Jody Graham / Sydney NSW Australia / Artist Biography and CV
Artist Biography
Drawing is at the core of Jody Graham’s multidisciplinary art. She relentlessly explores new techniques and investigates contemporary drawing practice. To do this she builds on and then moves beyond conventional drawing processes in search of new methods and tools that connect drawing with the fundamental need to make symbolic marks.
From the earliest days visiting scrap metal yards and her father’s factory in western Sydney – inspired by the action of machinery and the draftsmen’s tables where they drew designs for machinery by hand – the recurring themes in Jody’s work have centred on the broken, the displaced and the forgotten.
Whether expressed in drawing, sculpture, installation or performance, this speaks to her long-nurtured urge to rescue and restore, with the objective of recycling and re-purposing both materials and techniques.
Jody has had over ten solo exhibitions and exhibits frequently in important group exhibitions. She won the open Greenway Art Prize in 2017 (and the local prize again in 2020) and has been a finalist in many major art prizes, including the 66th Blake Prize, ‘Sculptures at Scenic World’ in Katoomba, and at the Muswellbrook, Paddington, and NSW Parliament’s Plein Air painting prizes.
Her work as been selected twice for the Kedumba Drawing Award Collection, and for the Jacaranda and Swan Hill Drawing Awards; and she has been a finalist in the Dobell, Rick Amor, and Adelaide Perry drawing prizes.
Jody’s work is held in the Kedumba Collection of Australian Drawings, in Waverley and Blacktown City Council collections, at the Western Sydney Institute, in the Nepean Arts and Design Centre, and in private collections nationally and in the UK, USA, and New Zealand.
March 2021
Artist CV
Gallery
Education
2018 Master of Art UNSW Art & Design Paddington
2012 Advanced diploma in Visual Art, WSI, Nepean Campus
1991 Billy Blue Graphic Art School, Diploma, North Sydney
1987-89 City Art Institute, Paddington
Solo Exhibitions2021
2021 Getting Pinked – Lost Bear Gallery
2021 Fly like a Bird – Nanda/Hobbs Gallery
2021 Somewhere to Land – Nanda/Hobbs Gallery
2020 Home – .M Contemporary – online exhibition
2019 Witness Lost Bear Gallery Katoomba NSW
2019 Pee in a Wetsuit or Take a Long Hot Spa? Chrissie Cotter Gallery Camperdown NSW
2018 After the Rain M.Contemporary Woollahra NSW
2018 Discarded AD Space Paddington NSW
2018 Around the Block Art Est Art School & Gallery Leichardt NSW
2017 Salvage Lost Bear Gallery Katoomba, NSW
2017 Scavenger Stacks Projects Potts Point, NSW
2015 Sydney Drawn Lost Bear Gallery Katoomba
2013 Urban Landscapes Lost Bear Gallery Katoomba
2011 Industrial Landscapes Braemar Gallery Springwood NSW
Group Exhibitions
2021 – Transformation – Sydney Botanical Gardens
2021 – Looking at Painting – Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
