Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 25 Amber Boardman

Amber Boardman is an American-born artist who would eventually establish herself as a significant figure in the contemporary Australian art scene.

Her early life was shaped by the cultural landscape of the US, which would later inform her artistic exploration of social dynamics and digital culture. Her artistic development was informed by her dual interest in traditional fine arts and emerging digital media. And, as a result, her work developed to blend classical painting techniques with contemporary concerns about internet culture and social media's influence on human behaviour.

Her formal art education began in the US, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Georgia State University, continued her studies with a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York, and after migrating to Australia, completed a PhD in Fine Art at the University of New South Wales in 2018.

So, as I see it, Amber’s life and art seem defined by a number of things: the interaction between painting and animation, American and Australian influences, and how the internet shapes social norms and individual identity.

Over the past two decades, she has exhibited her work internationally, with shows in New York, London, Rome, Amsterdam, Miami, Atlanta, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane

Amber is represented by Chalk Horse Gallery (Sydney), Sophie Gannon Gallery (Melbourne) and Sandler Hudson Gallery (Atlanta, USA)

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

Images

1. AB supplied by artist

2. Coffee Extremist, 2023, oil on canvas 152.4 x 121.9 cm

3. The Rock of Sysyphus, Chasing Gains 2023 oil on canvas 152.4 x 182.9 cm

4. Black Friday Sale 2019 oil on linen 213.4 x 182.9cm

5. Crowd Surfing 2019 oil on linen 213.4 x 182.9cm

6. Massive Touch Network 2019 oil on polyester 274.3 x 182.9cm

7. Self-care exhaustion 2018 acrylic on polyester 183 x 183 cm

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 24 Leila Jeffreys

Leila Jeffreys is a distinguished contemporary artist renowned for her captivating photographs, moving image works, and installations that primarily feature birds.

Leila moved to Australia from PNG and pursued formal training in photography which helped her create her unique approach...to animal portraiture.

Her extraordinary photographs were loved by the public and she gained international recognition and featured alongside the world's most respected photographers as part of Civilisation: The Way We Live Now, a 2023 exhibition at London's Saatchi Gallery.

We talked about her early days as a photographer for Rolling Stone and how she never felt like she could get what she really wanted from the photos she took of people. And then a lightbulb moment when she followed her instincts and started photographing birds. But in a way no one had before – as portraits taken in studios.

The resulting photographs are breathtaking. She loved photographing birds of prey. They seemed to exude a confidence (even arrogance!) that comes with being at the top of the tree. Have a look at the last couple of photos in the insta carousel to see what she means.

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen.

Images:

1. LJ supplied by artist. Image by Cameron Bloom

2. Celery, 2019 Giclée print on archival fine art paper
112 x 89 cm Series: High Society

3. Redmond Red-Capped Robin, 2015 Giclée print on archival fine art paper
52 x 61 cm Series: Songbirds

4. Topper – burrowing owl. 2014, Giclée print on archival fine art paper

91x72

5. Banded Stilt egg, 2024 Giclée print on archival fine art paper
110 x 86 cm Series: Stillness

6. Red-head, 2022, Giclée print on archival fine art paper
110 x 71 cm140 x 90 cm Series: The wound is the place where the light enters

7. Burnt Branch, 2022, Giclée print on archival fine art paper
86 x 110 cm Series: The wound is the place where the light enters

8. Soren, Wedge-tailed Eagle 2014, fine art inkjet print on archival cotton rag paper
44 x 35 inches Series: Prey

9. Darcy Brown Falcon 2014, fine art inkjet print on archival cotton rag paper
44 x 35 inches Series: Prey

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 23 Yvette Coppersmith

Yvette Coppersmith stands as one of Australia's most distinctive contemporary artists.

Her career has been marked by a profound exploration of portraiture, identity, and the human condition. She has challenged traditional boundaries between painting and photography while examining themes of gender, representation, and psychological depth.

She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts and won the inaugural Metro Prize in 2003 and has previously been selected as a finalist in the Darling Portrait Prize, Arthur Guy Memorial Award, Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award.

And, in 2018, after multiple Archibald finalist hangings, she became the 10th woman to win the Archibald Prize for her painting Self Portrait, after George Lambert.

It’s been said that her sophisticated exploration of portraiture has contributed to a renewed interest in this traditional genre. I can vouch for the fact that it has had that effect on me.

It was a fascinating discussion where we spoke about her amazing portrait of Gillian Triggs which (somehow) didn’t win the Archibald and, of course, her self-portrait the following year, which did! We talked about her fascinating process and how she creates these portraits that seem to me to go well beyond the surface image.

Her work is held in numerous public and private collections and she is represented in Australia by Sullivan + Strumpf.

Head to the link in my bio to hear this podcast conversation.

