Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 18

Ann Thomson

Ann Thomson stands as one of Australia’s most eminent contemporary painters and sculptors.

Her early passion for art was fostered by influential art figures in Brisbane and in 1957, she relocated to Sydney to pursue formal studies. Her paintings are celebrated for their vibrant, expressive compositions and their ability to evoke a sense of place without resorting to literal representation. Her style is marked by bold brushwork, dynamic colour relationships, and, as a curator described it, ‘a refusal to allow any element to recede passively into the background’.

Another hallmark of Ann’s work is her ability to oscillate between abstraction and landscape, often within the same piece. Although the term ‘abstraction’ doesn’t necessarily resonate with her.

Over the course of her career, Ann has received numerous accolades. In addition to the Wynne Prize, she has been awarded the Sydney Morning Herald Art Prize, the Kedumba Drawing Prize, the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, and the Tattersall’s Art Prize in Brisbane.

Her legacy is evident not only in her own prolific output but also in the generations of artists she has influenced and inspired. As she continues to paint and exhibit well into her ninth decade, Ann Thomson remains a vital force in contemporary art, her work a testament to the enduring power of creativity and the endless possibilities of abstraction

We are having this conversation in Ann’s fabulous Sydney studio.

Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation

Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Ep. 17. Janet Laurence

Janet Laurence is a leading Sydney based artist who exhibits nationally and internationally.

For four decades, she has captivated audiences with her multidisciplinary practice spanning photography, sculpture, installation, and video. Her work is a profound expression of her deep concern for the environment, ethics, and the intricate interconnectedness of all living things.

She employs a diverse range of natural materials, including living plant matter, minerals, and oxides. Underlying themes of alchemical transformation, history, and perception weave through her evocative installations.

She is known for her immersive environments and significant public artworks, often created in collaboration with architects, scientists, and environmentalists. She is an expert at translating scientific concepts into an artistic visual experience. Her work often explores fragility and loss but balances these themes with hope and empathy.

Janet invites viewers to forge a deeper, more experiential relationship with the natural world. Her works are both visually stunning and deeply thought-provoking, making her a vital voice in contemporary artistic discourse.

She has represented Australia at international exhibitions including the 1997 Venice Biennale and has participated in major exhibitions in Europe, Asia, and North America.

We had this conversation in her Sydney studio (shared with some pretty noisy engineers upstairs that you may hear) and she was about to leave for Berlin to set up her new exhibition.

Head to the link in my bio to listen to our conversation.

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 16 Emma Coulter

Emma is a leading figure in contemporary Australian art, renowned for her bold explorations of colour, space, and perception.

Her practice spans painting, sculpture, site-specific installation, and large-scale public art, consistently pushing the boundaries of how art interacts with its environment and audience.

You may have seen her work that wraps around the Metro Tunnel’s building façade in central Melbourne spanning more than 100 metres. In fact, she has completed over 30 site-specific installations, including more than 10 major public art commissions.

One of the most defining features of Emma’s art is her use of colour. She works with a carefully curated palette of pre-mixed, commercially produced paints through which she aims to evoke an immediate, visceral response in viewers. As a result, her art is instantly recognisable through that vibrant colour, geometric clarity, and spatial ambition.

Emma is a regular finalist in Australia’s top art prizes and has received a steady stream of awards and grants. She has exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally. Since her first solo show in 2005, she has participated in numerous institutional, commercial, and artist-run exhibitions, with highlights including installations in New York and Germany.

Her current exhibition, 'superimposition' is at James Makin Gallery in Melbourne until 24 May. So quick sticks if you want to see it.

www.emmacoulter.com.au

www.jamesmakingallery.com

Instagram images:

1. Emma Coulter. Image from our conversation (supplied by artist) (you can see why I thought she had designed her own dress!)

2. and 3. spatial deconstruction #23 (resilience), 2021 to 2023 synthetic polymer paint on precast façade 120 metres long x 7 metres height (wraps Swanston St and Flinders Lane facades)

4. spatial deconstruction #15 (gemstone with fireplace), 2016 synthetic polymer paint on wall, floor and architrave, existing fireplace. 280h x 350l x 100d (winner 2016 Linden Art Prize)

5. let them feel the light, 2023 painted aluminium, coloured glass and LED panels. 12 metres H x 10 metres W and variable depth ranging from 150 to 300cm total length climbing up over 25 metres wrapped around curved brick wall with integrated steel fixings.