2021 – Birdland 2021 – NPWS Blue Mountains Heritage Centre
2021 Birds Gallery 3 Byron Bay
2021 Portraits Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
2020 Makers Month – The Foundations, Portland NSW
2020 Occupied Blue Mountains Cultural Centre NSW
2020 Blue Mountains Portraits 2020 – Blue Mountains Cultural Centre NSW
2020 Birdland – NSW National Parks & Wildlife Blue Mountains Heritage Centre NSW
2019 Sculpture Otherwise – Blue Mountains Cultural Centre – Katoomba, NSW
2018 Articulate Turns Eight – Articulate Project Space – Leichhardt, NSW
2018 WILD – Flora & Fauna in Australian Art Hawkesbury Regional Gallery Windsor NSW
2018 String Along Articulate Project Space Leichhardt NSW
2018 All is not Black & White Artsite Galleries Camperdown NSW
2018 Grid – Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Oneroa New Zealand
2017 Smashed Screens – Delmar Gallery, Trinity Grammer School, Ashfield NSW
2017 Mythologies of the Discarded – Peacock Gallery Auburn NSW
2017 Siteworks – Bundanon Trust NSW
2017 Off Site – Gaffa Gallery – Sydney, NSW
2017 Sculpture Otherwise – Blue Mountains Cultural Centre – Katoomba, NSW
2016 Ephemeral Inscriptions – Gaffa Gallery – Sydney, NSW
2016 The William Fletcher Rome Travelling Fellowship & Bundanon Residency Exhibition – Artarmon Galleries
2016 Vantage Points – Art Est. Leichhardt, NSW
2016 Out of Africa – The Space Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2015 Considered – .M Contemporary, Woollahra, Sydney, NSW
2015 1200K West – Fowlers Gap – AD Space ay UNSW Art & Design Campus, Paddington, NSW
2014 Elephant in the Room – Brenda May Gallery – 2 Dank St, Waterloo NSW
2014 Tweed Regional Gallery – Highlights from the Kedumba Collection of Australian Drawings
2014 Embers of Empathy – Surry Hills, NSW
2014 Annual Autumn Exhibition Royal Art Society of NSW – Lavender Bay, NSW
2014 Just Drawing Exhibition Royal Art Society of NSW – Lavender Bay, NSW
2013 African Safari Exhibition – Depot Gallery – 2 Danks St. Waterloo, NSW
2013 Most Group Exhibition – May St. Gallery – St Peters, NSW
2012 Framed Penrith Regional & Lewers Bequest Gallery – Penrith, NSW
2012 Kedumba Drawing Collection – Orange Regional Gallery, NSW
2011 3 + 1 Mixed Exhibition – Lost Bear Gallery – Leura, NSW
2006 Selected group exhibition – Kedumba Gallery – Wentworth Falls, NSW
2004 Selected group exhibition – Kedumba Gallery – Wentworth Falls, NSW
Collaborations/ Performance
2021 Mirroring Layers – Sound Drawing with Mark Cauvin – BigCi – Bilpin International Ground for Creative Initiatives
Selected Awards/ Prizes
2021 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award – Campbelltown Arts Centre
2021 WAMA Art Prize – works on paper – WAMA Foundation, Victoria
2021 The 66th Blake Prize – Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre2020
2020 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award – Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW
