ARTISTS | Sam Michelle

EXHIBITIONS CV CLICK HERE TO SEE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WORKS >

Sam Michelle was born in New Zealand and lives in Melbourne.

Following in the footsteps of a lineage of talented creatives, Michelle has forged a highly successful art practice focused around still life compositions of home-grown flora, handmade objects and textiles. Her works depict a strong visual language of balance and rhythm, soft foliage and drapery contrasting against structed and punctuated vessels.

Michelle’s works have been shortlisted for award exhibitions including the OMNIA Art Award, and her paintings are highly sought after, appearing on numerous design blogs and interior design publications, such as Country Style, the Local Project and The Design Files.

Sam Michelle’s newest solo exhibition Half Full will exhibit at Gallerysmith in February 2024. Join Sam’s mailing list to be one of the first to see the new works.

JOIN SAM MICHELLE’S MAILING LIST

Exhibitions:

GOLD CHIP | one-night-only exhibition

December 12, 2023

Gallerysmith closes the 2023 curtain on December 12 with the annual exhibition, GOLD CHIP. At this one-night-only event, the gallery presents…

Half Full | Sam Michelle

February 1, 2024

More exhibition details will be available soon. Contact the gallery to be added to the advance list for Sam Michelle. jess@gallerysmith.com.au

Motherland | Sam Michelle

April 16, 2023

On Sunday April 16th at 6pm, we will release a new body of small works on paper by Sam Michelle. To receive notification of this event, join our mailing list and select Sam Michelle as your 'artist of interest'.

XV: PAST PRESENT FUTURE

February 4, 2023

Gallerysmith launches its 2023 exhibition program with a group exhibition which celebrates 15 years of gallery operations. This exhibition features works by more than 50 artists who have shown at the gallery between 2008 and 2023....

Balance | Sam Michelle

August 26, 2022

Sam Michelle’s latest solo exhibition, Balance, represents a personal journey of healing and realignment of mind and body from a precarious and unbalanced state. Michelle expresses the experiences she has endured and the strategies she implemented in the journey towards a more balanced life.

Blink | Sam Michelle

June 4, 2021

With a soft earthy palette and more complex compositions, Sam Michelle’s Blink collection explores the elusive concept of time; how years occur in real time yet pass in an instant, leaving but a trace of a lived experience.

I AM WOMAN | International Women’s Day 2021

March 8, 2021

On International Women's Day 2021 we acknowledge the achievements of girls and women around the world. We celebrate those who ...

The Elegance of Spring collection | Sam Michelle

February 9, 2021

This body of work celebrates the freedom of post lockdown with beautiful blooms discovered at Sam Michelle's favourite florists and nurseries around Melbourne. These flowers are mixed with others from Sam's garden. In lockdown one, Sam cleared out vast spaces in her garden to make room for flowers she was growing from seed. Sam has taken a particular interest in the challenge of painting detailed, intricate flowers, such as the bearded iris.

The Dual Citizen Collection | Sam Michelle

September 3, 2020

Sam Michelle's newest series of work combines native flora from here and across the Tasman, with objects from her private collection in a bid to reconcile aspects of her life in Australia with her New Zealand heritage.

The Peony Portrait Collection | Sam Michelle

April 6, 2019

The Peony Portrait Collection will be Sam Michelle's second solo exhibition at Gallerysmith. A VIP preview will take place on Saturday, April 6th in Melbourne. Places can be booked by emailing jess@gallerysmith.com.au. Those who sign up will be notified of the event details this week.

The Getty Collection | Sam Michelle

September 18, 2018

This online exhibition by Sam Michelle takes the J. Paul Getty Collection in LA as a starting point. Inspired by the gardens which surround the museum and objects within, Sam Michelle has developed a fresh body of work using seasonal fruit and flora in a range of compositions.

Sam Michelle, Hydrangeas and Pinks, 2017, 63x58cm

The Cloth Collection | Sam Michelle

October 12, 2017

Sam Michelle is a Melbourne painter whose intimate paintings make a strong impact. Her new series, The Cloth Collection, is inspired by the gathering of flowers, ceramics and her growing collection of textiles. Sam Michelle is among a younger generation of artists whose works engage both emerging and established collectors.

Belinda Fox, Still Life VI (Wrong Way), 2016, 110x100cm

Hyper-Botanica: a group exhibition | Gallerysmith

January 28, 2017

A group exhibition featuring represented and guests artists: Penelope Aitken, Monika Behrens, Belinda Fox, Junko Go, Fiona Hiscock, Matilda Julian, Dena Kahan, Sam Michelle, Catherine Nelson and Andrew Seward.

