ARTISTS | Sue Lovegrove
Sue Lovegrove’s painting practice reflects an intimate and personal experience of landscape; often remote and isolated places that are relatively free of the presence of human beings. Antarctica, Macquarie Island, Maatsuyker Island and Tasman Island, and places where the weather and the wildlife dominate, and where the balance and order is still in favour of the natural world.
Lovegrove’s delicate and layered mark-making on canvas explores the patterning and rhythms of the land. At times delicate, soft and wispy and other times sharp and harsh. Her delicate painted linework can become suggestive of sound, text, inscriptions of weather, hair, nests, or habitats, communicate something about the strength as well as fragility and the transience of the natural world.
Born in Adelaide in 1962, Lovegrove completed a Bachelor and PhD at the ANU in Canberra. She lives in Tasmania.
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…
Water Sky | Sue Lovegrove
March 7, 2024
Sue Lovegrove's newest body of work which responds to her walking adventures around her home state of Tasmania and the mountains, glaciers and rivers of Iceland.
Please contact the gallery to join Sue Lovegrove's advance list - marita@gallerysmith.com.au
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....
The River Flows Through You | Sue Lovegrove
March 11, 2022
Contemplating the surface and it's depths, Sue Lovegrove's new series is a meditation on the fleeting nature of life in water – the constantly shifting light patterns, the melancholy darkness and the movement of wind across the surface. In these delicate and detailed mixed media compositions, Lovegrove reflects and ponders the dark, enigmatic, and at times abstract worlds of wetlands, swamps and the tannin-stained creeks of Tasmania.
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 Memory of Water | Sue Lovegrove
April 19, 2018
Using traditional techniques of Persian miniature illustration, Sue Lovegrove's new works are intimate works which chart quiet observations of moments in time. Each pairing of 8x4cm paintings present like pages in an open book that might rest in the palm of one’s hands.
Towards Abstraction: Paintings from the Stockroom
February 13, 2016
An exhibition of stockroom works by artists including Stephen Ormandy, Ian Friend, Jennifer Goodman, Ngaio Lenz and Sue Lovegrove.
Landforms & Lagoons | Sue Lovegrove + Charmaine Pike
April 18, 2015
This duo-solo exhibition expresses two contrasting views of the natural environment – one which looks upward to the dry crags and peaks that puncture the earth’s crust and one which delves below the surface into the swampy depths of lakes, tarns and lagoons.
Cloud Memory | Sue Lovegrove
June 20, 2013
Sue Lovegrove’s paintings from the last few years have translated her experiences from wild and remote islands including Macquarie Island,…
Out of the Darkness: a group exhibition | Gallerysmith
December 20, 2011
When shadows lurk in the darkness, senses heighten, sound is amplified, the pulse races, unease escalates. While light allows us…
Glimpse | Sue Lovegrove
October 13, 2011
Artist Statement: My work has always been about an intimate and personal experience of particular landscapes where I have spent…
CV:
SUE LOVEGROVE
Born Adelaide, South Australia, lives and works in Tasmania
Education & Professional Experience
2013-18 Sessional Lecturer in Drawing at Tasmanian College of the Arts, UTAS
2003-12 Full time artist
2012 Visiting artist, Painting workshop, School of Art, ANU, Canberra
1999-02 Lecturer in Visual Art, University of Wollongong, New South Wales
1993-00 Sessional Lecturer, Painting Workshop, School of Art, National Institute of the Arts, ANU
1997 Lecturer and coordinator of painting studio, Faculty of Fine Arts, Northern Territory University
2002 PhD, School of Art, National Institute of the Arts, ANU, Canberra
1990 Bachelor of Arts (Visual) major in painting, School of Art, National Institute of the Arts, ANU
Solo Exhibitions
2022 The River Flows Through You, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2021 Waterholes and Wetlands, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2020 Surfacing, Bett Gallery, Hobart
Air and Water, Project Space, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2019 Shimmer, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2018 The Memory of Water, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2016 In a Strange Land, Bett Gallery Hobart
The Book of Trees, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2015 Cloud Lake, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
Landforms and Lagoons, duo-solo with Charmaine Pike as part of CLIMARTE
2014 Writing the Sky, Bett Gallery, Hobart
Nest, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2013 Cloud Memory, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2012 Windwalking, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2011 Glimpse, Gallerysmith, Melbourne
2010 Still Light, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
The Shape of the Wind, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2009 Grasses, Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne
2008 Walk With Me, Paintings from Southern Tasmania, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Maatsuyker, Island of the Mind, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2006 Vanishing, Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra
2005 Vanishing, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
2004 In pursuit of Clouds, Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra
2002 To hear the earth breathe, (part 3), Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
To hear the earth breathe, (part 2), Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
To hear the earth breathe, (part 1), Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra
1998 Between Worlds, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1996 Aediculae, aGOG (Australian Girls Own Gallery), Canberra