6. Hybrid models for the future, 2024 synthetic polymer paint on linen 167x167x3.2cm

Australian Women Artists

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Ep. 15 Virginia Cuppaidge

Virginia Cuppaidge stands as a significant figure in contemporary abstract painting, whose work was formed in Australia and then blossomed in New York where she moved to be in the epicentre of abstract art.

We talked about arriving in NY in 1969 and being wide eyed for a year. Taking it all in. She was surrounded by the works of Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Lee Krasner. It was an enormously influential time for a 26-year-old from Brisbane.

Virginia's paintings are characterised by their luminous colour fields, ethereal atmospheric effects, and beautiful handling of space. Her distinctive use of acrylic paint—applied in thin, transparent layers (at times 40 layers!) — creates a sense of depth and radiance that invites contemplation.

Over her five-decade career, Virginia has exhibited widely in prestigious galleries and museums across the United States and Australia. Her work resides in major collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

After spending nearly fifty years in New York's vibrant art scene, Virginia returned to Newcastle Australia in 2008, bringing with her a wealth of experience and a unique artistic perspective. And I caught up with her in her Newcastle studio.

And her work and innovation continues. Virginia has an exhibition currently at the Maitland Regional Gallery until 22 June 2025.

Images:

1 Lyon, 1972 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 1985hx3060wx40d

2 Bellegreen 1972 acrylic on canvas 200x305

3 Big Blue 1972 acrylic on canvas 200x305

4 The Big Orange, 1972, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 305cm

5 Californian Dream 1975 acrylic on canvas 200x305

6 Skyspace Moonlight 2023, acrylic on canvas, 40x90

7 Skyspace Desert Moon 2023, acrylic on canvas 40x90

Australian Women Artists

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Ep. 14 Susan Baird

Susan Baird has a distinctive approach to capturing the unique light and atmosphere of the Australian bush. As such, she has established herself as one of the country's most evocative contemporary painters.

She is known for her sensitive plein air paintings of the Australian landscape, especially of the area surrounding the historic mining town of Hill End in rural NSW where she has her studio.

And it’s the light at Hill End which has fascinated and captivated her for decades. It’s fascinating listening to her describe it and the effect it has on her. It sounds so overwhelmingly beautiful that it makes me think that maybe I could paint it. Maybe. Actually not ever, but it’s fabulous that Susan can capture it so well.

Living and working between Sydney and Hill End, Susan has built a distinguished career spanning over four decades and has been the recipient of several residencies and a finalist in numerous awards, including the Calleen Art Award (7 times), Fishers Ghost Art Award, Paddington Art Prize (6 times), Mosman Art Prize (3 times), Blake Art Prize and the NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize (twice).

And the paintings are magnificent in real life. We are having this conversation at her latest exhibition at Defiance Gallery, 12 Mary Place, Paddington, Sydney where you can see the works for yourself from 3-24 May.

Head to the link in my bio to listen to our conversation. Try to ignore the few construction noises that pop up every now and then in the background...a natural hazard in the inner suburbs of Sydney I’m afraid.

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

(I'm afraid the recording starts with a bit of an echo off the gallery walls - but it does settle.)

Episode 13 Emily George on Jane Sutherland

Jane Sutherland (1853–1928) was a pioneering Australian landscape painter and a key figure in the plein-air movement and the Heidelberg School.

She defied Victorian-era gender expectations by pursuing a professional art career, encouraged by her father. She became an instrumental figure in the Heidelberg School despite having to leave the camps as women weren't allowed to stay. So she'd pack everything up every afternoon and head home.

Her male contemporaries (McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Charles Conder) would paint what was considered heroic bush narratives. Jane Sutherland captured beautifully intimate scenes of rural Australian life often capturing women and children and putting them front and centre which was unusual for the time.