CV:

SAM MICHELLE
Born 1983 Wellington, NZ, lives Melbourne

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Rapunzel’s Garden, Aotearoa Art Fair, Martin Browne Contemporary, Auckland, NZ (upcoming)
2024 Half Full, Gallerysmith, Melbourne (upcoming)
2023 PLAY, Martin Browne Contemporary
2022 Balance. Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2021 Blink, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2021 The Elegance of Spring Collection, online Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2020 Dual Citizen Collection, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2020 I Love You More Collection, online Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2020 A Summer Perspective Collection, online Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2019 The Country Collection, online Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2019 The Long White Cloud Collection, online Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2019 The Peony Portrait Collection, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2018 The Getty Collection, on-line exhibition
2017 The Cloth Collection, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2017 Effloresce, KAB Gallery NSW
2017 Flourish, St Cloche, Sydney, Curated by Amber Creswell-Bell

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Sydney Contemporary, Martin Browne Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney
2023 XV: PAST PRESENT FUTURE, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2022 Winter Garden, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
2022 Sydney Contemporary, Martin Browne Contemporary, Carriageworks
2021 Thread/s, Works featuring Helen McCullagh textiles
2020 The Moon, the Sea and Me, Studio Home, Christchurch NZ
2019 Share the Dignity, Sydney
2019 Spring Fling, Studio Home, Christchurch NZ
2019 NEXT, Sydney Contemporary NSW
2017 The Inauguration, Southern Buoy Studios VIC
2017 Empereur, Scout House, Melbourne
2017 The Inauguration, Southern Buoy Studios VIC
2017 Hyper-Botanica, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2016 Life Still, St Cloche, Sydney, curated by Amber Creswell-Bell
2016 KAB Gallery, Terrigal NSW
2016 The Moree Gallery, Moree NSW
2015 Brunswick St Gallery, Melbourne
2014 Fawn Gallery, ARI, Melbourne
2014 Art Space (launching artist), City of Casey VIC
2014 9 x 5 Group Exhibition, Walker St Gallery, Dandenong VIC
2013 Walker St Gallery, City of Dandenong Art Space, VIC
2013 Exhibit Artist Space, Gallery Show, Williamstown VIC

AWARD and PRIZE EXHIBITIONS
2023 Finalist, York Botanic Art Prize, York, WA
2023 Shortlisted, Omnia Art Prize, Toorak, VIC
2022 Shortlisted, Omnia Art Prize, Toorak, VIC
2021 Shortlisted, Omnia Art Prize, Toorak, VIC
2019 Shortlisted, St Kevin’s Art Show, Toorak
2018 Shortlisted, St Kevin’s Art Show, Toorak
2017 Shortlisted, St Kevin’s Art Show, Toorak
2017 Highly Commended, Edrington Art Show VIC
2016 Awarded ‘Home Based Business Of The Year’, Casey & Cardinia Council Business Awards VIC
2016 Best in Show, Cardinia Art Show VIC
2015 Commissioned Artist, Holt Anzac Exhibition VIC
2015 Highly Commended, Yakkerbo Art Show, Pakenham VIC
2014 Best in Show & Feature Artist, Dromana Art Show, Dromana VIC
2014 Finalist, ‘SHE’ Exhibition, Walker St Gallery, Dandenong VIC
2013 Highly Commended, Edrington Art Show, Berwick VIC
2013 Highly Commended, Dromana Art Show, Dromana VIC
2012 2nd Prize & Highly Commended, Fleetwood Art Show, Berwick VIC
2011 1st Prize & Highly Commended, Fleetwood Art Show, Berwick VIC
2010 Highly Commended, South Eastern Art Festival, Berwick VIC

SELECTED MEDIA
2022, ‘Super Creative with Caity Dawson’, podcast interview, Sam Michelle – Artist, episode 30. LISTEN ONLINE
2021, ‘Creative Collection’, Home Beautiful Feature, pp 32-35.
2020 ‘Sam Michelle’s Realist Still-Lifes Capture The Beauty of Two Landscapes’, The Design Files, Sasha Gattermayr, August 24, VIEW
2020 ‘An Artist’s Australian Home Has an Envy Inducing Sunroom and Art Studio’, Apartment Therapy, Natalie Jeffcott, April 10, VIEW
2020 ‘Interview with an artist – Sam Michelle’, 2ser 107.3 Sydney, Radio Interview, March, LISTEN ONLINE
2019 ‘The Observer’, Home Style Magazine, Alice Lines, pg 92-95, July issue, VIEW
2019 ‘10 creative Kiwi women who are smashing it in the home and interior world’, Homes to Love, Bea Taylor, April, VIEW
2019 ‘Sam Michelle is the Kiwi artist everyone who loves still-life should know about’, Your Home and Garden, Fiona Ralph, February, pg 20-22, VIEW
2018 ‘Artist Sam Michelle’, interview, Hocking Stuart Red Magazine, Issue #25, July 2018.
2017 ‘All I Want for Christmas’, Country Style Magazine, stylist Jessica Hanson, November
2017 ‘Studio Visit and Artist Interview: Sam Michelle’, Creative Women’s Circle, Jo Watson, October 30, VIEW
2017 ‘Sam Michelle Flourish’, The Design Files, Elle Murrell, July 11, VIEW
2017 ‘Space to Create: Artist Sam Michelle’, We Are Scout, Lisa Tilse, Aug 07, VIEW
2017 ‘Winner of the Blue Thumb Art Prize People’s Choice Award’, Bluethumb.com.au, Matilda Jenkins, 07 Feb, VIEW