2020 The Greenway Art Prize – Winner local artist
2020 Gosford Art Prize – Gosford Regional Gallery, NSW
2020 Swan Hill Print & Drawing Award – Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery, Victoria
2020 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
2019 Blacktown City Art Prize
2019 Sculptures at Scenic World
2019 Art on the Greenway
2019 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize
2018 Muswellbrook Art Prize
2017 Greenway Art Prize – Winner – Open Prize
2017 Blacktown City Art Prize
2017 Fishers Ghost Art Award – Campbelltown Arts Centre
2017 Paddington Painting Prize
2017 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize
2017 Gosford Art Prize
2017 Environmental Award, Directors Cut – BigCi – Bilpin NSW
2017 Waverley Art Prize, Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi, NSW
2017 Sculptures at Scenic World, Katoomba, NSW
2017 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
2016 Fishers Ghost Art Award – Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW
2016 Kudos Award – Kudos Gallery, Paddington, NSW
2016 Tim Olsen Drawing Prize – Kudos Gallery, Paddington, NSW
2016 Rick Amor Drawing Prize – Art Gallery of Ballarat, Victoria
2016 Waverley Art Prize, Waverley Woollahra Art School, Bondi – Winner, Mayor’s Prize
2015 Blacktown City Art Prize – Blacktown Arts Centre – Highly Commended
2015 Tim Olsen Drawing Prize – Kudos Gallery, Paddington
2015 Finalist The Outback Open Prize – Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery
2015 Re-magined (Waste material transformed into art) – First Prize – mixed media category.
2015 Calleen Art Award – Cowra
2014 Blacktown City Art Prize – First – Works on Paper
2014 Hornsby Art Prize
2014 Draw on the Mountain – Sketchbook Prize – First Prize
2014 St George Art Award – Highly Commended
2014 Waverley Art Award – Drawing – First Prize
2014 Lethbridge 10 000 Small Scale Art Award Lethbridge Gallery Paddington QLD
2013 Blacktown City Art Prize – Sculpture – First Prize
2013 Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize – Finalist
2013 The Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing – Finalist
2013 Selected Students Exhibition – Trapezium Gallery – Western Sydney Institute – Drawing – First Prize
2012 Hawkesbury Art Prize – Purple Noon Gallery – Finalist
2012 Blacktown City Art Prize – Finalist (Art Reference group prize for works on paper)
2011 Blacktown City Art Prize – Finalist (Acquired by Fords Lands Company)
2008 Kedumba Drawing Award – Finalist
2004 Dobell Drawing Prize – Finalist
2003 Kedumba Drawing Award – Finalist
Press/ Publications/ Blogs
2021 Glynn L, Transformation: Art in the Recycle’ Timeout, Tuesday August 10 2021
2021 The Gardens Magazine – Winter 2021, Issue 129, p16-17
2021 Art Wank podcast with Fiona Verity and Julie Nicholson – Season 3, episode 61 – Jody Graham multidisciplinary artist
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/art-wank/season-3-episode-61-jody-graham-multidisciplinary-/
2021 The 66th Blake Prize Catalogue
2020 Occupied – Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, curated Rilka Oakley 1 June – 5 July Online catalogue
2019 Sculpture at Scenic World, exhibition catalogue ‘Someone Else’s Life’ Sculpture at Scenic World
2019 Scaffer B,Scrattching the surface, ‘Witness’ exhibition essay, 31 August – 21 September, Lost Bear Gallery,Katoomba NSW
2018 Scaffer B,Interupting the World, ‘After the rain’ exhibition essay, .M Contemporary Woollahra
2017 Cheeseman J & Marashian N, ‘Mythologies of the Discarded’ exhibition catalogue 28 October – 26 November 2017 Peacock Gallery & auburn Art studio
2017 Cawthorn M, Off Site exhibition catalogue June 2017 Gaffa Gallery Sydney
2017 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize catalogue October 2017 Parliament House Sydney NSW
2017 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing catalogue January 2017 Adelaide Perry Gallery
2017 Siteworks, exhibition catalogue, Bundanon Trust, Illaroo
2017 Fortescue Elizabeth ‘Artist Jody Graham’s love of bowerbirds inspired her latest installation at Sculpture at Scenic World in Katoomba ‘Daily Telegraph April 5,
2017 ‘Scavenger’ Online statement, Stacks Projects http://www.stacksprojects.com/scavenger—artist.html
2016 Oz Art, Issue 7 Summer 2016, Re-Imaginging the Past – Artist Jody Graham. Pg 63-71 http://www.artsbluemountains.com.au/images/oz-arts/2016-summer/jody-graham.pdf
2015 Artist Profile, Jody Graham – www.james-blackwell.com
2015 Art Collector-Guide to public & Regional Galleries-Edition 4/2014-p41
2015 Oz Arts, Summer/Spring 2013, Drawing a crowd-The Kedumba Collection hits the road by Julian Leatherdale. Pg63- 72 www.ozarts.net.au
2014 Kidd J, ABC News ‘Embers of Empathy’
Residencies
2020 The Old School Mt Wilson – Artist in Residence Program
2020 BigCi – Bilpin, NSW – Artist Residency
2018 October – Grafton Regional Gallery – Artist Residency
2018 March – BigCi – Bilpin, NSW – Artist Residency
2017 February – BigCi – Bilpin, NSW – Artist Residency
2016 June/July – BigCi – Bilpin, NSW – Artist Residency
2015 Blacktown Artist Studio Residency
Public Artworks/Commissions and Grants
2019 Art on the Greenway – Leichardt NSW 2018 Newtown Art Seat, Newtown NSW
2018 Art on Greenway – Leichardt NSW
2017 Siteworks – Bundanon Trust, Illaroo NSW
Public Collections
Waverley Council
Blacktown City Council
Kedumba Collection of Australian Drawings
Western Sydney Institute – TAFE NSW – OTEN
NADC – Nepean Art & Design Centre – TAFE NSW
Australian Ford Lands Company