1995 From the shadow of a mountain, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
From the shadow of a mountain, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide
1994 In the shadows, aGOG (australian Girls Own Gallery), Canberra
1992 The unswept floor, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1990 Wall paintings... from the other side, Photospace Gallery, Canberra School of Art, Canberra
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Reflection/Submersion, Janet Homes a Court Gallery, Western Australia
2020 Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize for Landscape, Webb Gallery, Griffith University, Queensland
RANT Women’s Art Prize, Tasmania
Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
2017 Hadleys Art Prize, Hobart
Speaking of History, Bett Gallery Hobart
Poets and Painters, Moonah Arts Centre, Hobart
Abstraction: celebrating Australian women abstract artists, NGA (touring), Geelong Gallery
2015 Under Kunanyi, Bett Gallery, Hobart
Urban Suburban, Canberra Museum and Gallery. Canberra
Exquisite, Henry Jones Hotel, Hobart
Biophilia, Beaver Galleries, Canberra
2013 Poets and Painters, Bett Gallery, Hobart
Intensity of Purpose, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra
2011 Van Diemen's Land: Tasmanian Artists in the UK, Celia Lendis Contemporary, UK
25 Years, An Unfolding Journey, Bett Gallery, Hobart
2010 A Generosity of Spirit, QUT Art Museum, QLD |Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, SA
This Way Up, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
Three women paint the landscape, Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney
Autumn Collection, James Makin Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Transcending Surfaces, Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra
Flower Show, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney
2008 The View From Here II, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
Bias Bound, Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne
2007 Intimate and Distant Landscapes, Devonport Regional Gallery, Tasmania
Prometheus Art Award, Brisbane
2006 Salon, Bett Gallery, Hobart
Robert Jacks Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria
Senses of Place, Plimsoll Gallery, Tasmanian School of Art, Tasmania
Picture This, Canberra School of Art Gallery, ANU, VCA Gallery, Melbourne
2005 ANL Maritime Art Prize, Melbourne
Looking South, Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania, Hobart
2004 Flemming Muntz Albury Art Prize, Albury Regional Art Gallery, Victoria
Blake Prize, touring exhibition, ACU Gallery Sydney, Melbourne
2003 McGivern Art Prize, Maroondah Art Gallery, Victoria
Distant Noises, RMIT Gallery, Victoria
2002 Melbourne International Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2001 Conrad Jupiters Art Prize, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Queensland
Alice Prize, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
2000 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery touring regional galleries of New South Wales and Queensland duringt 2001, Triptych, Helen Maxwell Gallery, Canberra
1999 Australian Drawing Biennale, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Perth | the University Art Museum, University of Queensland
1998 Australian Drawing Biennale, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra
National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsular Regional Gallery, Victoria
Alice Prize, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Conrad Jupiters Art Prize, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Queensland
1997 Canberra Contemporary Art Fair, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra
Winter Light, Australian Girls Own Gallery, Canberra
Painting Alumni, Photospace Gallery, Canberra School of Art, Canberra
1996 ACAF 5, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria
Speculations 1, ANCA Gallery, Canberra
A Matter of Making, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
1995 Works on paper, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
Canberra Contemporary Art Fair, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra
City of Hobart Art Prize, Hobart City Council, Hobart
1994 Broken Hill Art Prize, Broken Hill City Art Gallery, New South Wales
Home is Where the Art is, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide
ACAF 4, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1992 ACAF 3, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1990 Sites Unseen One, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra
Awards and Grants
2021 Finalist, Bay of Fires Art Prize, Tasmania
2020 WINNER, Elaine Bermingham Watercolour Prize, Griffith University, Queensland
Finalist, RANT Women’s Art Prize, Tasmania
Finalist, Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery
2017 Highly Commended, Award, Hadleys Art Prize, Hobart
Vice Chancellors Award for Community Engagement, Clemente program, University of Tas
Teaching Merit Certificate Award, University of Tasmania
2014 Teaching Merit Certificate Award, University of Tasmania
2006 Arts Tasmania Natural and Cultural Heritage Grant, (Maatsuyker Island)
2003 Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship
2002 Canberra Critics Circle Award
2001 ANU Postgraduate Award, PhD Scholarship
2000 New Research Grant, University of Wollongong
1998 Arts ACT Professional Development Grant
1994 Broken Hill Art Prize (Work on Paper)
Residencies
2015 London, study of Persian miniature painting
2012 Visiting Artist, School of Art ANU Canberra
2011 Self-initiated residency, Tasman Island, Tasmania
2008 Victorian Tapestry Workshop residency
2007 Arts Tasmania Wilderness residency, Maatsuyker Island, Tasmania
2004 Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship, visited Antarctica and Macquarie Island
2001 ‘Bundanon’ Arthur Boyd’s studio, Nowra, New South Wales
Araluen Centre for Arts and Entertainment, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
