
Oil, Oil Stick and Digital Configuration on Canvas
97 x 87cm

‘Me and Ellie’, 2004-2005
oil on linen 
71 x 454.5cm
‘My Brother Adrian’ 
oil on linen
72.5 x 54cm