Images

1. YC. Supplied by artist. Taken at Hong Kong Art Basel, 'Heirloom' solo show

2. Yvette Coppersmith Self-portrait, after George Lambert (winner Archibald prize 2018) oil and acrylic on linen 132 x 112 cm

3. John Safran (Archibald finalist 2009) oil and acrylic on plywood 120 x 180 cm

4. Professor Gillian Triggs (Archibald finalist 2017) oil on linen 137.5 x 110 cm

5. Banded Field, 2022, Oil on jute, 99cm x 122cm, Finalist Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize

6. Self-portrait with Egret, 2018 Oil on linen 107 × 87 cm

Australian Women Artists

The podcast

Ep. 22

Belinda Fox

Belinda stands as one of Australia's most accomplished contemporary multidisciplinary artists, whose work traverses the boundaries between printmaking, painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and glass.

It's a lovely wide ranging discussion covering her career as a master printer collaborating with the likes of John Olsen and Tim Storrier and their generosity which is an integral part of who she is as well, her decision to change her career path from facilitating the vision of others' to developing and expressing your own artistic voice, her growing international presence and the incredible value of residencies both in Australia and overseas and how she got the best out of them.

Her journey is really quite a remarkable evolution from dedicated student to internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist.

Her career was built on technical mastery and thrives on collaborative experiences and an unwavering commitment to exploring the complexities of contemporary human existence.

She has received a number of awards including the Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Award, Paul Guest Drawing Prize and Burnie Print Prize and been a finalist in many other awards.

We are having this conversation in her fabulous Melbourne studio.

Belinda is represented by @arthousegallery and @australiangalleries and Maybaum Gallery, CA, USA. www.maybaumgallery.com (@maybaumgallery)

The images are a sneak preview of Belinda's upcoming exhibition, Tipping the Scales (her fifth solo exhibition with Maybaum Gallery in San Francisco). They presenting a new body of paintings that explores growth and the restorative energy of nature in a time of deep uncertainty. In a world marked by conflict, displacement, and environmental crisis, these works offer a quiet resistance—an intentional act of optimism. They seek to tip the scales toward compassion, healing, and a sense of renewal.

Created using layering of watercolour, ink, pen, collage, spray acrylic, and encaustic wax

Images 1-4: Pia Johnson; 5-8: Andrew Curtis

Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Ep. 21 June Tupicoff

June Tupicoff has been described as "one of Australia’s very best artists” and "the great Australian painter you’ve probably never heard of".

June is a Brisbane based artist whose work focuses on an inherent interest in the Australian landscape.

She actually grew up in the lush, rural environment of Victoria, and, I dare say as a direct result, developed an early sensitivity to the Australian landscape—a theme that evolved and matured with her move to Qld.

By the 1970s, she had begun to establish herself as an artist, initially working primarily in abstraction. Eventually her artistic focus began to shift from pure abstraction to a more overt engagement with the Australian landscape in particular the unique ecosystems of coastal south-east Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

Her paintings and pastel drawings are notable for their sensitive rendering of light, colour, and form, and her work has been described as demonstrating, ‘a deepening commitment to environmental observation and a nuanced understanding of place.’

Head to the link in my bio to hear about 'the great Australian painter you’ve probably never have heard of’.

June is represented by @philipbacongalleries

Images:Pale skyline, 2022

pastel on Sennelier card, 50 x 65 cm

Grass trees, 2022
pastel on Sennelier card
50 x 65cm

Spanning the slope, 2022
pastel on Sennelier card, 50 x 65 cm
Lilac sent downwind, 2024
pastel on Mi-Teintes paper, 52 x 72 cm
Sun-bleached fen, 2024
oil on linen, 138 x 184 cm

Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Ep. 20. Louisa Chircop

Louisa stands as a compelling figure in contemporary Australian art.

Her work transcends geographical boundaries while exploring the intricate connections between identity, memory, and cultural heritage. She has established herself as a versatile artist working primarily in mixed media, photomontage, collage, and painting, creating works that speak to both personal and collective experiences of displacement, belonging, and the search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented world.

She is the daughter of Maltese Australian parents, and her formative years were shaped by the complex legacy of her grandparents, who left Malta after WWII. And that influence would remain part of her art to this day.

Throughout her career, Louisa has received numerous accolades and significant recognition including winning the James Gleeson Prize for Surrealism twice and her work has been acquired for the Kedumba Collection, one of Australia’s most highly regarded public collections of contemporary drawing. She has been a finalist in the Dobell Prize for Drawing, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, and the Hazelhurst National Art on Paper Prize amongst many others.

Her most ambitious and historically significant project, "Grotto Girl," is currently showing in Malta. It seems to me to represent the culmination of her artistic journey and her most profound engagement with her Maltese heritage.

We’re having this conversation between Sydney and Malta

Images

1. LC by Henry Zammit Cordina

2. Whiteley paints Rembrandt then I paint Whiteley and Rembrandt, 2019,mixed media and photomontage on Arches 76x56

3. Bath Blues after Whiteley 2019 mixed media ad photomontage on Arches 76x56

4. Self as water feature 2020 mixed media and photomontage on watercolour paper 103x66

5. Beneath the Paper Rain, mixed media and photomontage on hand painted archival pigment print on cotton rag, 173x130

6. The installation on the 450 year old well in the central courtyard

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