2000 Ngukurr, SE Arnhem Land, printmaking project with University of Wollongong
1997 Northern Territory University, Darwin, Northern Territory
Professional Activities
2000 Visiting Scholar Program, Art Across Cultures at the Centre For Cross Cultural Research, ANU
1996 Travel to Italy, research of Roman and Etruscan wall paintings and Italian fresco cycles.
1995 Study of Sanskrit, ANU, Canberra
1992-95 Study of Kuchipudi, Classical Indian dance, Canberra
1992 Visit to Yirrkala Aboriginal community, NE Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
Tour of the 'corner country' NE NSW to develop paintings
1992 Study of Classical Chinese, ANU, Canberra
Travel to India, study at Kuchipudi Art Academy (Classical Indian Dance), Madras & research of archaeological sites and temple art, South India
1990 Curator, Sites Unseen One and Two, Canberra Contemporary Art Space
1989 Curator, Decade, Canberra Contemporary Art Space
1989 Travel by bicycle through Japan, research of calligraphy, temple art and Japanese aesthetics
1982-85 Travel by bicycle through Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia, research of traditional and religious art
Bibliography
Grishin, S. Enchanting and Haunting Beauty, Canberra Times, 10 April, 2021
Grishin, S. Depicting Shimmers of light on water, Canberra Times, 22 August, 2019
Burden, H. There’s Plenty in Reserve, Mercury, Oct 22, 2016
Poets and Painters, Exhibition Catalogue, 2017
Harper, A. Speaking Volumes, Mercury, 26 August, 2017
Burden, H. Double Vision, Mercury, 2 September, 2017
Grishin, S. In Praise of Great Trees, Canberra Times, 4 November, 2016
What Now, Art Collector Iss 78, 2016
Grishin, S. Nesting Impulses, Canberra Times, 4 July 2014
Cousins, K-A. Inspired by Nature, Canberra Times, 25 September, 2014
Hay, P., Shape of the wind: pattern & Chaos in Sue Lovegrove’s island art, Artlink Magazine, 2012
Grishin,S., Worlds of their own, Canberra Times, 15 November, 2010
Hawthorne, L., The Shape of Wind, Artlink, vol. 30, no. 2, 2010
Rainbird, S., A Generosity of Spirit, exhibition catalogue, 2010
Holmes, J., Intimate and Distant Landscapes, exhibition catalogue, 2007
Holmes, J., Senses of Place, exhibition catalogue, 2006
Elkins, J. (ed), ‘The PhD in studio art, Printed Project, iss. 04, 2005
Zika, P., Looking South, exhibition catalogue, 2005
Grishin, S., Artist like an archaeologist, excavating memory’s traces, Canberra Times, 14 May, 2004
Barron, S., Lyrical abstractions go beyond the usual, Canberra Times, 3 April, 2002
Maxwell, H., Sue Lovegrove in the Australian Drawing Biennale, Drill Hall Gallery, 1998
McFarlane, J., ‘Between’, in Between Worlds, exhibition catalogue, 1998
Clabburn, A., A talented defence, The Age, 8 July, 1998
O’Heir, A., Aediculae, an invitation to silence, Muse Magazine, no. 158, February, 1997
Grishin, S., Mood, Memory and Sensuality, Canberra Times, 27 November, 1996
Gates, M., The Materiality of Memory, A Matter of Making, CSA Gallery, 1996
Philp, A (ed), ANCA 1996 Australian National Capital Artists Inc and Canberra Museum and Gallery
O'Hehir, A., Speculations 1 & 2, Muse Magazine, no. 156, 1996
Neylon, J., Antidote, Adelaide Review, March, 1995
Dutkiemicz, A., A touch of the orient, Advertiser, March 10, 1996
Winner shows technical Prowess, Broken Hill News, 2 December, 1994
Grishin, S., Fragments of an Ephemeral Past Life, Canberra Times, 5 March, 1994
Cousins, K-A., In the shadows, Muse Magazine, no. 129, 1994
Musa, H., Siva the Cosmic Dancer, Canberra Times, 31 July, 1993
Collections
ACT Legislative Assembly, Canberra, ACT
Artbank, Sydney, New South Wales
Australian Conservation Foundation, Victoria
Broken Hill City Art Gallery, New South Wales
Bundanon Trust, New South Wales
Canberra Hospital, ACT
Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, ACT
Derwent Collection, Tasmania
EASS Loans Collection, ANU, Canberra, ACT
Grafton Regional Gallery, New South Wales
Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne, Victoria
Holmes a Court collection, Western Australia
KPMG, Canberra, ACT
Macquarie Bank, Melbourne, Victoria
Maatsuyker Collection, Tasmania
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, ACT
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania
News:
SUE LOVEGROVE WINNER OF THE ELAINE BERMINGHAM WATERCOLOUR PRIZE
December 2, 2020
Sue Lovegrove's artwork The Voice of Water, (No 9.24) (2019) has been selected as the winner of the Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour…
SUE LOVEGROVE HIGHLY COMMENDED
July 14, 2017
Sue Lovegrove was highly commended in the Hadley's art prize today. The Hadley Prize celebrates painting, printmaking and drawing of…
