A few years back we started a little tradition of sharing our ’emerging artists to watch’ list at the start of each year – and each year our team look forward to compiling this list immensely. It’s a hotly anticipated event!
So after weeks of research and a LOT of Instagram DMs and Slack messages, these are the most exciting local artists currently on our radar. Now, they’re on yours too!
Balun, 2021, by Shal.
Jagun Balun, 2021, by Shal.
Photo – Blake Pace.
Shaun Daniel Allen (Shal) is a proud Yugambeh born and raised, Bundjalung man who began painting as a form of meditation. Through intuitive mark-making, he explores a connection to Country and himself in a unique visual language.
Large brushstrokes and contrasting palettes create fluid, organic movements that express healing, growth and learning.
Price Point:
Starting at $2,000
Where To Find It:
China Heights Gallery
Photo – Michelle Eabry.
This hill is home by Jana Moser. Photo – Zali Rae.
Photo – Sam Steinhauer.
Working across drawing, printmaking, text, paper making and installation, Jana Moser is a transdisciplinary artist who defies categorisation. Trained in Fine Art at the VCA, Jana have had a dedicated studio practice for the last five years where they make scratchy, textured works.
‘My practice is a meditation on the environments I encounter; moving in between spaces and forms,’ Jana says. ‘The images I make explore the intimacies of mark making and how humans relate to the natural world as it spins in constant transition.’
Beautiful!
Price Point:
$300 – $1,500
Where To Find It:
Via Instagram DM or at janajmoser@gmail.com.
Left: Fitzroy Island and made up flowers, 2021, by Ondine Seabrook. Right: South Molle Island from my Grandma’s 1948, 2021, by Ondine Seabrook.
Ondine Seabrook renders colourful and dreamy landscapes from her Sydney-based studio. She’s been painting technically since she was two years old, but professionally since 18, where she has been aiming to connect people more closely to nature.
Through organic forms and pastel, sometimes earthy colours, she evokes the sights, smells and sounds of the Australian vista.
Price Point:
$1,000 – $5,000
Where To Find It:
China Heights Gallery
Photo – Amelia Fullarton.
Photo – Amelia Fullarton.
Photo – Amelia Fullarton.
Painting on Bundjalung Country in the Northern Rivers, Sarah Darling’s hazy, colourful, abstract paintings create a sense of looseness and play. Informed by studies in both interior design and fine art, her painting practice exemplifies a process of experimentation.
‘Painting is so much about the act of making itself; the process, the qualities of the materials and the conversations between colours and forms,’ she says. ‘It’s a balancing act of many elements that can crash in an instant.’
Price Point:
Varying dependent on size.
Where To Find It:
An upcoming show with Yeah Nice Gallery in May.
Gertrude, 2020, by Tia Ansell.
Spring, 2021, by Tia Ansell.
Crown, 2021, by Tia Ansell.
Glasgow, 2021, by Tia Ansell.
Tia Ansell’s unique style combines painting with weaving to create geometric, coded works. Since starting art school in 2014, Tia’s practice combines forms to question everything from urban architecture to art history traditions.
She employs weaving as both a medium and a framework through which to analyse the world.
Price Point:
$2,100 – $5,000
Where To Find It:
LON Gallery and Suite Gallery
Ghost Party, by Morgan Blue. Photo – Tim Roodenrys.
Madi Mercer is a Wadawurrung woman who and currently lives and works on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm.
Working with weavings, murals canvas paintings, digital art and graphic design, they paint to challenge colonised perspectives of art and reality, as well as an expression of their cultural identity.
‘My intention when creating, is to highlight the beauty and love of the Sovereign Blak experience,’ says Madi. ‘To paint the wealth of knowledge we hold as First Nations people, and the reciprocal, unconditional connections we have to not only each other, but to all things that we exist alongside of, and within.’
Price Point:
Between $375 – $3,000 dependent on size.
Where To Find It:
The Koorie Circle, via Instagram DM here or at ghostgum_@outlook.com
Ghost Party, by Morgan Blue. Photo – Tim Roodenrys.
Photo – Tim Roodenrys.
The Bridge by Morgan Blue. Photo – Tim Roodenrys.
Morgan Blue has been painting for as long as she can remember, and describes her work as whimsical, welcome and sincere. Using vivid primary colours to create figurative scenery that swirls with pattern, geometry and characters, Morgan aims to convey the preciousness of life through her artworks.
Price Point:
$800 – $5,000
Where To Find It:
While her website is under construction, contact Morgan about her work at studio@morganblue.me.
Artworks by Giorgia Bel.
Painting was originally a therapeutic practice for Giorgia Bel, who started in her 20s when she fell ill and needed a creative outlet throughout her recovery. It soon became her primary mode of practice, and she now sells her work through galleries and stores such as Fenton + Fenton, Sunday Salon and Saint Cloche.
Predominantly realising landscapes, portraits and abstract still-lifes, Giorgia’s paintings retain a peaceful, otherworldly quality. ‘Everything is free but not rushed,’ she says. ‘They excite me and ground meat the same time, no cares or worries.’
Price Point:
Starting at $550.
Where To Find It:
Fenton + Fenton, Sunday Salon, Saint Cloche, Brunswick Street Gallery and Gallery Raye.
Photo – Andrew Curtis.
Photo – Andrew Curtis.
Despite graduating in 2016, Sarah Ujmaia pinpoints three years later as when she really started being rigorous about her interdisciplinary practice. Working with drawing, 3D materials and painting-like movements, Sarah creates works that represent a connection to the language and culture of her Chaldean heritage.
Her art making is an act of preservation.
Price Point:
$500 – $2,000.
Where To Find It:
An upcoming exhibition with Coastal Signs gallery later in the year.
A self-taught painter who has been experimenting with acrylics for the last two years, Gareth Owens’ painting practice has evolved on the side of his framing business inn the Northern Rivers, Blue Boy Studio.
Combining personal memory with historical moments, his paintings are loaded with narrative, words and characters. He values the process of making as much as the work: stretching the canvas, making the frame and framing it himself.
Price Point:
$500 – $1,500.
Where To Find It:
Enquire about Gareth’s works via Instagram DM.
A selection of works by Maya Irving. Photos – Henry King for Brunswick Street Gallery.
Working with movement, intuition and colour, Maya Irving creates canvases that express inner and outer landscapes. Her spontaneous, playful and inviting works are bodily and warm, evoking feelings of calmness, safety and reflection
‘For me, painting is a place to heal embodied traumas and explore the relationship between my body and mind,’ Maya says.
Price Point:
$500 – $3,000
Where To Find It:
Via Instagram DM and a collaboration with Lucille Bone for Between Painters.