It's been said that these quieter scenes challenged the male-dominated nationalistic art of the time. Her works often contained deeper commentary on societal constraints. This perspective was one of the reasons she was a trailblazer.

She faced the dual barriers of gender discrimination and later physical disability, yet maintained her artistic vision throughout.

To discuss Jane Sutherland I was fortunate enough to be talking to Emily George. Emily is an arts professional with experience working as a gallery assistant, art advisor and client liaison. She holds a double Bachelor of Arts majoring in Art History and Film Studies from Sydney University with a focus on women artists and feminist history, and continued her studies achieving a Master of Art Curating from Sydney University shortly after. She has worked at Arthouse Gallery for the past four years.

Images of some of the works we discussed:

1. Obstruction, Box Hill, 1887 oil on canvas, 41.3x31.1cm
2. The mushroom gatherers 1895 oil on canvas 41.8x99.3
3. The mushroom gatherers (detail)
4. Little Gossips, 1888, oil on canvas, 48.5 x 36.0
5. After autumn rains, 1893, oil on canvas 61x112
6. Field naturalists, 1896 ol on canvas 80.9x121.3

Australian Women Artists

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Episode 12 Wendy Sharpe AM

There can be no dispute that Wendy Sharpe is one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists.

She is known for her strong figurative paintings, her use of narrative and a sensuous use of paint. (For my benefit – and maybe others as well - figurative art, according to the Tate Gallery in London, describes any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world and particularly to the human figure.)

Wendy’s accolades and awards are incredibly impressive: she has won the Sulman Prize, the Archibald Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award (twice), the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize...in fact, she’s been a finalist for the Archibald Prize eight times and the Sulman Prize an astonishing thirteen times.

She has held over 70 solo exhibitions around Australia and internationally. She’s been awarded many international artist residencies including Paris (twice), Egypt, The Arctic, Antarctica (twice), Mexico, China, Ethiopia.

But it’s the breadth of her contributions to the arts and humanity that are just as fascinating for me, we explored those in our conversation.

I joined Wendy in her fabulous Sydney studio for this conversation.

images on instagram:

1. Magda Szubanski, Comedy and Tragedy, 2020 Archibald Finalist oil on linen 182x145

2. Lilikoi Kaos - Circus Oz, 2016 oil on canvas 210x166

3. Self Portrait with Bernard Ollis 2009 oil on canvas 180x200

4. One of the eight 5m long panels for the Annette Kellerman mural for the Cook + Philip Pool in Sydney

5. Wendy Sharpe, Self-portrait as Diana of Erskineville, 1996 Archibald winner oil on canvas 210x172

6. Black Sun - morning to night, 1986 Sulman Prize (joint) winner, oil on canvas

triptych: 138 x 92 cm each

Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Episode 11 Belynda Henry

Belynda Henry is a very significant figure in contemporary Australian art, renowned particularly for her evocative landscape paintings.

Landscapes are to her a deeply felt experience and that experience is then reflected in her immersive artistic process – sights, sounds and the feel of the environment she’s painting in.

A multiple finalist in prestigious awards such as the Wynne and Archibald Prizes, Belynda has held over 30 solo exhibitions and achieved international acclaim, with her works acquired by collectors worldwide.

In 2019, she was included in Thames & Hudson’s publication, ‘A Painted Landscape’, which featured the works of leading Australian landscape painters such as Elizabeth Cummings, John Olsen and Ann Thompson, in other words, esteemed company.

She’s about to have her 5th exhibition in New York. And we discuss, amongst many other things, the appeal of her Australian landscapes to an international audience.

Head to the link in my bio to listen to our conversation.

Images

1. BH image supplied (@nicholas_samartis)

2. Jilliby Creek, 2025 oil and wax on linen 122x122

3. Golden Wattle, 2025 oil and wax on linen 152x122

4. Eucalyptus No. 3, acrylic and pastel on canvas 215x215

5. Full Moon Shimmer, acrylic and pastel with oil and wax on linen 152x122

6. Louise Olsen, a beautiful summary, 2016 Archibald Prize finalist, acrylic and pastel on polyester canvas 157x116